The psychological subtype of intimate partner violence and its effect on mental health: a systematic review with meta-analyses.

PURPOSE: The present study examines the association between psychological violence and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety, while comparing the specific subtypes of psychological violence and simultaneously focusing on methodological shortcomings. METHOD: A systematic review and random-effects meta-analyses were applied on the three main outcomes: PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Four electronic databases were searched (PsycINFO, PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science), and a total of 194 studies were included (k = 149 for meta-analyses). GRADEpro was used to evaluate the certainty of the evidence from the meta-analyses. RESULTS: Psychological violence had strong associations with the three main outcomes, with the strongest association for PTSD in both female and male victims. Coercive control was particularly associated with PTSD for female victims, while emotional/verbal and dominance/isolation had the strongest association with depression. Although the identified studies were characterized by gender bias, psychological violence appear to affect male mental health too. DISCUSSION: Findings from the meta-analyses support the notion that psychological violence is a traumatic experience, which is strongly association with PTSD and other common mental health problems linked to trauma. GRADEpro rated the certainty of evince to be low, and thus, our confidence in the estimated effect is limited. Gender bias, the applied terminology, and other methodological shortcomings are discussed. Despite the substantial amount of research on this topic, more research is needed before we can draw any final conclusions on the effect of psychological violence on mental health.

The role of age and mode of delivery in the STEPS intervention: a longitudinal pilot-study in treatment of posttraumatic stress symptoms in Danish survivors of sexual assault.

Background: The STEPS programme has been succesfully implemented as a group-based treatment of trauma symptoms after rape for adolescents. The STEPS intervention was translated from Dutch to Danish and offered to adults in addition to adolescents as well as an individual intervention in addition to a group-based intervention at a Danish Centre for Rape Victims through 2011 to 2014. The programme was translated from Dutch to Danish and expanded to adults in addition to adolescents as well as to an individual intervention in addition to a group-based intervention at a Danish Centre for Rape Victims through 2011 to 2014. Objective: The present study observes  development in trauma symptoms and ICD-11 diagnostic status during an adapted version of the intervention programme 'STEPS' for survivors of sexual assault. Methods: A prospective uncontrolled study was conducted, monitoring symptoms of posttraumatic stress and other trauma-related symptomatology before treatment, after treatment and at 6 and 12 months' follow up for 103 referrals receiving individual or group-based STEPS. Tentative diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD were assigned to participants according to the ICD-11 to observe the development in diagnostic status across time, and multilevel modelling was used to assess the development of symptom severity and to assess the moderating effect of age-group and mode of delivery. Results: A loglinear function representing large and statistically significant decline in symptomatology over time provided the best fit for all measures of trauma-related symptomatology. The decline was not moderated by age-group or mode of intervention. Dropout rates were independent of mode of intervention and age. Conclusion: The adaption of the STEPS programme to adults and as an individual intervention is feasible and maintains effect sizes comparable to those observed in the original intervention. Further research using randomized controlled trials is needed to ascribe the observed effect to the STEPS programme.

Antecedentes: El programa STEPS se ha implementado con éxito como un tratamiento grupal de síntomas de trauma después de una violación en adolescentes. La intervención STEPS se tradujo del holandés al danés y se ofreció a adultos además de adolescentes, así como una intervención individual además de una intervención grupal en un Centro danés para víctimas de violación hasta el 2011 y el 2014.Objetivo: El presente estudio observa el desarrollo de síntomas de trauma y el estado de diagnóstico de la CIE-11 durante una versión adaptada del programa de intervención "PASOS" para los sobrevivientes de agresión sexual.Métodos: Se realizó un estudio prospectivo no controlado, monitorizando los síntomas de estrés postraumático y otras sintomatologías relacionadas con trauma antes del tratamiento, después del tratamiento y a los 6 y 12 meses de seguimiento para 103 derivaciones. Se asignaron a los participantes los diagnósticos tentativos de trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) y TEPT complejo según la CIE-11 para observar el desarrollo en el estado de diagnóstico a través del tiempo, y se usó un modelado multinivel para evaluar el desarrollo de la severidad de los síntomas y evaluar el efecto moderador del grupo de edad y modo de entrega.Resultados: Un función lineal logarítmica que representa una disminución grande y estadísticamente significativa de la sintomatología a lo largo del tiempo proporcionó el mejor ajuste para todas las medidas de la sintomatología relacionada con trauma. El efecto no fue moderado por grupo de edad o tipo de intervención. Las tasas de abandono fueron independientes del tipo de intervención y edad.Conclusión:: La adaptación del programa STEPS para adultos y como una intervención individual es factible y mantiene el tamaño del efecto comparable con aquellos observados en la intervención original. Se necesita más investigación usando estudios controlados aleatorizados para atribuir el efecto observado al programa STEPS.

Pilot study: undetected post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among intellectually disabled.

Background: Individuals with intellectual disability respond differently to traumatic events, compared to the general population, which makes post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms difficult to recognize. The current study aims to examine the presence of undetected PTSD among individuals with intellectual disability and a known history of trauma exposure. Method: Nine individuals, who have not previously been diagnosed with PTSD, were evaluated for PTSD symptoms through case reports, which include descriptions of medical history, symptoms and behavior described in the former diagnostic reports, potential traumatic experiences, current symptoms and behavior in accordance to the Lancaster and North Gate Trauma Scale, and PTSD criteria from DM-ID. Results: Four out of the nine participants met the DM-ID criteria for PTSD. Conclusions: The current findings highlight the importance of including cognitive impairment and developmental level in the screening, referral and treatment process of PTSD.