The IES-6 appears to be a robust brief measure of posttraumatic stress reactions. It may be useful for research in epidemiological studies, and it may also have a role as a screening instrument in clinical practice.

Survivor characteristics that can be assessed in the early aftermath of a terrorist attack strongly predict the subsequent mental health problems of exposed youths. The highly elevated symptoms observed were largely attributable to the traumatic experience and reflect the mental health costs of the terrorist attack.

Factors on both levels can contribute to reduced grades. This stresses the need to investigate individual and contextual factors simultaneously when examining academic achievement. Our results indicated that students attending schools with higher levels of bullying may show poorer school performance. This was true for all students regardless of previous exposure to violence and sexual abuse. This emphasizes the need for preventive efforts that focus not only on vulnerable groups, but on all students and the school context.

BackgroundViolence in childhood is associated with mental health problems and risk of revictimisation. Less is known about the relative importance of the various types of childhood and adult victimisation for adult mental health.ObjectiveTo estimate the associations between various types of childhood and adult violence exposure, and their combined associations to adult mental health.MethodThis study was a cross-sectional telephone survey of the Norwegian adult population; 2,435 women and 2,092 men aged 18–75 participated (19.3% of those we tried to call and 42.9% of those who answered the phone). The interview comprised a broad array of violence exposure in both childhood and adulthood. Anxiety/depression was measured by the Hopkins Symptom Check List (HSCL-10).ResultsVictimisation was commonly reported, for example, child sexual abuse (women: 10.2%, men: 3.5%), childhood–parental physical violence (women: 4.9%, men: 5.1%), and lifetime forcible rape (women: 9.4%, men: 1.1%). All categories of childhood violence were significantly associated with adult victimisation, with a 2.2–5.0 times higher occurrence in exposed children (p<0.05 for all associations). Anxiety/depression (HSCL-10) associated with adult abuse increased with the number of childhood violence categories experienced (p<0.001). All combinations of childhood violence were significantly associated with anxiety/depression (p<0.001 for all associations). Individuals reporting psychological violence/neglect had the highest levels of anxiety/depression.ConclusionsResults should be interpreted in light of the low response rate. Childhood violence in all its forms was a risk factor for victimisation in adulthood. Adult anxiety/depression was associated with both the number of violence categories and the type of childhood violence experienced. A broad assessment of childhood and adult violence exposure is necessary both for research and prevention purposes. Psychological violence and neglect should receive more research attention, especially in combination with other types of violence.

Background There is an urgent need for knowledge about the mental health consequences of the ongoing pandemic. The aim of this study was to identify vulnerability factors for psychological distress and reduced life satisfaction in the general population. Furthermore, we aimed to assess the role of COVID-related worries for psychological distress and life satisfaction. Methods A presumed representative sample for the Norwegian population (n = 1041, response rate = 39.9%) responded to a web-survey in May 2020. The participants were asked about potential vulnerability factors including increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 (underlying illness, older age), socioeconomic disadvantage (living alone, unemployment, economic problems), and pre-existing mental health vulnerability (recent exposure to violence, previous mental health challenges). Additional measures included COVID-related worry, psychological distress, and life satisfaction. Results More than one out of four reported current psychological distress over the threshold for clinically significant symptoms. Socioeconomic disadvantages, including living alone and pre-existing economic challenges, and pre-existing mental health vulnerabilities, including recent exposure to violence and previous mental health problems, were associated with a higher level of psychological distress and a lower level of life satisfaction. A higher level of COVID-related worry was significantly associated with a higher level of psychological distress, and a lower level of life satisfaction, even when adjusting for all the vulnerability factors. Conclusion This study identified several vulnerability factors for mental health problems in the pandemic. Individuals recently exposed to violence and individuals with pre-existing mental health problems are at particular risk. Worrying about the consequences of the pandemic contributes negatively to current mental health. However, worry cannot explain the excess distress in vulnerable groups. Future research should focus on how COVID-related strains contribute to mental health problems for vulnerable groups.