The literature suggests that childhood maltreatment is related to a higher probability of developing psychopathology and disease in adulthood. However, some authors have questioned the reliability of self-reports of maltreatment, suggesting that psychopathology at the time of evaluation affects self-reports. We evaluated the reliability of the self-reports of 79 young adults who were identified in childhood by Child Protective Services by comparing two moments of evaluation. Psychological and physical symptoms were tested to evaluate their interference with the reports. We found good to excellent agreement, with no significant correlation between the changes in self-reported experiences and the changes in physical and psychological symptoms, suggesting that the reliability of reports is not related to the health state at the time of the report. Keywords Adverse childhood experiences. Reliability. Retrospective reports Research has demonstrated the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and psychopathology (Herrenkohl,
Firefighters experience a wide range of traumatic events while on duty and are at risk to develop psychopathology and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to cognitive models, the person's interpretation of the traumatic event is responsible for the development of PTSD rather than the traumatic event itself. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the contribution of perceived threat to explain PTSD symptoms in Portuguese firefighters, after adjusting for potential confounding factors. A sample of 397 firefighters completed self-report measures of exposure to traumatic events, psychopathology, and PTSD. Perceived threat explained unique variance in PTSD symptoms, R(2) = .40, ΔR(2) = .02, F(10, 367) = 24.55, p < .001, Cohen's f(2) =.03, after adjusting for psychopathology, number, recency, and frequency of the events, and other potential confounding variables. The association between psychopathology and PTSD was also moderated by perceived threat, R(2) = .43, ΔR(2) = .03, F(11, 366) = 25.33, p < .001, Cohen's f(2) =.05. Firefighters may benefit from interventions that focus on perceived threat to prevent PTSD symptoms.
Studies of the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on parenting have usually not examined the role of the maternal perceptions, either its stress or maternal satisfaction, on the mothers' and children's mental health functioning. The present study aimed to assess whether maternal satisfaction, parenting stress, and social support are significantly associated with women's psychological functioning. The study also assessed whether maternal perceptions of the role of parenting were significantly associated with children's emotional well-being and social behavior. The sample included 160 mothers, 79 (49.4%) who were living with the aggressors and 81 (50.6%) in shelters, and their children ( n = 61). The findings suggested that high levels of maternal satisfaction and perception of social support were significantly negatively associated with women's posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and psychological distress, whereas parenting stress was significantly positively associated with these outcomes. Maternal satisfaction was the only parenting variable that predicted both maternal mental health and children's emotional and behavioral problems, suggesting that it is a protective factor for both mothers and children. This study suggests that increasing maternal satisfaction with parenting and reducing parenting stress might promote better adjustment for both women and children victims of IPV.
The main aim of the present study is to relate, for the first time, the sexual and emotional sides of infidelity, that is characterized by any form of close physical or emotional involvement with another person while in a committed relationship with promiscuity, which is typically defined by the search for the maximum sexual pleasure or how easily and often someone falls in love. Another aim was to investigate potential sex differences within both domains. For that, 369 participants (92 males and 277 females) answered to an online questionnaire that collected information about infidelity and promiscuity. More specifically, participants were asked to complete the revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R), the Emotional Promiscuity (EP) Scale, and the Sexual and Emotional Infidelity (SEI) scale. In addition, some sociodemographic questions, as well as history of infidelity questions, were also asked. The analyses included Pearson correlations, ANOVA and t-tests. Results show that all domains are related, specifically sexual and emotional infidelity with sexual and emotional promiscuity.
The etiology of diseases is multifactorial, involving genetic, environmental, and lifestyle-related behaviors. Considering the pathway that involves behavioral processes, a huge body of empirical evidence has shown that some healthy behaviors such as non-smoking, any or moderate alcohol consumption, a healthy diet, (e.g., fruit and vegetable intake), and physical activity, decrease the risk of disease and mortality. This study aimed to explore the potential mediating effect of combined health behaviors on the association between interpersonal relationships and physical health in a Brazilian adult worker population from the Occupational Health Service within the oil industry in Bahia, Brazil. The sample included 611 workers, of which 567 (92.8%) were males and 44 (7.2%) females, age ranging from 18 to 73 years (M = 41.95; SD = 8.88). The significant predictors of physical health were interpersonal relationships and health behaviors. Health behaviors contributed significantly to a reduction in the effect of interpersonal relationships on physical health outcomes. As far as it is known, there has been no prior work in Brazil that simultaneously examined the best predictors of physical health in oil workers using this conceptual model. Interventions in the workplace environment need to consider health behavior as a mediator between interpersonal relationships and physical health, aligned in a global psychosocial approach to health at work.
The aim of this paper was to assess the degree and nature of any mismatch between officially recognised child maltreatment and adolescent self-report of adverse child experiences. Participants included 136 adolescents (72 males, 64 females, M age = 17 years, age range 14-23 years) who had been confirmed as victims of maltreatment prior to age 13 by Child Protective Services. Participants' self-reports were obtained in adolescence, at least four years after identification. Physical neglect was the most prevalent experience found in the records (87%, n = 118). When this experience was assessed through self-report, only 36 per cent (n = 49) of participants reported physical neglect. Sexual abuse was self-reported by 17 per cent (n = 23) of the sample, compared with eight per cent (n = 11) in the records. Only 17 per cent (n = 23), a small number of self-reports, were consistent with official records. Kappa values show that agreement is low (under 0.40) for seven of the ten categories. Our findings suggest substantial unreliability in the reporting of child abuse and neglect, including household adverse experiences. They also suggest the failure of professionals to discover several adverse experiences during childhood, even after identification by authorities.
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