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Identifying and contrasting different patterns of intimate partner violence (IPV) (e.g. situational couple violence, coercive controlling violence) is useful for understanding IPV and its connections with health. Applying this approach to dissociation may be fruitful, given theoretical perspectives that predict a specific connection between coercive controlling violence and dissociative symptoms. To address this, community women with divorce histories (N = 188) completed measures to identify patterns of IPV victimization in prior relationships (no direct violence, situational couple violence, coercive controlling violence), and to quantify recent dissociative symptoms and number of depressed days, for comparison. Contrary to predictions, the predicted odds of recent dissociative symptoms did not differ between women who experienced situational couple violence versus coercive controlling violence. However, the latter group had greater odds of recent dissociative symptoms, but not depressed days, compared to women with no histories of direct violence. Further, a continuous measure of coercive control was uniquely associated with increased odds of dissociative symptoms. This study provides preliminary empirical support for a connection between coercive controlling violence and dissociative symptoms, compared to women without histories of direct violence. This deserves further attention given the strong theoretical rationale for this link, and the importance of dissociation for mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longitudinal studies are critical to understanding health changes following trauma. The present systematic review adopted a longitudinal perspective on intimate partner abuse (IPA) by examining characteristics and findings of studies that followed persons who recently left an abusive relationship or who were at a point where they might leave and reported on health over time. Web of Science, EBSCO, Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress, and PubMed databases were searched using combinations of terms reflecting IPA, longitudinal study design, and health outcomes. Quantitative studies that recruited adults or adolescents, had multiple time points, used a health indicator as an outcome, and where IPA was a predictor, independent variable, or inclusion criterion were included. These methods yielded 36 studies from 20 unique samples. The following domains were coded for each article: citation, demographics, risk of bias, sample setting, design, follow-up, relationship and IPA characteristics, outcomes, and analytic focus. Results showed that all samples were female, and most were help-seeking. Depression, post-traumatic stress, and physical symptoms decreased over time, while quality of life increased in most studies. Changes in anxiety symptoms over time were less consistent. Ongoing IPA and social support were the most consistent predictors of health changes over time, showing relations with indicators of poorer or better health, respectively. There was preliminary evidence that decreases in emotional and physical symptoms plateaued within 9 months of the baseline assessment. Sampling, study design, measurement, and analysis are considered, and recommendations for future research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyvictimization, defined as the experience of multiple types of trauma, shows stronger associations with a range of mental health problems than less pervasive patterns of trauma exposure. Emotion dysregulation has been posited as one factor that may account for observed links between polyvictimization and mental health problems. Accordingly, the current study used latent class analysis to identify patterns of trauma exposure and examine their associations with emotion dysregulation and mental health symptoms. Undergraduates (N = 298) completed a cross-sectional survey of trauma exposure, recent mental health symptoms, and emotion dysregulation. Results revealed a predominately non-interpersonal trauma class (18%), a moderate exposure class (71%), and a polyvictimized class (11%). Polyvictims reported more trauma types, more symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTS), depression, and anxiety, and more difficulties with emotion regulation than the other two classes. Relative to the predominately non-interpersonal class, a statistically significant indirect effect of trauma exposure on PTS, depression, and anxiety symptoms via emotion dysregulation was observed for polyvictims but not for the moderate exposure class. Although limited by sole reliance on cross-sectional, self-report data, these findings suggest that the pathways linking trauma exposure and mental health symptoms may differ as a function of the pattern of victimization experienced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peritraumatic emotions are implicated in the elevated health risks associated with interpersonal trauma, but they have not been widely studied in the context of intimate partner abuse (IPA). To address this, community women with divorce histories completed IPA measures, along with an interview to assess posttraumatic stress symptoms and both DSM-IV A2 emotions (yes/no) and other emotions (free response) experienced during worst incidents of IPA. Anxiety/fright, helplessness, and horror were highly prevalent. Lexical analysis of the words women used to describe their other emotions revealed that anger and shame were the most prevalent, followed by dissociation and sadness. As predicted, chronicity of direct assault and frequency of verbal/emotional abuse showed significant, positive correlations with peritraumatic dissociation, and peritraumatic shame showed significant, positive correlations with current symptoms of effortful avoidance. Also, a negative correlation between frequency of dominance/isolation abuse – an indicator of coercive control – and peritraumatic anger approached statistical significance. Although limited by the cross-sectional, retrospective design, results contribute to the understanding of peritraumatic emotions in the context of IPA, and motivate continued efforts to examine their roles in the elevated health risks of interpersonal trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrating personal experiences helps people make sense of them and contributes to improved well-being. However, little is known about how people recount stressful experiences that are interpersonal in nature. In this study, middle-aged North American women (N = 36), with lifetime histories of victimization, provided accounts of a recent stressful interpersonal event. High Point Analysis was applied to analyze the narratives. The majority (55%) of narratives were characterized by extensive evaluative content, categorized as End at High Point. The next most common (38%) category of responses were Emotional Narratives, characterized by a concentration of evaluative statements with little or no complicating action. Thus, participants' memories of their stressful interpersonal events were caught in an unresolved, emotionally charged, limbo. Results reveal a novel approach to analyzing narratives of interpersonal stressors, and shed light on the relationship between victimization histories and narration of interpersonal experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: To better understand how trauma leads to poor health, this study examined whether cumulative trauma and emotion reactivity contribute to pro- (IL-1β) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) salivary cytokine levels after stress.Design: Seventy-three women, screened to be physically and mentally healthy, completed an acute stress paradigm and measures of lifetime trauma exposure.Method: Saliva was collected 10 min before (i.e., baseline) and 35 min after the onset of a 10-min stressor. State negative and positive emotion were measured at baseline and post-stress.Results: Most participants reported exposure to at least one trauma, with a mean of five. Cumulative trauma was associated with higher post-stress IL-1β and IL-1β/IL-10, but not with IL-10 or changes in emotion. Declines in positive emotion correlated with greater post-stress IL-1β.Conclusions: These findings suggest that both cumulative trauma exposure and positive emotion have implications for salivary cytokine responses to acute stress. The inclusion of healthy women strengthens internal validity, and increases confidence that observed associations between trauma and salivary cytokine responses can be attributed to trauma, rather than to confounding health problems. This study adds to the growing literature examining how trauma may connect to cytokines, and ultimately, poor health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Society for Behavioral Medicine (SBM) urges restoration of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding for firearms and gun violence prevention research. Gun violence in the United States is an important and costly public health issue in need of research attention. Unfortunately, there have been no concerted CDC-funded research efforts in this area since 1996, due to the passage of the Dickey Amendment. To remedy the information-gathering restrictions caused by the Dickey Amendment bans, it is recommended that Congress remove 'policy riders' on federal appropriations bills that limit firearms research at the CDC; expand NVDRS firearms-related data collection efforts to include all fifty states; fund CDC research on the risk and protective factors of gun use and gun violence prevention; fund research on evidence-based primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and treatment initiatives for communities that are seriously impacted by the effects of gun violence; and support the development of evidence-based policy and prevention recommendations for gun use and ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-sectional study compared the prevalence of formal and informal sheltering (i.e., staying in an agency shelter, or with friends/family, respectively) and evaluated associations with abuse severity. Community women (N = 197) with divorce histories reported on lifetime intimate partner abuse, including sheltering for safety. Prevalence of informal sheltering (43%) exceeded that of formal sheltering (11%). Rates/levels of coercive control, severe violence, injury, and police involvement were comparable for women who sheltered formally or informally, and exceeded those of women who never sheltered. Sheltering histories can be identified in community samples of women with divorce histories. Informal sheltering is prevalent, and comparable to formal sheltering in terms of correlations with abuse severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Rumination is a correlate of increased posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. This study quantitatively reviewed the literature on rumination and PTS symptoms in trauma-exposed adults, extending prior research by using an inclusive definition of trauma, addressing PTS symptom clusters, and conducting moderator analyses.Method: Searches were conducted in PsycINFO, PubMed, PILOTS, EBSCO Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, Google Scholar, and Dissertation Abstracts. Sixty-four unique samples from 59 articles were included.Results: Results showed a moderate, positive relationship between rumination and PTS symptoms (r = .50, p < .001). This was not moderated by time since trauma, gender, prior trauma history, Criterion A congruence of events, type of rumination or PTS symptom measure, or sample setting. However, trauma-focused rumination yielded smaller effect sizes than trait rumination. The association between rumination and intrusive re-experiencing was stronger than that between rumination and avoidance (t (13) = 9.18, p < .001), or rumination and hyperarousal (t (9) = 2.70, p = .022).Conclusions: Results confirm that rumination is associated with increased PTS symptoms. Future research should identify mechanisms underlying this association and their potential specificity by symptoms cluster, as well as further examine the potential moderating roles of gender and prior trauma history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stress-reactivity of the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10, in saliva and to determine how salivary IL-10 levels change in relation to those of IL-1β, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, following stress. Healthy young adults were randomly assigned to retrieve a negative emotional memory (n = 46) or complete a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (n = 45). Saliva samples were taken 10 min before (baseline) and 50 min after (post-stressor) onset of a 10-min stressor, and were assayed using a high sensitivity multiplex assay for cytokines. Measurable IL-10 levels (above the minimum detectable concentration) were found in 96% of the baseline samples, and 98% of the post-stressor samples. Flow rate-adjusted salivary IL-10 levels as well as IL-1β/IL-10 ratios showed moderate but statistically significant increases in response to stress. Measurement of salivary IL-10 and pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokine ratios may be useful, noninvasive tools, in stress research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A marital status of divorced or separated, as opposed to married, predicts increased risk of health problems, but not for all persons. Focusing on one established health risk that has been linked with divorce—poor subjective sleep quality—the present cross-sectional study examined whether a history of physical intimate partner victimization (IPV) helps identify divorced women at potentially greater risk of health problems. Community midlife women with divorce histories, all of whom were free of current IPV, reported on their past month sleep quality and lifetime IPV. The predicted odds of poor sleep quality were significantly greater for women with, versus without, IPV histories. This held after adjusting for socioemotional, medical, or sociodemographic risks. A dose–response relationship between IPV chronicity and poor quality sleep was observed. IPV history may help identify divorced women at increased risk of poor quality sleep and, more broadly, poor health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lifetime occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in women has been associated with increased prevalence of aging-related chronic diseases, including those with a pathophysiology involving inflammation. To begin to identify potential biologic mediators of this relationship, this cross-sectional study examined associations between past IPV and circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6)-measures linked with emergence of aging-related diseases-along with in vitro IL-6 production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated with either phytohemagglutinin A (PHA) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Methods: Apparently healthy, midlife women with divorce histories were recruited from the community. Histories of intimate partner psychological aggression, physical assault, sexual coercion, and stalking were assessed, along with current depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and health-related characteristics. At two visits, blood was drawn for assessment of biologic measures; measures were averaged across visits. Results: In this sample ( n=68), a history of being stalked was significantly positively correlated with CRP levels; in a multiple regression analysis that included body mass index (BMI) and current symptoms, this association was attenuated by adjusting for BMI. Physical assault history was significantly negatively correlated with PHA-stimulated IL-6 production. This was most apparent for severe assault and was not accounted for by BMI or symptoms. Conclusions: IPV histories remitted for an average of 10 years were associated with biologic mediators of inflammation. The profile was not uniformly proinflammatory, suggesting that in situations of traumatic or chronic stress, different aspects of the inflammatory response are differentially regulated and subjected to diverse compensatory mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses ways in which health may be improved, including quality of subjective sleep, depressive symptoms, and inflammation.

This study examined emotion occurrence, intensity, and variability in the natural environment in a sample of women with histories of interpersonal victimization. Using paper-and-pencil diaries, women rated emotion experiences (joyful/happy, sad, angry, anxious, tense! frustrated, worried) over an average of 13 hr. Posttraumatic stress symptom severity was uniquely correlated with greater intensity and variability, but not occurrence, of certain negative emotions, and with less frequent occurrence but greater variability of joy/happiness. Intrusive reexperiencing was uniquely associated with greater variability of both anxiety and joy/happiness. Results suggest that women with more severe posttraumatic stress symptoms do not experience more episodes of negative emotion but, once emotion occurs, they have difficulty modulating its intensity. Problems with emotions may motivate treatment seeking among traumatized individuals, and such problems may endure even when PTSD symptoms per se remit. This underscores the potential practical implications of naturalistic studies of emotion among individuals who have experienced psychological trauma.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined prevalence of lack of a close confidant in a medically underserved primary care sample, and evaluated demographic, medical, and psychological correlates of patients' deficits in close, personal contact. Adult patients (n = 413) reported on confidant status and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Sociodemographic and medical information were obtained through chart review. One-quarter of patients endorsed lack of a close confidant. Past month anxiety and depression symptoms, but not medical status, were associated with unmet socioemotional needs. Implications for primary healthcare interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined connections between self-reported experiences of interpersonal mistreatment and cardiovascular responses during laboratory dyadic interactions. One hundred and eight unacquainted participants were paired to form 54 opposite-gender, same-ethnicity (22 African American and 32 European American) dyads. Blood pressure and heart rate responses were monitored while dyads participated in three 4-minute problem-solving focused interactions. Multilevel modeling revealed significant, positive associations between frequency of interpersonal mistreatment and systolic and diastolic resting blood pressure levels among African American men and European American women. Among all women, significant and positive associations were observed between mistreatment and diastolic blood pressure reactivity assessed during the problem-solving focused interactions. Results highlight interpersonal mistreatment as a potential contributor to cardiovascular functioning for both men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive research supports the biopsychosocial model, but the current health care system generally operates according to a model of mind-body dualism. Integrated primary behavioral health care offers an alternative to this dualism. This paper describes the University of Louisville Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) program, a pre-doctoral integrated primary behavioral health care training program. This program emphasizes four shared psychosocial determinants that have been associated with physical health status: Victimization and potentially traumatic stress exposure, emotional functioning, social relationship functioning, and illness representations. It does so within the broader context of providing care for individuals who are underserved and economically disadvantaged. The initial phase of the program is evaluated and implications for graduate psychology education and patient care are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associations between trait dominance and cardiovascular reactivity were examined in previously unacquainted healthy men and women. Subjects participated in three mixed-gender dyadic interactions with the same partner while their cardiovascular responses were assessed. Among men, but not women, trait dominance was positively and significantly associated with systolic blood pressure reactivity. For men and women, diastolic blood pressure reactivity was positively and significantly associated with trait dominance while participants prepared to interact and with partner's trait dominance while they interacted. All effects held after controlling for trait hostility. Dominance merits attention as a correlate of cardiovascular reactivity, a finding that parallels emerging patterns in the cardiovascular disease literature. Gender and gender-related social factors as potential moderators of this relationship are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the nonverbal correlates of repressive coping by observing the salience of public identity and using an anatomically-based facial coding system to assess participants' emotion expressions and symbolic communication behaviors. Minimization and maximization of the salience of participants' public identities.

Examines the hypothesis that hostile and defensive personality characteristics contribute to conflict and withdrawal within marriage. Areas of disagreement in marriage; Association of high levels of hostility and low levels of defensiveness with a greater percentage of conflict among husbands; Predictors of wives and husbands' behaviors.

Examines the association between hostility and longitudinal changes in marital quality in a sample of 53 newlywed couples who were in their first marriages and were without children. Interpersonal hostility; Psychosocial vulnerability.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one on the recognition of predoctoral psychology training programs and another one on the undertreatment of mental health needs.