Katie Edwards, Assistant Professor of Psychology, COLA travels to South Africa and Kenya

Prof. Edwards travelled to Africa to learn more about the innovative sexual violence prevention work happening across the African continent and to discuss similarities and differences in violence prevention in South Africa and the U.S

Institutional Title IX Requirements for Researchers Conducting Human Subjects Research on Sexual Violence and other Forms of Interpersonal Violence

The purpose of this white paper is to provide guidance on how university and college Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and IRB administrators can oversee, and researchers can conduct, research investigating the different aspects of Sexual Violence and other forms of Interpersonal Violence

A Program to Improve Social Reactions to Sexual and Partner Violence Disclosures Reduces Posttraumatic Stress in Subsequently Victimized Participants

Objective: Research consistently documents the high rates and deleterious outcomes of dating and sexual violence (DSV) among college students. Thus, there is an urgency to identify cost-effective interventions that can mitigate the negative outcomes associated with these forms of violence. The purpose of the current study was to conduct secondary analyses to assess whether a two-session, face-to-face social support intervention (i.e., Supporting Survivors and Self) would confer psychological benefits for participants who subsequently experienced DSV victimization. Method: Participants were 187 full-time undergraduate students from a university in the northeastern United States who reported at least one form of DSV in the six months following implementation of the program. Results: No intervention effect was identified for self-blame or depressive symptoms among subsequent victims. However, the intervention led to lower levels of overall posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, including avoidance and changes in cognition and mood symptoms, for participants who experienced unwanted sexual intercourse and/or physical intimate partner violence in the treatment versus those in the control condition. Gender did not moderate intervention effects

Teaching Therapeutic Yoga to Medical Outpatients: Practice Descriptions, Process Reflections, and Preliminary Outcomes

This article describes therapeutic Yoga practices designed for a medical population with mixed diagnoses and a wide range of health challenges. We present preliminary data from 54 adults who participated in Yoga classes at a community medical center serving seventeen counties in Northeast Georgia. Findings suggest that attending therapeutic group Yoga classes can improve health perceptions and mindfulness. These findings are discussed in terms of implications for clinical practice and future research. The Yoga practices are described in detail, for the benefit of teachers and researchers who wish to replicate the practices

Sexual activity between victims and perpetrators following a sexual assault: A systematic literature review and critical feminist analysis

Rarely are perpetrators found guilty of sexual assault when the victim engaged in sex with the perpetrator following the sexual assault. Although the recent trial of Harvey Weinstein is an exception, the fact that his accusers engaged in consensual sex with him following the alleged assaults ignited debate that garnered international attention. The purpose of this paper was to conduct a systematic review to (1) document the extent to which victims engage in sex with the perpetrator following a sexual assault and (2) examine theoretical explanations for this phenomenon. Five peer-reviewed journal articles published between 1988 and 2016 were identified. Whereas rates of sex following a sexual assault where it is unclear based on study methodology if it was consensual ranged from 11 % to 64 %, rates of consensual sex following a sexual assault (where it is clear based on study methodology that it was consensual) ranged from 8 % to 32 %. Although evolutionary perspectives have been used by some researchers to explain this phenomenon, we suggest alternative explanations, grounded in feminist understandings of violence against women, for why a victim may have consensual sex with a perpetrator following a sexual assault. Finally, we identify areas for future research and discuss practice-based implications

Risk and protective factors for sexual aggression across the ecosystem: An overview

Prevention of sexual aggression (which ranges from perpetration of unwanted sexual contact to attempted/completed rape) is a complex public health and safety issue that requires attention to multiple levels of social ecology (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004). The social ecological model provides a framework for understanding how risk and protective factors for sexual aggression exist at multiple levels, with some factors being more proximal such as the individual attitudes, and other factors being more distal such as the broader culture (e.g., laws and policies) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Indeed, research indicates a variety of risk factors (factors associated with increased risk for sexual aggression) and protective factors (factors associated with decreased risk for sexual aggression) that exist across the social ecology (Basile et al., 2016; Tharp et al., 2013). Understanding risk and protective factors across multiple levels of the ecology is key to preventing the complex behavior of sexual aggression. In the current chapter, we review risk and protective factors for sexual aggression among men and boys at multiple levels of the social ecology. Of note, although we earnestly reviewed the interdisciplinary research, this chapter is not meant to be a systematic review. Rather, the purpose of this chapter is to discuss various levels of the social ecology and provide examples of risk and protective factors for the perpetration of sexual assault within each of these levels. The foundational information provided in this chapter sets the stage for subsequent chapters in this edition that focuses on strategies for the primary prevention of sexual aggression

In Utero Drug Exposure Impact on Infant Health

Drug use during pregnancy has many impacts on the baby’s and mother’s health. Prenatal drug use affects a child’s development during his or her life. When exposed to in utero drug use the baby tends to have a lower birth weight, preterm birth, and intrauterine growth restrictions compared to a baby not exposed to drugs. The number of infants being born with withdrawal to drugs is increasing. This is an important problem because the number of fetuses exposed in utero to drugs is increasing. Research shows that exposure does pose a risk to the fetus and birth outcomes. Finding and implementing interventions to support expecting mothers struggling with drug use is a challenge for medical professionals.https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/lake_research_symposium_abstracts/1003/thumbnail.jp

Exposure to models’ negative facial expressions whilst eating a vegetable decreases women’s liking of the modelled vegetable, but not their desire to eat

Introduction: Food enjoyment can be conveyed through facial expressions. Observing others’ enjoyment of food has been found to influence adults’ desirability of liked and disliked food. Exposing adults to other eaters enjoying nutritious foods that are typically disliked (e.g., vegetables) could enhance the consumption of vegetables by young adults. However, this remains to be examined in young adult populations. This study examined the effect of models’ facial expressions towards raw broccoli on young adult women’s change in liking and change in desire to eat a modelled vegetable (raw broccoli) and a non-modelled vegetable (cucumber).Methods: Young adult women (N = 205) were randomised to watch a video of unfamiliar adult models eating raw broccoli with a positive, negative, or neutral facial expression. Participants’ change in liking and change in desire to eat the modelled and non-modelled vegetable was examined.Results: Observing models conveying negative facial expressions whilst eating raw broccoli resulted in a statistically significant reduction in liking ratings of broccoli, but not cucumber. There was no effect of models’ facial expressions on the change in desire to eat foods.Discussion: These findings suggest that watching others express a negative facial expression whilst eating a raw vegetable reduces women’s liking of the modelled vegetable, in the absence of a significant change to their desire to consume these foods. This highlights the power of others’ negative facial expressions on food liking. Further work is needed to establish the effect of others’ facial expressions on vegetable intake