Intimate partner violence: are perpetrators also victims and are they more likely to experience suicide ideation?

The current study examined the relations among several risk factors--hopelessness, depressive symptoms, perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, alcohol-related problems, and intimate partner violence (victimization and perpetration)--and suicide ideation, as measured by the Modified Scale for Suicide Ideation, in college students (n = 994). In addition, the overlap between being a victim and perpetrator of various types of intimate partner violence was examined. Results indicated substantial overlap in the victim and perpetrator roles, up to 96.6% for negotiation. In the negative binomial regression analysis, reports of hopelessness, depressive symptoms, perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and alcohol-related problems all significantly predicted suicide ideation in the expected direction. However, none of the revised Conflict Tactics Scale subscales predicted suicide ideation above and beyond the established risk factors. Implications are offered for the improved identification and treatment of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among college students.

The impact of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders on families: evaluation of a family intervention program.

The main purpose of the present study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the coaching families (CF) program, which aids families and caregivers raising children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Mentors in the program work with families to educate them about FASD, access resources, and advocate on their behalf. Retrospective data from 186 families were analyzed from pre- to post-program. As expected, among caregivers there was a significant decrease in needs and increase in goal attainment from pre- to post-program. Further, there was a significant decrease in caregiver stress from pre- to post-program. Families reported high overall satisfaction with the CF program. The limitations, directions for future research, and implications for service providers were also discussed.

Evolutionary perspective on indirect victimization in adolescence: the role of attractiveness, dating and sexual behavior.

We studied indirect victimization from an evolutionary perspective by examining links between this type of victimization and several indicators of attractiveness (past sexual behavior, dating frequency and physical appearance). Two thousand three hundred and nineteen (56% female) students (ages 13-18) from a region of southern Ontario, Canada, completed self-report measures of indirect victimization, physical appearance, dating frequency, recent sexual behavior (number of partners in previous month) and past sexual behavior (number of lifetime partners minus number of partners in previous month) as well as indexes of depression, aggression and attachment security, which were used to control for psychosocial maladjustment. Consistent with an evolutionary framework, physical appearance interacted significantly with gender, wherein attractive females were at greater risk for indirect victimization, whereas for males physical attractiveness was a protective factor, reducing risk of victimization. Physical appearance also interacted with grade, being inversely related to indirect victimization for younger adolescents and having a nonsignificant association with victimization for older youth. Finally, recent sexual behavior was associated with increased risk of indirect victimization for older adolescents only, which we discussed with regard to peer perceptions of promiscuity and short-term mating strategies. These findings have important implications for the development of interventions designed to reduce peer victimization, in that victims of indirect aggression may represent a rather broad, heterogeneous group, including attractive individuals with no obvious signs of maladjustment.