Men who report difficulties in adult relationships and the links they make to their boarding school experiences: a thematic analysis

Systematic Literature Review: Twenty-six articles investigating the psychological experiences of boarding students were identified and subjected to a systematic analysis. Some studies indicated that boarders experience higher levels of psychological distress (especially soon after boarding transition), experience greater incidences of bullying victimisation, engage in more bullying perpetration, and may be at a higher risk of presenting with eating disorder psychopathology. However, other results reported general parity between wellbeing outcomes for boarders and non-boarders, or modest benefits for boarders measures of wellbeing and personality characteristics. Analysis highlighted the lack of research conducted in UK boarding schools, and the need for further research with extended follow-ups. Limitations of the literature and recommendations for professional practice and future research are discussed. Research Paper: Thematic analysis was used to explore the experiences of male ex-boarders who had identified experiences of difficulties in relationships. Three superordinate themes were presented: Disempowerment depicted how participants felt powerless or controlled by others, and the impact this had in later relationships; Suppressing aspects of self and personality related to how participants described hiding emotions or parts of their personality to ‘get by’, and how these strategies presented in adulthood; and A process of recovery was concerned with how participants sought ways to ‘recover’ from their experiences. Findings were discussed in relation to existing theory and literature and highlighted the importance for educational and care institutions to recognise ideological powers, as well as the use of therapeutic interventions that are underpinned by theories of attachment.</div

<i>Stat3</i> is a candidate epigenetic biomarker of perinatal Bisphenol A exposure associated with murine hepatic tumors with implications for human health

<p>Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) that has been implicated as a potential carcinogen and epigenotoxicant. We have previously reported dose-dependent incidence of hepatic tumors in 10-month-old isogenic mice perinatally exposed to BPA. Here, we evaluated DNA methylation at 3 candidate genes (<i>Esr1, Il-6st</i>, and <i>Stat3</i>) in liver tissue of BPA-exposed mice euthanized at 2 time points: post-natal day 22 (PND22; n = 147) or 10-months of age (n = 78, including n = 18 with hepatic tumors). Additionally, DNA methylation profiles were analyzed at human homologs of murine candidate genes in human fetal liver samples (n = 50) with known liver tissue BPA levels. Candidate genes were chosen based on reported expression changes in both rodent and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Regions for bisulfite sequencing were chosen by mining whole genome next generation sequencing methylation datasets of both mice and human liver samples with known perinatal BPA exposures. One of 3 candidate genes, <i>Stat3</i>, displayed dose-dependent DNA methylation changes in both 10-month mice with liver tumors as compared to those without liver tumors and 3-week sibling mice from the same exposure study, implicating <i>Stat3</i> as a potential epigenetic biomarker of both early life BPA exposure and adult disease in mice. DNA methylation profiles within <i>STAT3</i> varied with liver tissue BPA level in human fetal liver samples as well, suggesting <i>STAT3</i> may be a translationally relevant candidate biomarker. These data implicate <i>Stat3</i> as a potential early life biomarker of adult murine liver tumor risk following early BPA exposure with early evidence of relevance to human health.</p