Adult Maltese Women's Understanding of How Childhood Domestic Violence Has Impacted Their Relationships with Their Parents and Siblings: A Grounded Theory Study.

Most of the literature that has looked at children's relationships with their parents in the domestic violence context has focused solely on the children's relationship with one parent or is studied from the perspective of one parent, usually the mother. Sibling relationships in the same context are also under-studied. This paper explores in more detail the complexity of children's relationships with their mothers, fathers, and siblings over time from the perspective of adult women and survivors of childhood domestic violence. Methods: A grounded theory methodology was used to analyse the interviews with 15 women aged twenty to forty-three years of age living in Malta. Results: the analysis showed that the domestic violence context remains significant in these important relationships for these women. The relationship with the father remains strongly influenced by the dynamics of fear, love, and retaliation, with cycles of cut-off and connection from the adult daughter's end. The relationship with the mother is complicated-feelings of love that are seen as having been limited and complicated by betrayal if there was abuse from the mother. Similarly, for the siblings, the roles of the early family of origin remain persistent and significant. However, in some of these relationships, there has been transformation, reconciliation, and forgiveness. The article offers implications for therapeutic practice for dealing with the complexity of these relationships and ideas for future research.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on characteristics, extent and trends in child maltreatment in 34 Euro-CAN COST Action countries: a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: While the factors commonly associated with an increased risk of child maltreatment (CM) were found to be increased during COVID-19, reports of actual maltreatment showed varying trends. Similarly, evidence regarding the impact of COVID-19 on CM within the European Cooperation on Science and Technology and Network Collaborative (COST) Action countries remains inconsistent. This scoping review aims to explore the extent and nature of evidence pertaining to CM within the countries affiliated with the Child Abuse and Neglect in Europe Action Network (Euro-CAN), funded by the COST. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Key electronic databases were searched to identify eligible papers, reports and other material published between January 2020 and April 2023: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Social Policy and Practice, Scopus and Web of Science. To cover the breadth of evidence, a systematic and broad search strategy was applied using a combination of keywords and controlled vocabulary for four concepts: children, maltreatment, COVID-19 and Euro-CAN countries, without restrictions on study design or language. Grey literature was searched in OpenGrey and Google Scholar. Two reviewers will independently screen full-text publications for eligibility and undertake data extraction, using a customised grid. The screening criteria and data charting will be piloted by the research team.The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews will be followed to present the results. Results will be summarised in a tabular form and narratively. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This review will identify and summarise publicly available data, without requiring ethical approval. The findings will be disseminated to the Euro-CAN Network and reported to the COST Association. They will also be published in a peer-reviewed journal. This protocol is registered on Open Science Framework.

Men's experience of their partners' breast cancer diagnosis, breast surgery and oncological treatment.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the experiences of male partners of female breast cancer patients who had undergone surgery and oncological treatment and who were still raising children. BACKGROUND: Research on the psychological effects of breast cancer has focused primarily on the patients undergoing treatment, neglecting the effect of such a condition on their closest family members. This study addresses this gap by focusing on understanding the effects of this disease on male partners of these patients. DESIGN: An interpretative phenomenological approach was used. METHODS: Eight males whose female partners were diagnosed with primary breast cancer between the ages of 30 and 55 and who had young children still living at home at the time were interviewed by the first author of this article. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using an interpretative phenomenological framework, in accordance with the guidelines in the COREQ checklist for qualitative studies. RESULTS: Participants emphasized the difficulties they faced in trying to juggle work and family responsibilities while offering support to their partners, a task they felt ill-prepared for. At times, they felt excluded by their partners and worried about the impact of the disease on their children. A common fear was that of recurrence of the disease, and while some discussed the financial difficulties associated with treating the disease, others saw it as enhancing the potential for their personal and couple growth. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to the topic by uncovering the perspectives of male partners of breast cancer patients and the effects of their partner's condition on them and their families. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results of this study can be used to inform policy when providing holistic care. They also highlight the importance of counselling and support interventions for partners of breast cancer patients.