The Mediating Role of Self-Blame in the Relationship between Alcohol Intoxication, Bystander Intervention and PTSD Symptoms Following a Sexual Assault

Introduction: Sexual assault (SA) incidents are common. One in five women will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime (NSVRC, 2015); some will experience Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because of SA experiences (Resnick et al., 1993). Further, approximately two-thirds of all cases of sexual assault involve consumption of alcohol by the victim, perpetrator, or both (Testa & Livingston, 2009). Previous research has been dedicated to delineating cognitive and situational factors surrounding SA occurrences that contribute to risk for developing PTSD (Jaffe et al., 2013; Peter-Hagene & Ullman, 2018). Peter-Hagene and Ullman (2018) found that SA survivors that engage in more self-blame exhibit more PTSD symptoms (PTSS). Though bystanders are often present before an SA (Haikalis et al., 2018), little is known about bystanders’ presence (vs. absence) impact on a survivor\u27s mental health outcomes (Hamby et al., 2016). Further, no research to date has investigated both the role of self-blame in the relationship between victim alcohol intoxication/bystander presence (vs. absence) and PTSS. We hypothesized that SA survivor self-blame would mediate the association between alcohol intoxication/bystander presence (vs. absence) and severity of PTSS. Methods: Participants were 237 female college students ages of 18 to 25 (Mage=19.02, SDage=1.24; 81.4% Caucasian) with a lifetime history of SA (i.e., attempted or completed SA and rape on the revised SES) who completed an online survey. Participants reported on their subjective intoxication during the SA, bystander involvement and victim outcomes (Hamby et al., 2016), self-blame (RAQ; Frazier, 2003), and PTSS (PCL-5; Weathers, 2013). Results: PTSS and self-blame were positively correlated, r(234)=.473, p=.001. Participants who reported a bystander was present during the SA did not significantly differ from those who reported no bystanders were present in mean PTSS, F(1,229)=.247, p=.619, or self-blame, F(1,228)=2.588, p=.109. Similarly, mean PTSS, F(1,234)= .560, p=.692, and self-blame, F(1,233)= .492, p= .741, did not significantly differ between participants who endorsed being intoxicated (vs. not intoxication) during the SA. Mediation analysis suggested that while self-blame was positively associated with PTSS, β=-.465, pp=.116, and PTSS, β=-.039, p=.793, and self-blame did not statistically mediate the association between bystander presence and PTSS, β=-.121, 95% CI=-0.270 to 0.028. Additionally, alcohol intoxication was found to be unrelated to self-blame β=-.279, p =.442, and self-blame did not mediate the relationship between victim alcohol intoxication and PTSS, partially standardized indirect effect =-.0152, 95% bootstrapped confidence interval (CI)=-.054 to .026. Conclusions: These results suggest that the presence of bystanders during an SA and victim alcohol intoxication was unrelated to self-blame, and consequently PTSS severity. However, the positive association between self-blame and PTSS is consistent with prior findings (Peter-Hagene & Ullman, 2018) and suggests that self-blame attributions following SA could be an intervention target

Qualified Immunity: How Mississippi’s District Courts Have Shown Why The Doctrine Should Be Done Away With

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine created by the Supreme Court that has allowed police officers to violate people’s rights without fear of consequences. This doctrine protects all but the completely incompetent or those who violate people’s rights knowingly. The original intent of the Supreme Court was to prevent overdeterrence of police officers because of insubstantial lawsuits from being brought against them. This has backfired and now it seems that officers are under deterred because they are often simply placed on administrative leave with little to no consequences. The United States has seen numerous protests in just the last year in response to police killing innocent, unarmed black people. These preventable killings have gone largely unpunished, with the most common consequences being that officers are put on administrative leave which is hardly a consequence. If an officer does end up in court in a civil suit they can avoid being personally liable for their actions by asserting a qualified immunity defense – another of the few simple consequences officers may face. Qualified immunity allows officers to escape financial responsibility in civil suits and is almost always granted (Chung, Hurley, Botts, Januta, & Gomez 2020). This research will examine qualified immunity in the district courts of Mississippi to support the argument that the doctrine should be dismantled by the Supreme Court

The Impact of Interactive Shared Book Reading on Children's Language Skills: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose Research has indicated that interactive shared book reading can support a wide range of early language skills and that children who are read to regularly in the early years learn language faster, enter school with a larger vocabulary, and become more successful readers at school. Despite the large volume of research suggesting interactive shared reading is beneficial for language development, two fundamental issues remain outstanding: whether shared book reading interventions are equally effective (a) for children from all socioeconomic backgrounds and (b) for a range of language skills. Method To address these issues, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effects of two 6-week interactive shared reading interventions on a range of language skills in children across the socioeconomic spectrum. One hundred and fifty children aged between 2;6 and 3;0 (years;months) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a pause reading, a dialogic reading, or an active shared reading control condition. Results The findings indicated that the interventions were effective at changing caregiver reading behaviors. However, the interventions did not boost children's language skills over and above the effect of an active reading control condition. There were also no effects of socioeconomic status. Conclusion This randomized controlled trial showed that caregivers from all socioeconomic backgrounds successfully adopted an interactive shared reading style. However, while the interventions were effective at increasing caregivers' use of interactive shared book reading behaviors, this did not have a significant impact on the children's language skills. The findings are discussed in terms of practical implications and future research. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12420539

Extended amygdala-parabrachial circuits alter threat assessment and regulate feeding

An animal\u27s evolutionary success depends on the ability to seek and consume foods while avoiding environmental threats. However, how evolutionarily conserved threat detection circuits modulate feeding is unknown. In mammals, feeding and threat assessment are strongly influenced by the parabrachial nucleus (PBN), a structure that responds to threats and inhibits feeding. Here, we report that the PBN receives dense inputs from two discrete neuronal populations in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), an extended amygdala structure that encodes affective information. Using a series of complementary approaches, we identify opposing BNST-PBN circuits that modulate neuropeptide-expressing PBN neurons to control feeding and affective states. These previously unrecognized neural circuits thus serve as potential nodes of neural circuitry critical for the integration of threat information with the intrinsic drive to feed

Two decades of community-based conservation yield valuable insights into marine turtle nesting ecology

For the Western Indian Ocean region, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding marine turtle nesting on the continental coast of East Africa. Here we present results from a long-term (2000-2020) community-based monitoring programme in and around Watamu Marine National Park, Kenya, covering 30 km of coastline (c. 6% of the national total). Conservation actions effectively protected nesting turtles and resulted in a near-total cessation of illegal egg harvesting in Watamu Marine National Park. Collected data indicate this is an important marine turtle nesting index site in Kenya and the wider region. Green turtle Chelonia mydas nests were most common (95%), followed by olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea (4%), with occasional nests of hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata and leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea. Clutches per season increased significantly over the 20-year monitoring period for green turtles (50%) and showed a positive trend for olive ridley turtles. Watamu remains an area at risk from human pressures such as coastal development. Clutch distribution along the Watamu Marine National Park beach has shifted over time, probably because of coastal development and disturbance. Illegal take of adults and eggs continues in areas north and south of the Watamu Marine National Park, possibly slowing rates of recovery. Clutches deemed at risk were moved to a safe location within the National Park, and hatching success was high. Continued conservation efforts, including wider engagement with stakeholders to reduce human pressures, are needed to ensure the perpetuation of this nesting site.Peer reviewe