Risk Recognition and Risk Perception in female victims of Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV), which includes any form of physical, psychological, or sexual violence, is a well-known problem with great consequences. Beyond the risk factors known in the literature, a number of studies focused on situational risk recognition (e.g. a violent behaviour in intimate relationship), on risk perception for future victimization and on factors that may impair these abilities. In terms of primary prevention, this thesis aimed to investigate the recognition of early signals of abuse in intimate relationships and its psycho-physiological correlates. Situational risk recognition has received considerable attention in the sexual assault literature, but has yet to be studied in interpersonal violence literature. So, in the first study of this thesis, situational risk recognition was examined in relation to the psychological and physical victimization in a representative sample of Italian female students. A total of 232 female students read a series of written scenarios depicting mostly psychologically aggressive encounters between heterosexual dating partners and made repeated judgments about the interactions. So, the first objective of this study was to determine retrospectively whether female victims of psychological and physical forms of intimate partner violence (IPV) displayed deficits in situational risk recognition compared to those who did not have. Results suggested that the history of psychological forms of IPV was associated with a deficient risk recognition ability, such that victims of psychological IPV were less likely to recognize the violent behaviours involved in the scenario vignette compared to no victims. The second objective of this study was to determine which factors, within an ecological approach to the study of IPV, may predict deficits in situational risk recognition in violent dating encounters. Results from this study suggested that the previous violence (physical and psychological) in intimate relationships, the supportive attitudes toward IPV and stereotypical beliefs about domestic violence predicted deficits in risk recognition. The second study mainly aimed to examine the physiological correlates of situational risk recognition in dating violent situations in young women. Victims and non-victims of psychological abuse read to a hypothetical date interaction and were asked to indicate their judgments about the interactions. Subjective and objective (physiological) measures of responding as well as a measure of risk recognition in reaction to the interactions were analyzed in a sample of 30 participants to evaluate both between and within-subjects’ differences. Results showed that, relative to non-victims, victims of psychological abuse displayed significant differences in objective measures of physiological reactivity that is victims displayed a decreased heart rate activity to a portion of the hypothetical interaction. This was the first attempt to study the relationship between the recognition of the risk in intimate partner violence and the physiological responses. Overall, the results indicated that altered physiological responding to relevant threat cues, as for non-victims, may be related to individuals’ ability to identify and react to threatening situations of psychological violence. In terms of secondary prevention of Intimate Partner violence, widely studied by psychologist and social workers are risk perceptions of recurrence of women battered. These perceptions represent components of most theories of health behaviour, but the relationship between these perceptions and protective behaviour over time such as leaving the abusive partner is unclear. In addition, limited research has investigated factors that are associated with perceived risk within an ecological approach. So, a longitudinal study on women battered was conducted (N=83) in order to understand firstly the factors that are associated with women battered’ risk perceptions and secondly which factors may be predictive of the stay/leave decision of the women after 12 months. Results indicated that among all factors considered at individual, interpersonal and system levels, depression, time of relationship and victim’s employment were greater predictors of a high risk perception more than previous history of abuse as well as of a formal and informal support. Further, high level of perceived personal risk predicted the women’s behaviour to leave their abusive partner after 12 months. Gratitude toward (ex) partner, instead, was found to be a risk factor toward stay/leave decision. Results are discussed as they may inform interventions preventing revictimization in IPV

Psychological abuse is not a problem! Exploring the role of domestic violence myths in psychological revictimization

Research provided evidence that IPV myths affect women’s acceptance of psychological aggression in intimate relationships, increasing revictimization. However, no study to date has investigated how endorsement of IPV myths leads victims of psychological IPV to accept psychological aggression. In the present study (N = 207 young Italian women involved in heterosexual romantic relationships), we assessed acceptance of IPV myths, prevalence of psychological abuse (in the past 12 months), perception of the problematic nature, and acceptance of psychological aggression in intimate relationships. Results showed that the effect of IPV myths on participants’ acceptance of psychological aggression was mediated by the tendency to consider psychological aggression as unproblematic. Notably, this effect was significant only for women who had experienced some form of psychological abuse by an intimate partner in the past 12 months. These findings have relevant implications for prevention strategies about risks of revictimization

The relationship between childhood interpersonal and non-interpersonal trauma and autobiographical memory: a systematic review

Childhood trauma can have negative effects on several domains of mental functioning, including Autobiographical Memory (AM). Conflicting results emerge in the scientific literature regarding the effects of childhood trauma on AM. In this review, we explored the relationship between the childhood trauma and AM, classifying childhood trauma as interpersonal, non-interpersonal and overall (interpersonal and non-interpersonal). We carried out a systematic literature review, following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA statement). From searching the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, we identified 48 studies conducted from 2014 to 2023, which were included when they: (a) were written in English, (b) investigated the relationship between AM and childhood trauma, (c) included a sample of children, adolescents, or adults who had experienced childhood interpersonal and/or non-interpersonal trauma. Of the 48 eligible studies, 29 referred to trauma of an interpersonal nature, 12 to trauma of a non-interpersonal nature, and 7 to overall trauma. Regarding the relationship between childhood trauma and AM, 24 studies found a negative relationship between childhood interpersonal trauma and AM; among the articles on non-interpersonal trauma, 10 studies found no relevant relationship; in the studies on overall trauma, 4 articles found negative relationship between overall trauma and AM. The literature explored in our systematic review supports the prevalence of a negative relationship between interpersonal childhood trauma and AM. This relationship is present regardless of psychiatric disorders (e.g., Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Personality Disorders), and in the presence of the latter, AM results even more fragmented. Future research should use more accurate methodologies in identifying and classifying childhood trauma in order to more precisely determine its effect on AM

Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Femicide–Suicide in Italy: An Ecological Approach

The present study investigated the intimate partner femicide (IPF) and intimate partner femicide–suicide (IPFS) perpetrators’ individual, relational, and contextual characteristics by analyzing, within the ecological approach, femicide cases that occurred in Italy from 2010 to 2019. On the topic, to date, scant studies examined possible differences between IPF and IPFS risk factors, and no studies have analyzed these factors by adopting an ecological systems model perspective. To this aim, archival research was carried out. Of a total of 1.207 femicides, 409 were IPF, and 227 were IPFS. Perpetrators’ age, level of employment, law enforcement membership, mental and/or physical illnesses, use of psychoactive substances, previous crimes, previous violent relationships, presence of children, previous violence in the couple, inability to accept the end of the relationship, quarrels and conflict, jealousy and the psychophysical illnesses of both authors and victims, as well as the use of firearms and victim’s request for help were analyzed. The results underlined the existence of different risk factors contributing to the IPF perpetrators’ decision to commit suicide such as perpetrators’ age, law enforcement membership, and firearm availability. These findings stress the need for specific risk assessment and management strategies for IPFS perpetrators

Femicide Fatal Risk Factors: A Last Decade Comparison between Italian Victims of Femicide by Age Groups

Femicide is a wide-spread lethal form of violence against women. Despite its diffusion, to date, very few studies analyzed possible victims’ age differences in regard to fatal risk factors for femicide. To this aim, we carried out archive research on Italian femicide cases in the last decade, by comparing prior types of violence suffered and motives for femicide, which are considered crucial fatal risk factors for femicide, across adolescent/young (15–24 years), adults (25–64 years) and older women (65–93 years). From 2010 to 2019 we found 1207 female victims. Characteristics of victims, perpetrators, and their relationship were consistent with those found by international studies and underlined that the majority of femicides were perpetrated by an intimate partner. The results regarding fatal risk factors comparisons across age groups showed the existence of significant differences regarding both types of violence suffered prior to femicide and motives for femicide. The results are discussed in terms of policy implication and intervention

The impact of internalized weight stigma on mental health and perceived stress in a sample of Italian women

Introduction: Overweight and obesity are pervasive clinical conditions resulting from several factors (i.e. biological, psychological, and socio-economic) that interact with behavior and lifestyle. Nevertheless, the false idea that individuals can totally control their bodies through dietary choices and physical activity is widespread. Unfortunately, those beliefs are also reinforced by health professionals and social media. This oversimplification increases self-related overweight stigma, defined as the internalization of negative stereotypes about overweight, with a noticeable impact on general quality of life. Aim: The purpose of the present study was to examine the negative impact of the internalized overweight stigma on mental health and perceived stress, controlling for body mass index (BMI) and other variables potentially related. Methods: Participants filled out three self-reported questionnaires including: the Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS) assessing internalized weight stigma and negative stereotypes about overweight; the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) measuring the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful; the Mental Component Summary index (MCS) of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Data about self-reported height and weight, hypertension and type 2 diabetes therapies were also collected. Results: A convenience sample of 3672 Italian women (Mage = 34.11, SD = 9.67) with a mean BMI of 28.89 (SD = 5.99) was recruited via social network. Two hierarchical linear regressions were conducted separately for MCS and PSS. The accounted variance is approximately 26% and 25%, respectively. BMI, hypertension and type 2 diabetes therapies were entered at the first step as control variables. Internalized weight stigma entered at the second step significantly impacted on MCS scores (β = -0.509, p < 0.001) and PSS scores (β = 0.515, p < 0.001). Discussion and conclusions: Results show that internalized weight stigma may predict lower mental health and higher level of perceived stress, even after controlling for BMI and other confounders. This may have several implications for clinical practice (i.e., promoting specific strategies to reduce patients’ negative attitudes and beliefs about their own weight) and for the development of prevention programs to reduce weight stigma among the general public

Le strutture e lo scarico di olle del Puntone Nuovo di Scarlino (GR), e i siti costieri specializzati della protostoria medio tirrenica

Il riesame complessivo di una serie di siti costieri del Bronzo finale-prima età del ferro (XI-VIII sec. a.C.) dell'Italia mediotirrenica caratterizzati da strutture di combustione, bacini per l'evaporazione dell'acqua marina, scarichi di frammenti di olle di colore rossiccio/arancio, evidenzia una similarità funzionale con i siti europei c.d. a briquetage, permettendo dunque di ipotizzarne una funzione legata alla produzione del sale. L'articolo comprende una sintesi generale sui complessi archeologici di questo tipo presenti nell'area mediotirrenica, che ne evidenzia la correlazione con l'avvio dei processi di urbanizzazione, e l'edizione dei risultati di uno scavo praticato a Scarlino (Toscana, GR) in un sito costiero che ha restituito strutture di combustione e scarichi di frammenti di olle, di cui viene presentato lo studio analitico dal punto di vista archeologico e minero-petrografico

Victim’s Perception of Quality of Help and Support by the Police Issuing Warnings Orders in Ex Intimate Partner Stalking Cases in Italy

Stalking among intimate partner is a vicious crime for the police to deal. Several aspects make the police work in intimate partner stalking (IPS) cases demanding for best actions: risk of escalation, reluctance of the victim to report, minimization by the police of impact of stalking, and lack of police skills in non-specialized trained units, increasing risk of secondary victimization. Dedicated types of protective orders (POs) such as warning measures are forms of administrative preventive measures the police can apply in stalking cases. Victims’ perspectives on the efficacy and usefulness of these types of POs and the relationship between their use and the way victims report their experience with the police has been rarely investigated. The current study, conducted with 130 Italian victims of IPS who applied for—and obtained —a police warning measure for the stalker, aimed at looking at the efficacy of such measures and at assessing victims’ perception of police work, based on victims’ perspective and not on the police records on breaching orders. Results indicate that compared with the official police statistics on recidivism rates in stalking cases, the proportion of breaching orders reported by the victims is higher than official data, with over 50% of victims reporting after 1 year they were still stalked. Victims report an overall positive experience with the police and results show a significant relationship between positive experience with the police and perceived efficacy of police work. Results are discussed for purposes of improving training programmes

The role of partner forgiveness in Intimate Partner violence

The aim of the current longitudinal study is to explore the role of partner forgiveness on re-victimisation and women well-being. We expect that: 1) forgiveness mediated by the intention to return with the partner, predict woman re-victimisation at time two; 2) unforgiveness is negatively associated to women well-being over tim