Background/aim Psychological violence is estimated to be the most common form of intimate partner violence (IPV). Despite this, research on the independent effect of psychological violence on mental health is scarce. Moreover, the lack of a clear and consistent definition of psychological violence has made results difficult to compare. The present study therefore aims to consolidate knowledge on psychological violence by conducting a systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis on the association between psychological violence and mental health problems, when controlling for other types of violence (e.g. physical and sexual) and taking into account severity, frequency, and duration of psychological violence. Method The present study is registered in the International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; #CRD42018116026) and the study design follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA; Additional file 1 ). A dual search will be conducted in the electronic databases PsycINFO, PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science. Data will be extracted using Endnote and Covidence and a meta-analysis will be conducted using Metafor-package in the programming language R. The Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies developed by the Effective Public Health Practice Project will be used to assess the quality of the included studies (i.e. weak, moderate and strong). Results and discussion The present review will help consolidate knowledge on psychological violence by evaluating whether frequency, severity or actual “type” of psychological violence produces the most harm. A thorough quality assessment will help overcome potential limitations regarding expected variations in terminology and assessment of psychological violence. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42018116026 . Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13643-019-1118-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundSickness absence increases with lower socioeconomic status. However, it is not well known how this relation depends on specific aspects of sickness absence or the degree to which socioeconomic differences in sickness absence may be explained by other factors.The purpose of the study was to examine differences in sickness absence among occupational groups in a large general hospital; how they depend on combinations of frequency and duration of sickness absence spells; and if they could be explained by self-reported general health, personal factors and work factors.MethodsThe design is a 1-year prospective cohort study of 2331 hospital employees. Baseline information include job title, work unit, perceived general health, work factors and personal factors recorded from hospital administrative files or by questionnaire (response rate 84%). Sickness absence during follow-up was divided into short (1-3 days), medium (4-14 days) and long (>14 days) spells, and into no absence, "normal" absence (1-3 absences of certain durations) and "abnormal" absence (any other absence than "normal"). Socioeconomic status was assessed by job titles grouped in six occupational groups by level of education (from doctors to cleaners/porters). Effects of occupational group on sickness absence were adjusted for significant effects of age, gender, general health, personal factors and work factors. We used Poisson or logistic regression analysis to estimate the effects of model covariates (rate ratios (RR) or odds ratios (OR)) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsWith a few exceptions sickness absence increased with decreasing socioeconomic status. However, the social gradient was quite different for different types of sickness absence. The gradient was strong for medium spells and "abnormal" absence, and weak for all spells, short spells, long spells and "normal" absence. For cleaners compared to doctors the adjusted risk estimates increased 4.2 (95% CI 2.8-6.2) and 7.4 (95% CI 3.3-16) times for medium spells and "abnormal" absence, respectively, while the similar changes varied from 0.79 to 2.8 for the other absence outcomes. General health explained some of the social gradient. Work factors and personal factors did not.ConclusionsThe social gradient in sickness absence was different for absences of different duration and patterns. It was strongest for absences of medium length and "abnormal" absence. The social gradient was not explained by other factors.

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.

Background: Psychological trauma has only recently been considered a traumatic event. Therefore, research on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex-PTSD following exposure to psychological violence, is less studied compared with physical and sexual violence.Objectives: This study aimed to establish the prevalence of PTSD and C-PTSD of among female victims of partner violence (IPV) and examine the unique association between different subtypes of IPV (i.e. physical, psychological and sexual IPV) and the traumatic response. Methods:The study includes a shelter-based sample of female victims of IPV (N = 147). Validated measures were used to estimate IPV exposure and mental health outcomes. Partial Correlation and Hierarchical Regression was used to examine the association between IPV and PTSD and C-PTSD, respectively. Results: The study found a high prevalence of both PTSD (56.5%) and C-PTSD (21.1%) in the sample. Overall, when controlling for the other types of violence, psychological violence correlated with PTSD, C-PTSD, negative affect and somatization. When controlling for psychological violence, neither physical nor sexual violence correlated with any of the mental health outcomes. Hierarchical regression models helped explain 23.5% and 29.7% of the variance in symptoms of PTSD and C-PTSD, respectively. Conclusion:A relatively large subgroup of the women had symptoms of C-PTSD, which demonstrate a potentially unmet need for trauma-informed treatment services in Danish Women Shelters. Psychological violence was found to be the strongest risk factor for all mental health outcomes and thus, it is important to acknowledge the severity of this IPV subtype.El Trauma Complejo de la Violencia Psicológica: Hallazgos transversales de una cohorte de cuatro refugios de mujeres danesas.Antecedentes: El trauma psicológico sólo recientemente ha sido considerado un evento traumático. Por lo tanto, la investigación sobre el Trastorno de Estrés Postraumático (TEPT) y el TEPT Complejo tras la exposición a la violencia psicológica, está menos estudiada en comparación con la violencia física y sexual. Objetivos: El objetivo de este estudio fue establecer la prevalencia del TEPT y el TEP-C entre las mujeres víctimas de la violencia de pareja (IVP, en siglas en inglés) y examinar la asociación distintiva entre los diferentes subtipos de IVP (es decir, IVP físico, psicológico y sexual) y la respuesta traumática. Métodos: El estudio incluye una muestra basada en refugios para mujeres víctimas de IVP (N = 147). Se utilizaron medidas validadas para estimar la exposición a la IVP y los resultados de salud mental. Se utilizó la correlación parcial y la regresión jerárquica para examinar la asociación entre la IVP y el TEPT y el TEPT-C, respectivamente. Resultados: El estudio encontró una alta prevalencia tanto de TEPT (56,5%) como de TEPC (21,1%) en la muestra. En general, al controlar los otros tipos de violencia, la violencia psicológica se correlacionó con el TEPT, el TEPT-C, el afecto negativo y la somatización. Al controlar ...