Attachment patterns, coping, emotional processing and theraphy alliance in recovery from trauma

This study investigated the role of personality factors, coping and attachment in torture survivors’ recovery, thus enhancing both attachment and trauma theories. The participants were Palestinian political ex-prisoners who were victims of human-rights abuse (the number of participants ranging from 36 to 176) from the Gaza strip. The findings revealed that in the natural course of recovery, avoidance symptoms were common when the trauma was still fresh, and at that time, relying on problem-focused coping was beneficial. However, in the long run, emotion-focused coping was related to successful recovery. Moreover, attachment was triggered in dangerous circumstances and was related to different ways of reacting in the aftermath of trauma. First, individuals with different attachment patterns differed in their strengths and vulnerabilities depending on whether the torture was psychological and interpersonal or physical. Secure individuals coped better with exposure to physical torture than to psychological torture, while insecurity was associated with increased levels of both psychological and somatic symptoms in exposure to physical torture. Secondly, we studied the emotional processing of traumatic memories. Secure men had a balanced emotional profile involving both cognitive and affective responses despite the severity of trauma exposure. Preoccupied men, in turn, showed intensive affective and behavioral responses, which heightened during extreme stress, while dismissive men showed intensive cognitive and low-intensity affective responses despite the degree of exposure. Thirdly, although there were no differences in early therapy

Personality and trauma: Adult attachment and posttraumatic distress among former political prisoners

Attachment patterns are especially salient in facing danger and threats to one's life. Earlier research has suggested that secure persons are protected and insecure persons vulnerable in conditions of traumatic stress. We argued that the general view may not apply to the complex person-trauma interaction that is characteristic to torture and ill-treatment. Rather, as Crittenden maintains, each attachment pattern involves a unique strategy that is the most adaptive solution, depending on the nature of the trauma. We hypothesized that the general view of the secure attachment pattern being protective, and the insecure patterns being unprotective, would apply when political prisoners are exposed to physical torture and ill-treatment. Whereas, when exposed to psychological torture involving interpersonal cruelty, securely attached persons would be more vulnerable than insecure. The hypotheses were examined among

Adult attachment and emotional responses to traumatic memories among Palestinian former political prisoners

The association between attachment styles and emotional responses to traumatic memories was examined among 153 Palestinian former political prisoners. Self-report tools revealing adult attachment and intensity and valence of emotional responses were applied. As hypothesized, a high intensity of cognitive appraisal and a low intensity of affective responses characterized the emotional profile of insecure-dismissing men. By contrast, the emotional profile of insecure-preoccupied men was characterized by low cognitive and high affective responses, and intensive behavioral urge to act. Secure men in turn had a moderate and balanced emotional profile involving both cognitive and affective responses. In accordance with the activation hypothesis, when exposed to a high level of torture and ill-treatment, the insecure-preoccupied men showed especially intensive affective and behavioral responses. Contrary to

Lyhytterapiat opiskeluvalmennuksessa : Kognitiivis-analyyttisen ja ratkaisukeskeisen terapian soveltaminen

Toisen asteen opiskelijoilla opintojen keskeyttäminen on yleistä. Taustalla on usein monenlaisia psyykkisiä ja sosiaalisia ongelmia. Tämän vuoksi Kelan Opiskeluvalmennus-projektissa (2016–2020) kokeiltiin kahden lyhytpsykoterapeuttisen menetelmän soveltuvuutta kestoltaan rajatussa opiskelijoiden ohjauksessa. Menetelmät olivat kognitiivis-analyyttinen (KAT) ja ratkaisukeskeinen (RATKES). Tässä julkaisussa kuvataan lyhyesti näiden menetelmien perusperiaatteet ja työtavat sekä miten niitä sovellettiin opiskeluvalmennuksessa. Opiskeluvalmennuksen teoreettisena viitekehyksenä oli opiskelukykymalli. Opiskeluvalmennuksen tavoitteena oli vahvistaa ja tukea opiskelijan opiskelukykyä sekä ehkäistä opintojen keskeytymistä. Opiskelukyvyn tukemiseksi kummastakin menetelmästä valittiin työkaluja tukemaan, syventämään ja rakenteistamaan opiskeluvalmentajien työskentelyä. Projektissa työskennelleet kahdeksan opiskeluvalmentajaa koulutettiin jompaankumpaan menetelmään. He osallistuivat kuntoutuskokeilujen ajan myös opiskelemansa menetelmän työnohjaukseen. Projektissa opiskeluvalmennusta sai enintään 80 opiskelijaa ajalla 1.3.2018–30.3.2020. Opiskeluvalmennus suunniteltiin ennaltaehkäiseväksi matalan kynnyksen palveluksi. Ennakko-oletuksista poiketen kokeiluun ohjautui odotettua moniongelmaisempia opiskelijoista. Osa aloitetuista valmennusprosesseista keskeytyi, mutta saattoi silti olla keskeytyneenäkin hyödyksi opiskelijalle. Opiskeluvalmennus toimii ennaltaehkäisevänä, tukea antavana sekä palveluihin ohjaavana palveluna kustannustehokkaasti. Valmentajien ja valmennettavien kokemus lyhytterapeuttisten menetelmien sovellettavuudesta opiskeluvalmennuksessa oli myönteinen. Niiden käyttöä ja edelleen kehittämistä kannattaa jatkaa kuntoutuksessa ja ohjauksessa.nonPeerReviewedVertaisarvioimato

Environmental Characteristics and Anthropogenic Impact Jointly Modify Aquatic Macrophyte Species Diversity

Species richness and spatial variation in community composition (i.e., beta diversity) are key measures of biodiversity. They are largely determined by natural factors, but also increasingly affected by anthropogenic factors. Thus, there is a need for a clear understanding of the human impact on species richness and beta diversity, the underlying mechanisms, and whether human-induced changes can override natural patterns. Here, we dissect the patterns of species richness, community composition and beta diversity in relation to different environmental factors as well as human impact in one framework: aquatic macrophytes in 66 boreal lakes in Eastern Finland. The lakes had been classified as having high, good or moderate status (according to ecological classification of surface waters in Finland) reflecting multifaceted human impact. We used generalized least square models to study the association between different environmental variables (Secchi depth, irregularity of the shoreline, total phosphorus, pH, alkalinity, conductivity) and species richness. We tested the null hypothesis that the observed community composition can be explained by random distribution of species. We used multivariate distance matrix regression to test the effect of each environmental variable on community composition, and distance-based test for homogeneity of multivariate dispersion to test whether lakes classified as high, good or moderate status have different beta diversity. We showed that environmental drivers of species richness and community composition were largely similar, although dependent on the particular life-form group studied. The most important ones were characteristics of water quality (pH, alkalinity, conductivity) and irregularity of the shoreline. Differences in community composition were related to environmental variables independently of species richness. Species richness was higher in lakes with higher levels of human impact. Lakes with different levels of human impact had different community composition. Between-lake beta diversity did not differ in high, good or moderate status groups. However, the variation in environmental variables shaping community composition was larger in lakes with moderate status compared to other lakes. Hence, beta diversity in lakes with moderate status was smaller than what could be expected on the basis of these environmental characteristics. This could be interpreted as homogenization

The relation of appraisal, coping efforts, and acuteness of trauma to PTS symptoms among former political prisoners

We examined how trauma‐specific appraisals and coping efforts mediate between traumatic experiences, acuteness of trauma, and length of imprisonment and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) among 103 Palestinian former political prisoners. The findings provide support for both direct and mediated models of trauma. The acuteness of trauma (time since release), appraisal of prison experience as harmful and involving loss, and use of both emotion‐ and problem‐focused coping efforts were associated with high levels of PTS symptoms. Torture and ill‐treatment had a direct association with intrusion, and recent release from prison with avoidance symptoms. Acuteness of trauma turned out to be important in the coping and symptom association: emotion‐focused coping was associated with a low level of PTS symptoms in the long run, whereas problem‐focused coping was associated with a low level of PTS

Trauma-related emotional patterns and their association with post-traumatic and somatic symptoms

Trauma-related emotional-experience patterns and their association with post-traumatic symptoms (PTS) and somatic symptoms were examined among 153 Palestinian political ex-prisoners. A multilevel measure was developed to depict cognitive appraisals, meta-evaluation, emotional action readiness and subjective feeling states. Cluster analysis revealed four major emotional patterns: two of them, 'Integrative' and 'Low intensity' turned out to be adaptive, and 'Ruminating alexithymic' and 'Depressive enactant' to be maladaptive, when their role in moderating between trauma and PTS was the criterion. The 'Depressive enacting' men showed generally more somatic symptoms, but the 'Ruminating alexithymic' men were the most vulnerable when exposed to a high level of trauma. The underlying mechanisms differentiating maladaptive emotional patterns from adaptive ones were the predominance of

The role of psychological defences in moderating between trauma and post-traumatic symptoms among Palestinian men

Psychological defences are conceptualized as protective processes that help individuals to maintain their integrity in the face of threat and danger. Accordingly, their role in defending trauma victims from post-traumatic symptoms was examined. The sample consisted of 128 Palestinian male political ex-prisoners who had reported various degrees of torture and ill-treatment. The first aim was to analyze the dimensionality and distribution of different defence mechanisms. The second was to examine which defences would moderate the association between the reported torture and ill-treatment and the post-traumatic symptoms (PTS). Third, the direct associations between reported torture and ill-treatment and defences and between the defences and symptoms were explored. Defence mechanisms were assessed by a 40-item version of the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ), and Post-traumatic symptoms by the

Environmental characteristics and anthropogenic impact jointly modify aquatic macrophyte species diversity

Abstract Species richness and spatial variation in community composition (i.e., beta diversity) are key measures of biodiversity. They are largely determined by natural factors, but also increasingly affected by anthropogenic factors. Thus, there is a need for a clear understanding of the human impact on species richness and beta diversity, the underlying mechanisms, and whether human-induced changes can override natural patterns. Here, we dissect the patterns of species richness, community composition and beta diversity in relation to different environmental factors as well as human impact in one framework: aquatic macrophytes in 66 boreal lakes in Eastern Finland. The lakes had been classified as having high, good or moderate status (according to ecological classification of surface waters in Finland) reflecting multifaceted human impact. We used generalized least square models to study the association between different environmental variables (Secchi depth, irregularity of the shoreline, total phosphorus, pH, alkalinity, conductivity) and species richness. We tested the null hypothesis that the observed community composition can be explained by random distribution of species. We used multivariate distance matrix regression to test the effect of each environmental variable on community composition, and distance-based test for homogeneity of multivariate dispersion to test whether lakes classified as high, good or moderate status have different beta diversity. We showed that environmental drivers of species richness and community composition were largely similar, although dependent on the particular life-form group studied. The most important ones were characteristics of water quality (pH, alkalinity, conductivity) and irregularity of the shoreline. Differences in community composition were related to environmental variables independently of species richness. Species richness was higher in lakes with higher levels of human impact. Lakes with different levels of human impact had different community composition. Between-lake beta diversity did not differ in high, good or moderate status groups. However, the variation in environmental variables shaping community composition was larger in lakes with moderate status compared to other lakes. Hence, beta diversity in lakes with moderate status was smaller than what could be expected on the basis of these environmental characteristics. This could be interpreted as homogenization