Military Sexual Trauma and Chronic Pain in Veterans.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic pain rehabilitation warrants sensitivity to unique psychosocial factors, such as trauma history. In Veterans of the United States Armed Forces, military sexual trauma (MST) is a pervasive type of trauma associated with a host of physical and psychological sequelae. A growing literature suggests a relationship between history of MST and chronic pain. This study sought to clarify the relationship between MST and chronic pain among male and female Veterans and explore whether individual factors moderate this relationship. DESIGN: A baseline survey of 328 Veterans seeking care for chronic pain via behavioral pain treatments was conducted. RESULTS: MST was reported by 31.4% of the sample and uniquely predicted pain interference. A significant interaction was found between MST and age, such that younger Veterans with a history of MST reported greater pain interference than younger Veterans with no MST. CONCLUSION: Findings provide further evidence that the experience of MST may intensify the overall burden of chronic pain and suggest that younger Veterans with MST seem to be most vulnerable to impaired pain rehabilitation. Unique study contributions include a robust sample of women and men with elevated rates of MST and examination of MST-age relationships concurrent with chronic pain.

Featured counter-trafficking program: Resiliency Interventions for Sexual Exploitation (RISE).

This invited article is one of several comprising part of a special issue of Child Abuse and Neglect focused on child trafficking and health. The purpose of each invited article is to describe a specific program serving children who are survivors of trafficking (a subset of commercial sexual exploitation-CSE). These programs are featured to raise awareness of innovative counter-trafficking strategies emerging worldwide and facilitate collaboration on program development and outcomes research. This article describes Resiliency Interventions for Sexual Exploitation (RISE), a US-based multidisciplinary program dedicated to assisting female, LGBT and gender non-conforming (GNC) youth victims and survivors of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and child trafficking to develop the skills and resources for successful community reintegration. This is accomplished through daily collaborations with community partners (MDT-Multidisciplinary Treatment Teams), gender-specific trauma-focused services, comprehensive outreach and engagement efforts and intensive case management.

Featured Counter-Trafficking Program: ARPAN.

This invited article is one of several comprising part of a special issue of Child Abuse and Neglect focused on child trafficking and health. The purpose of each invited article is to describe a specific program serving trafficked children. Featuring these programs is intended to raise awareness of innovative counter-trafficking strategies emerging worldwide and facilitate collaboration on program development and outcomes research. This article describes a long-term psychotherapeutic intervention started by Arpan in 2010, in an institution named Advait Foundation. Advait runs a rehabilitation home, Project Baharati, in Vasai, Mumbai, India. Project Bharati serves adolescent females who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. The psychotherapeutic intervention uses group and individual therapy, employing trauma-focused cognitive behavioral and arts-based therapeutic techniques.

Featured Counter-Trafficking Program: RELENTLESS.

This invited article is one of several comprising part of a special issue of Child Abuse and Neglect focused on child trafficking and health. The purpose of each invited article is to describe a specific program serving trafficked children. Featuring these programs is intended to raise awareness of innovative counter-trafficking strategies emerging worldwide and facilitate collaboration on program development and outcomes research. This article describes Relentless, a Berlin-based organization dedicated to providing clinical consultations and trauma informed training for various counter-trafficking organizations and individuals.

Featured counter-trafficking program: Kolkata Sanved's model Sampoornata.

This invited article is one of several comprising part of a special issue of Child Abuse and Neglect focused on child trafficking and health. The purpose of each invited article is to describe a specific program serving trafficked children. Featuring these programs is intended to raise awareness of innovative counter-trafficking strategies emerging worldwide and facilitate collaboration on program development and outcomes research. This article describes Kolkata Sanvedan India-based organization dedicated to utilizing a special form of dance movement therapy (DMT), Sampoornata, as a form of trauma therapy for survivors of trafficking and sexual violence. The Sampoornata model has been employed to promote healing and wellbeing through integration in the individual's social framework and encouraging comprehensive wellbeing.

Nightmares and flashbacks: The impact of commercial sexual exploitation of children among female adolescents placed in residential care.

BACKGROUND: Important unresolved questions remain concerning the specific vulnerabilities and intervention needs of female adolescents who experience commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), when compared to other highly vulnerable female adolescents. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess differences in the level of post-traumatic symptoms reported by those who experienced CSEC during adolescence and those who did not. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The study used longitudinal data collected from 125 French-speaking female adolescents who were placed in residential centers between the ages 12 and 17 years. METHOD: Post-traumatic symptoms were assessed at Time 1 and Time 6, while CSEC involvement was assessed at Times 1-5. One-way ANOVAs were performed to inspect differences in the level of post-traumatic symptoms at Time 6 between the participants who reported CSEC during adolescence (n = 70; 56.0%) and those with no history of CSEC (n = 55; 44.0%). Hierarchical regressions examined the effects of CESC while controlling for age, immigration status, child sexual abuse, and post-traumatic symptoms reported at Time 1. RESULTS: CSEC during adolescence predicted higher levels of general post-traumatic symptoms, anxious arousal, intrusive experiences, defensive avoidance, and dissociation. CONCLUSIONS: CSEC experiences intensify the existing vulnerabilities to traumatic sequelae that characterize female adolescents who are placed in residential care.