Treatment effectiveness for male intimate partner violence perpetrators depending on problematic alcohol use

Background: Problematic alcohol use (PAU) is highly correlated with intimate partner violence perpetration (IPV). However, when treatments for male IPV perpetrators that address alcohol consumption are evaluated, the results are varied. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to assess the differential long-term effectiveness of a standard individual treatment programme for male IPV perpetrators depending on the presence of PAU. Methods: The sample was composed of 641 male IPV perpetrators who completed a specialized individual treatment programme for gender violence perpetrators. All of the participants were followed for one year after treatment completion. Results: The effects of PAU on treatment success were evaluated by means of multiple logistic regression analyses. The full model was reliable (χ2 = 10.243; df = 3; p = .016), and overall, 88.8% of the predictions were accurate. The findings indicated that the probability of successful treatment does not depend on the presence of PAU. Conclusions: The relationship between IPV perpetration and PAU is highly complex, and several underlying mechanisms should be further evaluated. Accordingly, interventions should not only screen for alcohol consumption but also for all individual characteristics that might necessitate tailored treatment

Sexual Functioning, Desire, and Satisfaction in Women with TBI and Healthy Controls

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can substantially alter many areas of a person\u27s life and there has been little research published regarding sexual functioning in women with TBI. Methods. A total of 58 women (29 with TBI and 29 healthy controls) from Neiva, Colombia, participated. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in sociodemographic characteristics. All 58 women completed the Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire (SQoL), Female Sexual Functioning Index (FSFI), Sexual Desire Inventory (SDI), and the Sexual Satisfaction Index (ISS). Results. Women with TBI scored statistically significantly lower on the SQoL (p \u3c 0.001), FSFI subscales of desire (p \u3c 0.05), arousal (p \u3c 0.05), lubrication (p \u3c 0.05), orgasm (p \u3c 0.05), and satisfaction (p \u3c 0.05), and the ISS (p \u3c 0.001) than healthy controls. Multiple linear regressions revealed that age was negatively associated with some sexuality measures, while months since the TBI incident were positively associated with these variables. Conclusion. These results disclose that women with TBI do not fare as well as controls in these measures of sexual functioning and were less sexually satisfied. Future research is required to further understand the impact of TBI on sexual function and satisfaction to inform for rehabilitation programs

Longitudinal Growth Curve Trajectories of Family Dynamics after Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury in Mexico

Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents a serious public health concern. Family members are often caregivers for children with TBI, which can result in a significant strain on familial relationships. Research is needed to examine aspects of family functioning in the context of recovery post-TBI, especially in Latin America, where cultural norms may reinforce caregiving by family members, but where resources for these caregivers may be scarce. This study examined caregiver-reported family satisfaction, communication, cohesion, and flexibility at three time points in the year post-injury for 46 families of a child with TBI in comparison to healthy control families. Families experiencing pediatric TBI were recruited from a large hospital in Guadalajara, Mexico, while healthy controls were recruited from a local educational center. Results from multilevel growth curve models demonstrated that caregivers of children with a TBI reported significantly worse family functioning than controls at each assessment. Families experiencing pediatric TBI were unable to attain the level of functioning of controls during the time span studied, suggesting that these families are likely to experience long-term disruptions in family functioning. The current study highlights the need for family-level intervention programs to target functioning for families affected by pediatric TBI who are at risk for difficulties within a rehabilitation context.This study was supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affiliations Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment, the Medical Research Service of the Veterans Affairs Central Virginia Health Care System, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC). Ramos-Usuga, D. was supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the Basque Government (PRE_2019_1_0164)

Group-level progressive alterations in brain connectivity patterns revealed by diffusion-tensor brain networks across severity stages in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronically progressive neurodegenerative disease highly correlated to aging. Whether AD originates by targeting a localized brain area and propagates to the rest of the brain across disease-severity progression is a question with an unknown answer. Here, we aim to provide an answer to this question at the group-level by looking at differences in diffusion-tensor brain networks. In particular, making use of data from Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), four different groups were defined (all of them matched by age, sex and education level): G1 (N1 = 36, healthy control subjects, Control), G2 (N2 = 36, early mild cognitive impairment, EMCI), G3 (N3 = 36, late mild cognitive impairment, LMCI) and G4 (N4 = 36, AD). Diffusion-tensor brain networks were compared across three disease stages: stage I (Control vs. EMCI), stage II (Control vs. LMCI) and stage III (Control vs. AD). The group comparison was performed using the multivariate distance matrix regression analysis, a technique that was born in genomics and was recently proposed to handle brain functional networks, but here applied to diffusion-tensor data. The results were threefold: First, no significant differences were found in stage I. Second, significant differences were found in stage II in the connectivity pattern of a subnetwork strongly associated to memory function (including part of the hippocampus, amygdala, entorhinal cortex, fusiform gyrus, inferior and middle temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus and temporal pole). Third, a widespread disconnection across the entire AD brain was found in stage III, affecting more strongly the same memory subnetwork appearing in stage II, plus the other new subnetworks, including the default mode network, medial visual network, frontoparietal regions and striatum. Our results are consistent with a scenario where progressive alterations of connectivity arise as the disease severity increases and provide the brain areas possibly involved in such a degenerative process. Further studies applying the same strategy to longitudinal data are needed to fully confirm this scenario

Relationship between caregivers’ perception of Traumatic brain injury symptoms and caregiver’s mental health

Objetivo: Determinar si existe una relación entre la percepción que tiene el cuidador de los síntomas que presentan los pacientes con traumatismos craneoencefálicos (TCE) y su salud mental. Participantes: Se entrevistó a 50 cuidadores de individuos con TCE de la ciudad de Barranquilla, Colombia, a quienes se les aplicó la escala de satisfacción con la vida, la versión en español del Patient Health Questionary-9, la escala de sobrecarga de Zarit, la escala de autoestima de Rosenberg, el inventario de ansiedad estado-rasgo y un cuestionario de 22 preguntas que evaluó la percepción de síntomas del individuo con TCE, compuesto por cuatro grupos de síntomas: cognitivos, neuroconductuales, físicos y sociales. Resultados: Los análisis de correlación canónica revelaron que a mayor número de síntomas que se perciben en el paciente, peor es la salud mental que tienen los cuidadores, específicamente se encontró que a mayor percepción de síntomas neuroconductuales en el paciente mayor sobrecarga, mayor depresión y menor autoestima en el cuidador. Conclusiones: Los resultados sugieren la necesidad de desarrollar e implementar programas de intervención psicoterapéutica, así como terapia de rehabilitación cognitiva, con el fin de reducir o eliminar los problemas neuroconductuales en personas con TCE en Colombia. De igual forma, es importante el diseño de intervenciones que trabajen de manera paralela con los cuidadores y familiares para orientarlos respecto al impacto que puede tener el TCE tanto en la vida del paciente, como en la familia, brindándoles, además, herramientas para manejar la aparición de problemas emocionales, como la depresión, la baja autoestima y la sobrecarga.ABSTRACT: Objective: To determine the system of connections between mental health and symptoms perception of caregivers of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Barranquilla, Colombia. Participants: 50 caregivers of individuals with TBI completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale, PHQ-9 (depression), Zarit Burden Interview, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and a 22-question TBI symptoms perception inventory composed of four component areas: cognitive symptoms, neurobehavioral symptoms, physical symptoms and social symptoms. Results: A canonical correlation analysis revealed that the higher the caregivers’ symptoms perception, the worse their mental health was, with the effect reaching a large-sized effect. Furthermore, a pattern emerged linking caregivers’ higher perception of neurobehavioral symptoms to higher caregivers’ burden, depression, and lower self-esteem. Conclusions: These findings suggest the need for rehabilitation health professionals to develop and implement culturally-appropriate interventions to reduce neurobehavioral symptoms in people with TBI, interventions to improve self-steem, reduce depression symptoms, and burden in Colombian caregivers of individuals with TBI