Revictimization in women experiencing domestic violence. The role of early maladaptive schemas

Wydział Psychologii i KognitywistykiPrezentowana praca badawcza miała dwa zasadnicze cele: (1) wskazać na psychospołeczne czynniki ryzyka rewiktymizacji u kobiet doznających przemocy w rodzinie, jak również (2) zweryfikować psychospołeczny mechanizm prowadzący do wystąpienia tego zjawiska. Przeprowadzono badanie na grupie 238 dorosłych kobiet. W badaniu użyto następujących kwestionariuszy: CTQ, CTS2-R, DES-II, YSQ-S3; SMI. Porównania międzygrupowe wskazały na dwa specyficzne czynniki ryzyka doświadczenia rewiktymizacji. Wyższe niż w grupach porównawczych nasilenie schematu nieufność/skrzywdzenie, jak również silniejsza tendencja do aktywizacji trybu podporządkowania się schematowi. Z kolei, wyniki analiz związków potwierdziły zakładane związki pomiędzy zmiennymi. Okazało się, że doświadczenie przemocy w dzieciństwie pozwala przewidzieć wystąpienie rewiktymizacji po uwzględnieniu 3 czynników, tj. nasilonych objawów zaburzeń dysocjacyjnych, schematu nieufność/skrzywdzenie, jak również trybu podporządkowania.The presented study had two primary objectives: (1) to identify psychosocial risk factors for revictimization in women experiencing domestic violence, as well as (2) to verify a hypothetical psychosocial mechanism leading to the occurrence of this phenomenon. The study was conducted on a group of 238 adult women. The following questionnaires were used in the study: CTQ, CTS2-R, DES-II, YSQ-S3; SMI. The conducted between-group comparisons indicated two specific risk factors for the experience of revictimization. A higher intensity of the mistrust/abuse schema than in the comparison groups, as well as a stronger tendency to activate the mode of submission to the schema. In turn, the results of the analyses of relationships confirmed the assumed relationships between variables. It turned out that the experience of violence in childhood can predict the occurrence of revictimization after taking into account 3 factors: the severity of symptoms of dissociative disorders, the mistrust/abuse schema, as well as the surrender schema mode

Gender differences in early maladaptive schemas development. Research conducted on a group of adolescents experiencing domestic violence

Doznawanie przemocy w rodzinie może prowadzić do poważnych następstw, szczególnie w grupie osób młodych o niedojrzałym aparacie psychicznym. W przeprowadzonych badaniach analizowano różnice płciowe w rozwoju wczesnych nieadaptacyjnych schematów w grupie nastolatków. Badania przeprowadzono w grupie 68 nastolatków w wieku 14–17 lat, którzy w rodzinie pochodzenia doświadczyli przemocy ze strony jednego z rodziców lub opiekunów. Osoby badane wypełniły Kwestionariusz traumy dziecięcej, Kwestionariusza schematów Younga i ankietę z danymi socjometrycznymi. Wykazano, że mimo zbliżonych wyników w formach i natężeniu doznawanej przemocy wystąpiły różnice płciowe w rozwoju wczesnych nieadaptacyjnych schematów. W grupie nastolatków płci męskiej, odmiennie niż u dziewczyn, odnotowano związek między doznawaniem przemocy a nasileniem schematów ze wszystkich pięciu kategorii. Ponadto zarówno wynik ogólny, jak i nasilenie schematów z kategorii słaba autonomia oraz nadmierna czujność i zahamowanie były znacząco wyższe w grupie męskiej.Domestic violence can lead to serious consequences, especially in the group of young people with immature mental apparatus. The study analysed gender differences in the development of early maladaptive schemas in the adolescent group. The study was conducted in a group of 68 teenagers aged between 14 and 17 years who experienced violence in their family of origin by one of their parents or caregivers. Respondents completed the Children’s Trauma Questionnaire, Young’s Schemas Questionnaire, and answered questions about sociometric data. The results showed that despite similarities in forms and intensity of violence, there were gender differences in the development of early maladaptive schemas. In a group of male adolescents, different from females, there was a correlation between the experience of violence and the intensity of the schemas in all five domains. Moreover, both the overall result and the intensity of the schemas in the categories of impaired autonomy and overvigilance / inhibition were significantly higher in the male group

Psychological Consequences of Experiencing Violence in Childhood—The Role of Dissociation in the Formation of Early Maladaptive Schemas

Childhood experiences of violence can lead to severe psychological consequences. One of them is an increased risk of abnormal personality development. It can manifest as rigid negativistic beliefs about the self, others, and the surrounding world, which some specialists term early maladaptive schemas. The conducted study aims to provide a possible explanation of the role dissociation plays in the process of forming early maladaptive schemas. The study was conducted on 342 adult women whose biographies contained one or more episodes of potentially traumatic experiences of violence in childhood. Three questionnaires were used: Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Dissociative Experiences Scale, Young Schema Questionnaire. The results show that experiences of violence are linked with dissociative disorders and the intensity of early maladaptive schemas. Mediation analysis confirmed that the relationship between experiencing violence and early maladaptive schemas is exacerbated by the presence of dissociative symptoms resulting from the violence experienced. The mediation analysis results suggest that if an experience of violence is followed by the emergence of dissociative symptoms, its impact on personality is more severe. This confirms earlier notions regarding the role that dissociative symptoms play in personality changes stemming from traumatic events

Determinants of health-related lifestyle. Comparative study of the functioning of young adults in 2003 and 2013

Background - Early adulthood is the developmental stage during which, for the first time, an individual can independently choose their own lifestyle. For the future health of a young adult, it is important that they incorporate healthy behaviors from different health dimensions (somatic, mental, social) into their lifestyle. Analyzing the foregoing issue gives rise to a fundamental question: did intensive social changes experienced after Poland’s accession to the European Union lead to changes in different aspects of a healthy lifestyle? Method - The presented study involved 504 people. The research data was collected in two separate measurements in 2003 (n = 284) and 2013 (n = 220). Subjects were asked to complete sets of questionnaires which measured: health behaviors, health beliefs, social influence, intention. Results - Statistical comparison of means tests and regression equations were conducted. Results demonstrate that young adults were similarly engaged in pro-health activities in both 2003 and 2013. A detailed analysis of health lifestyle factors shows that young adults from the 2013 group care more about their diet, physical activity, and more frequently undergo preventive medical health examinations. Moreover, significant changes in healthy lifestyle factors were reported. The most important observation concerned the changes in health beliefs. Beliefs derived from a holistic-functional model of health played a major role in the 2003 group, whereas in the 2013 group beliefs close to the biomedical model of health were more important. Conclusions - Analyses demonstrate changes in detailed healthy lifestyle factors. At the same time, no significant differences in global measures of concern for one’s health were observed. Importantly, results show modifications in healthy lifestyle factors. It is suggested that the observed differences stem from the social change of the last decade

Original article Coping with stress among Polish immigrants

BACKGROUND Opening the Western labour markets for Poles, a result of Poland’s accession to the European Union, led to mass economic emigration of thousands of Poles. Immigrants chose mostly the following English-speaking countries: Ireland, England and Scotland. Moving house and changing job is a challenge that needs to be dealt with. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE This study involved 239 people who emigrated to England, Scotland and Ireland. It was aimed at answering the following question: Do Polish immigrants in various countries experience varied stress levels and use varied strategies to cope with stress? RESULTS The conducted study showed differences in stress levels, depending on immigrants’ target country. There were also significant differences between strategies used to handle stress. Additionally, the study indentified factors influencing stress levels. Immigrants’ high stress levels were accompanied by stress management strategies focused on stressor avoidance, blaming as well as sense of one’s ineffectuality. CONCLUSIONS European English-speaking countries presents various challenges to immigrants. Observed dissimilarities in stress levels might stem from difference in size of cultural gap between the target and home country. Seeing that, cultural factors may significantly influence stress level perceived by immigrants, thus a question for further studies arises: what are specific cultural features significant in experiencing stress among immigrants? Answering to that question will give an unprecedented insights to demands of emigration and may lay a basis for future community support programs

Experience of being brought up by homosexual parents and risk of disorders in the child’s development

The article presents the results of the literature review on psychological functioning of children brought up by parents remaining in homosexual relationships. The main focus was on the research describing the specificity of the development context of this group of children and its significance for, alleged in broader social discourse, risk of disordered development. An answer was sought to the question whether children raised in homosexual families are significantly different from their peers in the risk of psychological disorders, and if so, which specific factors the risk is related to. Analysed were the reports from studies on large community samples, besides meta-analyses were used. Although most of the results were foreign, some native reports were also included, which could verify the possibility of applying these results to Polish families’ situation. The review allowed to describe two groups of factors that determine children’s development conditions in families formed by homosexuals. The first are universal factors, possible to identify in all families, regardless of gender and sexual orientation of caregivers. These are: quality and durability of partner relationship, stability of the upbringing environment, psychological well-being of caregivers, competence and commitment to parental role. The second are factors specific to families created by parents of homosexual identity. These include: the minority status of the couple, the lack or limitation of social acceptance and support for the partner relationship. The results of the review do not allow to draw general conclusions about an increased risk of disorders in the development and functioning of children raised by homosexual couples. The analysis also revealed a significant diversity in family contexts in which children of homosexual parents are grown up. The model of organizing data on family risk factors of disorders in children, used here in the literature review, appears to be a possible model of integrating diagnostic data in clinical work with children and their families.Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie wyników przeglądu literatury na temat funkcjonowania psychologicznego dzieci wychowywanych przez rodziców pozostających w związkach homoseksualnych. Skupiono się na badaniach przybliżających specyfikę kontekstu rozwoju tej grupy dzieci i jego znaczenia dla domniemywanego w szerszym dyskursie społecznym ryzyka zaburzenia ich rozwoju. Poszukiwano odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy dzieci wychowywane w rodzinach homoseksualnych znacząco różnią się od swoich rówieśników pod względem ryzyka zaburzeń funkcjonowania, a jeśli tak, z jakimi czynnikami owe ryzyko należałoby wiązać. Posłużono się doniesieniami z badań dużych prób populacyjnych, jak również badaniami o charakterze metaanaliz. Choć większość stanowiły publikacje zagraniczne, podjęto również działania w kierunku włączenia do analizy doniesień rodzimych, które mogłyby zweryfikować możliwość odniesienia wyników do warunków polskich. Zgromadzone wnioski pozwoliły na wyodrębnienie dwóch grup czynników, które determinują warunki wychowawcze w rodzinach tworzonych przez osoby homoseksualne. Pierwsza to czynniki uniwersalne, możliwe do opisania we wszystkich rodzinach, niezależnie od płci i orientacji seksualnej opiekunów. Są to: jakość i trwałość relacji partnerskiej, stabilność środowiska wychowawczego, dobrostan psychiczny opiekunów oraz kompetencje i zaangażowanie w rolę rodzica. Druga to czynniki specyficzne, charakterystyczne dla rodzin tworzonych przez rodziców o tożsamości homoseksualnej. Należą do nich mniejszościowy status pary oraz brak lub ograniczenie społecznej akceptacji i wsparcia dla relacji partnerów. Wyniki przeprowadzonej analizy badań nie pozwalają wyciągać generalnych wniosków o podwyższonym ryzyku wystąpienia zaburzeń rozwoju i funkcjonowania u dzieci wychowywanych przez homoseksualną parę. Jednocześnie wskazują na znaczące zróżnicowanie rodzinnych kontekstów, w których wychowywane są dzieci osób homoseksualnych. Wydaje się, iż użyty w przeglądzie literatury model porządkowania danych dotyczących rodzinnych czynników ryzyka zaburzeń może być wykorzystywany również w klinicznej pracy z dziećmi i ich rodzinami, przy integrowaniu danych diagnostycznych

Mental Health and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Toward Understanding the Emotional Status of People with Chronic Disease

Introduction. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term disorder significantly impairing the somatic, emotional, and psychological functioning of its sufferers. Previous research has shown that affected individuals are characterized by an increased level of anxiety and depression. Currently, there are two main treatment schemes for RA; the first uses anti-inflammatory drugs, and the second utilizes biologic agents. This begs the question whether sufferers differ in intensities of pain, anxiety, and depression depending on the type of treatment and what the determinants of these affective states in patients treated using different methods are. Methods. The study comprised 85 patients affected by RA (including 57 receiving biologically inactive medication). Research participants filled out a set of questionnaires measuring levels of anxiety and depression, intensity of experienced pain, strategies of coping with pain, and ego resiliency. Results. The collected data was analyzed through intergroup comparisons, calculating simple correlation coefficients, developing and solving regression equations. The results imply that the choice of treatment differentiates the intensity of pain experienced by patients. Those receiving biologic agents reported lower levels of pain compared to those taking anti-inflammatory medication. It has also been noted that there are distinct configurations of conditions conducive to anxiety and depression in both anti-inflammatory and biologic agent groups. Discussion. The observed constellation of dependencies between variables indicates that the choice of treatment scheme differentiates pain levels. This confirms the assumption that pain intensity, coping strategies, and ego resiliency depend on the severity of anxiety and depression