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Objective: To investigate the extent to which childbirth may function as a retraumatization of childhood sexual abuse, and may exacerbate postpartum posttraumatic stress reactions. Methods: Data was obtained from a convenience sample of 837 women in mid-pregnancy, at 2 and 6 months following childbirth. Three groups were drawn from this sample: women who experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA), women survivors of trauma other than CSA, and women who reported no-trauma experiences. Results: PTSD subcategories of intrusion and arousal were increased in the CSA group following childbirth, although the overall PTSD score did not increase following childbirth in any of the groups CSA survivors scored higher at all data collection time points. Conclusions: CSA is a traumatic event that has greater negative long-term effects than other traumas in the population of pregnant women. Practice implications: Identifying women who are survivors of CSA early in their pregnancy and establishing a risk assessment may significantly reduce delivery complications and consequently mitigate postpartum PTS outcomes. (Contains 11 tables.)

Somatic dissociation is known to be associated with childhood abuse, particularly with childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Currently, the diagnosis of CSA is hampered by the lack of a validated questionnaire. While some questionnaires are excellent research tools, there is no suitable applied measure for the assessment of distress due to CSA. The current study's objective was to validate a novel questionnaire, designated the Medical Somatic Dissociation Questionnaire–MSDQ, for evaluating somatic dissociation in the healthcare system setting. A total of 541 adults, 160 (30%) male and 381 (70%) female, of average age 35 years were recruited from the general population via the Internet. The Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5) was used for screening subjects for reporting a history of CSA. Our examination of the MSDQ indicated powerful internal consistency, reliability, and convergent validity of the instrument, with high correlations between the MSDQ and the SDQ-20 and also between the MSDQ and psychological symptomatology. In addition, there was known-groups validity when differences between adults who experienced CSA and those who did not were compared. Importantly, the MSDQ can be easily integrated into the evaluation process performed by medical professionals in the diagnosis of adult patients with apparently unexplained symptomatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined differences between social workers in hospitals versus social workers in community health services regarding levels of professional quality of life (ProQoL), proximity to COVID-19, resilience, perceived social support, and preparedness for the next pandemic during waves 3-5 of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel (December 2020-December 2021, the main COVID-19 variants were Alpha and Delta). We also examined the moderating role of resilience, social support, preparedness for the next pandemic, and health care service type in the association between proximity to COVID-19 and ProQoL. Participants were 163 social workers from four hospitals and 98 social workers from a major health maintenance organization in the community. Social workers in both settings revealed moderate-high levels of compassion satisfaction and moderate levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. The study's model indicated that after controlling for the effects of the covariates, higher levels of self-reported-resilience and greater perceived organizational support were associated with higher compassion satisfaction and lower burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Furthermore, a stronger sense of preparedness for the next pandemic was related to lower levels of burnout. The model indicated that the effects of organizational support, informal social support, and preparedness on compassion satisfaction were dependent on the study group (i.e., working in hospital or community settings). Findings indicate that intervention programs should be implemented to help increase compassion satisfaction and prevent/reduce burnout and secondary traumatic stress among social workers in health care settings during health care crises. Enhancing resilience and preparedness should focus not only on the social workers as individuals but also on the institutions for which they work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: The current research aims to explore the nature of trauma experienced by female combatants., Method: Data were collected from two focus groups and a series of personal interviews with 100 women military veterans who had served in the Israel Defense Forces as combat or combat-support soldiers., Results: Interviews with these veterans revealed a variety of narratives about their war experiences, including an intertwining of the emotional and the physical. The ongoing danger and traumatic events that the combatants and combat-support soldiers faced on a daily basis were woven into their stories. These narratives indicated that-alongside their exposure to traumatic and potentially life-threatening situations-the soldiers also felt empowered and valued as a result of their military service. The women soldiers' perspectives regarding their military service covered three main themes, "experiencing trauma," "meaningful combat experiences," and "the need to be heard.", Conclusions: Through qualitative research and narrative analysis, this study offers mental health professionals, policy makers, and scholars ways to gain a nuanced insight into women's combat trauma that avoids categorization. Based on the research findings, we suggest that additional aspects of trauma can be understood through the study of women soldiers, who face a "double battle"-combat, with the attendant trauma, and the gendered biases of the masculine military environment. Our findings suggest that there is value in engaging with and listening to diverse narratives of trauma and emphasize the need for a critical perspective in the study of trauma and combat trauma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).