The impact of COVID-19 in women with intimate partner violence (IPV): a psychological and psychophysiological study

Domestic violence is characterized by coercive actions of various kinds (psychological, physical, sexual and economic) that persist over time; the chronicity of these same actions implies the development of short, medium and long term consequences that compromise the daily functioning of the woman. The aim of this study was to investigate, through a web Survey based on psychophysiological assessments, the relationship between the stress perceived with intimate partner violence and the dysfunctional coping strategies used during the pandemic phase 1 of the health emergency in Italy. The results highlighted a greater sensitivity to perceived stress, resulting in the use of dysfunctional strategies in the management of emergency situations. The levels of perceived anxiety are decreased. High levels of perceived stress produced effects in the management of the health emergency situation, consequences of behavioral, emotional, perceptual and psychophysiological nature (i.e, pain perception, sensory perception, sleep habits)

Intimate Partner Violence: a pilot study on olfactory perception, nociception and depression

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is defined as any kind of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occurs within the family or a domestic unit, including spouses, former spouses or partners. Recent studies have shown that in IPV there may be sensory, emotional and cognitive habituation or sensitization responses, elicited by chronic stress. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the IPV and the olfactory, nociceptive, emotional and cognitive responses. A pilot observational study was conducted on a group of 6 IPV women (mean age 44.8 ± 6), recruited through the ‘Centro Antiviolenza dell’Ambito Territoriale di Lecce – Renata Fonte’, and a group of 6 control women (44.7 ± 7), in order to analyze the behavioral differences in the functioning of the olfactory, emotional and nociceptive system. The following tests were administered: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI); the Scale for perceived stress; Pain Related Scale (PRS), a Visual analogic scale on perceived pain (VAS); the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ); the Sniffing Stick Test (lateralized version). Data analysis indicates that the IPV group has a reduced olfactory response, higher scores on the BDI; the nociceptive response, measured both through the VAS and the PRS, is significantly greater in the group with IPV. Confirming our previous study, women with IPV do not differ from control respect to the perceived level of stress. Instead, the beliefs, thoughts and cognitive patterns related to how the woman represents pain are significantly greater in the group with IPV, particularly with respect to the variables of “catastrophic” and “lack of help”. These data indicate that depression, perceptive olfactory response and nociception are strongly interrelated even in the disorder with IPV. This pilot study will allow us to subsequently evaluate the psychophysiological correlation between nociception and olfactory response (as indices of common subcortical pathways particularly linked to emotional aspects) in situations of chronic violence

Un’indagine sul ruolo delle inferenze nella comprensione del discorso narrativo

Questo studio mira a testare l’ipotesi secondo cui la comprensione del testo discorsivo verrebbe facilitata dalla capacità di identificare quegli indizi che all’interno di una storia segnalano il bisogno di compiere una inferenza (Cain & Oakhill, 1999). Due gruppi di bambini di 6 anni con normale sviluppo cognitivo e linguistico sono stati sottoposti a un compito di comprensione e ripetizione di una versione modificata della Frog Story ideata appositamente per questo studio. Il gruppo di controllo doveva ripetere la storia dopo averne ascoltato la trama letta da un esaminatore mentre ne visionava le immagini. Al gruppo sperimentale venivano poste delle domande volte a generare inferenze pertinenti per la storia in punti nevralgici del suo svolgimento. Dalle analisi condotte sulle storie ripetute dai due gruppi di bambini non è emersa alcuna differenza significativa nel numero di Unità Informative ed Episodi riportati. Pur non confermando ipotesi di Cain e Oakhill (1999), questi risultati vengono commentati alla luce di ipotesi correnti sulla natura della elaborazione testuale