Men's Experiences of the UK Criminal Justice System Following Female-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence

© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York The current study aimed to explore men’s experience of the UK Criminal Justice System (CJS) following female-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV). Unstructured face-to-face and Skype interviews were conducted with six men aged between 40–65 years. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Due to the method of analysis and the sensitive nature of the research, the researcher engaged in a process of reflexivity. Four main themes were identified, including ‘Guilty until Proven Innocent: Victim Cast as Perpetrator;’ ‘Masculine Identity;’ ‘Psychological Impact’ and ‘Light at the End of the Tunnel.’ Themes were discussed and illustrated with direct quotes drawn from the transcripts. Directions for future research, criminal justice interventions, and therapeutic interventions were discussed

Protocol for investigating genetic determinants of posttraumatic stress disorder in women from the Nurses' Health Study II

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One in nine American women will meet criteria for the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime. Although twin studies suggest genetic influences account for substantial variance in PTSD risk, little progress has been made in identifying variants in specific genes that influence liability to this common, debilitating disorder.</p> <p>Methods and design</p> <p>We are using the unique resource of the Nurses Health Study II, a prospective epidemiologic cohort of 68,518 women, to conduct what promises to be the largest candidate gene association study of PTSD to date. The entire cohort will be screened for trauma exposure and PTSD; 3,000 women will be selected for PTSD diagnostic interviews based on the screening data. Our nested case-control study will genotype1000 women who developed PTSD following a history of trauma exposure; 1000 controls will be selected from women who experienced similar traumas but did not develop PTSD.</p> <p>The primary aim of this study is to detect genetic variants that predict the development of PTSD following trauma. We posit inherited vulnerability to PTSD is mediated by genetic variation in three specific neurobiological systems whose alterations are implicated in PTSD etiology: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the locus coeruleus/noradrenergic system, and the limbic-frontal neuro-circuitry of fear. The secondary, exploratory aim of this study is to dissect genetic influences on PTSD in the broader genetic and environmental context for the candidate genes that show significant association with PTSD in detection analyses. This will involve: conducting conditional tests to identify the causal genetic variant among multiple correlated signals; testing whether the effect of PTSD genetic risk variants is moderated by age of first trauma, trauma type, and trauma severity; and exploring gene-gene interactions using a novel gene-based statistical approach.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Identification of liability genes for PTSD would represent a major advance in understanding the pathophysiology of the disorder. Such understanding could advance the development of new pharmacological agents for PTSD treatment and prevention. Moreover, the addition of PTSD assessment data will make the NHSII cohort an unparalleled resource for future genetic studies of PTSD as well as provide the unique opportunity for the prospective examination of PTSD-disease associations.</p

Factors Predicting Relationship Satisfaction, Investment, and Commitment When Women Report High Prevalence of Psychological Abuse

Relationship satisfaction, investment, and commitment in women experiencing extensive psychological abuse were examined to determine predictive factors. Participants were the top quartile of a national sample of women in conflictual relationships (N = 81) experiencing psychological maltreatment. Relationship satisfaction, investment, and commitment were each used as criterion variables with conceptually related factors as the predictors (e.g., reactions to the psychological abuse; mental health indicators; personality variables; perceived harm; problematic relationship schemas; response styles; demographics). These relationship markers were differentially predicted within this group of women. Three independent clusters of women, based on patterns of satisfaction, investment, and commitment scores, were compared regarding physical abuse, reactions to psychological abuse, ratings of perceived harm, endorsement of relationship schemas, psychological distress variables, and personality variables. The cluster of women reporting higher satisfaction, investment, and commitment in these seemingly aversive relationships frequently demonstrated differences from the other two clusters. Implications for clinical applications are discussed