"Upheaval": Unpacking the dynamic balance between place attachment and social capital in disaster recovery.

A growing body of literature demonstrates that both place attachment and social capital play considerable, and likely interdependent, roles in disaster recovery. This paper contributes to our understanding of these constructs by presenting findings from a longitudinal, mixed-methods study of communities impacted by a home buyout program implemented in New York after Hurricane Sandy (N = 111). Results suggest a dynamic balance between place dependence, place identity, and bonding social capital, in which the relative importance of each construct can shift over time, and where losses in one of these areas may lead to cascading losses in the other areas. For buyout participants, increases in place dependence were associated with increases in bonding social capital, indicating that relocatees either regained both place dependence and bonding social capital in their new homes and communities, or they lost and did not regain both, depending on whether their new home and community met their emotional and functional needs sufficiently. For residents who remained in place, higher levels of place dependence were associated with losses in bonding social capital, reflecting the potential consequences of living in postdisaster limbo. Implications for future buyout research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Religious narratives and their implications for disaster risk reduction.

The role of religious factors in the disaster experience has been under-investigated. This is despite evidence of their influence throughout the disaster cycle, including: the way in which the event is interpreted; how the community recovers; and the strategies implemented to reduce future risk. This qualitative study examined the role of faith in the disaster experience of four faith communities in the Hawaiian Islands of the United States. Twenty-six individuals from the Bahá'í, Buddhist, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), and United Methodist Church communities participated, including 10 faith leaders and 16 laypersons. The results suggest that religious narratives provide a framework for interpretation of, preparedness for, and responses to disasters. Preparedness varied widely across faith communities, with the LDS community reporting greater levels of preparedness than other communities. Recommendations include the development of collaborative efforts between disaster managers and faith leaders to increase preparedness within faith communities, which may facilitate community-wide disaster risk reduction.

Culture, local capacity, and outside aid: a community perspective on disaster response after the 2009 tsunami in American Samoa.

Research on diverse cultural contexts has indicated that aid organisations often fail to leverage local, culturally-grounded resources and capacities in disaster-affected communities. Case-study methodology was employed to explore the relationship between local and external disaster response efforts in American Samoa following the earthquake and tsunami on 29 September 2009 in the southern Pacific Ocean, with a specific focus on the role of culture in defining that relationship. Interview and focus group data from 37 participants, along with observational data, suggested that the local response to the event was swift and grounded in Samoan cultural systems and norms. External aid was viewed as helpful in some respects, although, on the whole, it was seen as a disruption to village hierarchies, social networks, and local response efforts. The study discusses the implications for the role of outside aid in diverse cultural contexts, and makes suggestions for improving the ecological fit of post-disaster interventions.

Describing Trajectories of Homeless Service Use in Hawai'i Using Latent Class Growth Analysis.

The State of Hawai'i, like many other areas across the United States, has large numbers of individuals and families experiencing homelessness, many of whom seek support through statewide shelters and services. This study explored the diversity of ways in which individuals and families moved through Hawai'i's homeless service system. Using administrative data, a cohort of new service users was tracked across time to trace the developmental trajectories of their homeless service use. The sample consisted of adults who had entered the service system for the first time in the fiscal year (FY) of 2010 (N = 4655). These individuals were then tracked through the end of FY 2014, as they used emergency shelter, transitional shelter, and outreach services. A latent class growth analysis was conducted and identified four distinct patterns of service use: low service use (n = 3966, 85.2%); typical transitional shelter use (n = 452, 9.7%); atypical transitional use (n = 127, 2.7%), and potential chronic service use (n = 110, 2.4%). Multinomial logistic regression models were then used to determine if select demographic, family, background experience (e.g., education, employment), or health variables were associated with class membership. The distinct profiles for class membership are discussed.

The relationship between self-harm and teen dating violence among youth in Hawaii.

The connection between teen dating violence (TDV) and self-harm is important to consider because of the serious consequences for teens who engage in these behaviors. Self-harm includes nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide behaviors such as suicide attempts or deaths. Although prior research shows that these two public health problems are related, the context in which they occur is missing, including what leads teens to engage in self-harm and the timing of self-harming behaviors within the relationship. To fill this gap, we conducted focus groups with 39 high-school-aged teens, all of whom had experienced prior relationship violence. Teens described incidents in which they and their partners engaged in NSSI and suicide attempts. Incidents often were associated with extreme alcohol and drug use and occurred during the break-up stage of the relationship. Prevention and intervention programs are needed that consider the intersections of TDV, substance use, and self-harm.

Rebuild or Relocate? Resilience and Postdisaster Decision-Making After Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast of the United States on October 29, 2012, devastating communities in its path. In the aftermath, New York implemented a home buyout program designed to facilitate the permanent relocation of residents out of areas considered to be at risk for future hazards. While home buyout programs are becoming popular as policy tools for disaster mitigation, little is known about what factors influence homeowners to participate in or reject these programs. This study used mixed methods to assess the relationship between community resilience and the relocation decision in two heavily damaged communities in which the majority of residents made different decisions regarding whether or not to pursue a buyout. The sample was composed of residents from Oakwood Beach and Rockaway Park, both working-class communities in New York City, who participated via a community survey (N = 133) and/or in-depth interviews (N = 28). Results suggested that community resilience moderated the relationship between community of residence and the buyout decision, leading to opposite responses on the buyout decision. Contextual community factors, including the history of natural disasters, local cultural norms, and sense of place, were instrumental in explaining these different responses. Implications for disaster policy are discussed.

"There Is No One Way to Get Over It": An Examination of Psychotherapy and Complementary Therapy Use Within a Sample of Survivors Who Experienced Sexual Violence.

Literature on sexual violence survivors' service utilization is limited due to examination of singular therapies or narrow timeframes. Using surveys (n = 303) and interviews (n = 20), this study increases understanding of survivors' healing. Results show varied therapy use including psychotherapy (76.9%), yoga (50.2%), and massage (32.1%), among others. Mean number of therapies used was over three. Service utilization was delayed over a decade on average. Latent class analysis divided respondents into classes: psychotherapy and bodywork use (42.66%), high therapy use (9.14%), and minimal therapy use (48.20%). Interviews provide additional insight and describe barriers. Recommendations for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.

Prevalence of intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration among youth in Hawai'i.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the current study was to examine the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among teens in Hawai'i. METHODS: Youth from two O'ahu high schools (N = 623) were asked to complete a quantitative survey about their experiences, as victims and perpetrators, of IPV. RESULTS: The most frequently reported type of violence was monitoring/controlling behaviors. Girls reported higher rates of victimization and perpetration than boys for most violence types. CONCLUSIONS: Future research should examine the contexts in which teen IPV occurs. It will also be important to engage community-based organizations in prevention efforts. Therefore, a train-the-trainer curriculum for IPV prevention and intervention is proposed.

Childhood trauma and adulthood physical health in Mexico.

BACKGROUND: The present study examined the effect of childhood trauma on adulthood physical health among a randomly selected sample of adults (N = 2,177) in urban Mexico. METHODS: Adults were interviewed about their experiences of trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and physical health symptoms using Module K of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and the Physical Symptoms Checklist. RESULTS: Trauma was prevalent, with 35% reporting a traumatic event in childhood. In general, men reported more childhood trauma than women, with the exception of childhood sexual violence where women reported more exposure. For men, childhood sexual violence was related to total and all physical health symptom subscales. For women, childhood sexual violence was related to total, muscular-skeletal, and gastrointestinal-urinary symptoms; hazards/accidents in childhood were related to total, muscular-skeletal, cardio-pulmonary, and nose-throat symptom subscales. Depression mediated the relationship between childhood sexual violence and physical health symptoms for men and women. Among women only, PTSD mediated the relationship between childhood sexual violence and total, muscular-skeletal, and gastrointestinal-urinary symptoms. PTSD also mediated the relationship between hazards/accidents in childhood and total, muscular-skeletal, cardio-pulmonary, and nose-throat symptoms. CONCLUSION: These findings can be used to increase awareness among general practitioners, as well as community stakeholders, about the prevalence of childhood trauma in Mexican communities and its impact on subsequent physical health outcomes. With this awareness, screening practices could be developed to identify those with trauma histories in order to increase positive health outcomes among trauma survivors.

Moving toward comprehensiveness and sustainability in a social ecological approach to youth violence prevention: lessons from the Asian/Pacific islander youth violence prevention center.

Youth violence is a serious public health problem affecting communities across the United States. The use of a social ecological approach has helped reduce its prevalence. However, those who have put the approach into practice often face challenges to effective implementation. Addressing social ecology in all its complexity presents one obstacle; the ability of private non-profit and public agencies to sustain such comprehensive efforts presents another. Here, we provide an example of our efforts to prevent youth violence. We worked with the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center (APIYVPC) and two communities on O'ahu. We provide a case example from the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center (APIYVPC) of our work, in collaboration with two communities on O;ahu, to develop and implement a youth violence prevention initiative that is becoming both comprehensive and sustainable. We illustrate the incremental nature of what it means to be comprehensive and we underscore the importance of reaching sustainability as the project unfolds.

A descriptive analysis of transitional housing programs for survivors of intimate partner violence in the United States.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005 focuses on safe and independent housing for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). The focus on housing in the latest version of VAWA suggests recognition by Congress that removing barriers and increasing access to safe housing is critical to our nation's response to IPV, and that this type of systems-level response is necessary to reduce the link between IPV and subsequent homelessness. This study examines the current state of transitional housing programs (THPs) and discusses future program considerations, including the need for evaluation studies that consider the possible impact that transitional housing programs have on the rates of violence toward women and their children, and on women's ability to achieve economic stability after separating from their abusive partners.

Risk factors for the perpetration of child sexual abuse: a review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Since the late 1980s, there has been a strong theoretical focus on psychological and social influences of perpetration of child sexual abuse. This paper presents the results of a review and meta-analysis of studies examining risk factors for perpetration of child sexual abuse published since 1990. METHOD: Eighty-nine studies published between 1990 and April of 2003 were reviewed. Risk factors were classified into one of the following six broad categories: family factors, externalizing behaviors, internalizing behaviors, social deficits, sexual problems, and attitudes/beliefs. Sex offenders against children (SOC) were compared to three comparison groups identified within the 89 studies: sex offenders who perpetrated against adults (SOA), non-sex offenders, and non-offenders with no history of criminal or sexual behavior problems. RESULTS: Results for the six major categories showed that SOC were not different from SOA (all d between -.02 and .14) other than showing lower externalizing behaviors (d=-.25). Sex offenders against children were somewhat different from non-sex offenders, especially with regard to sexual problems and attitudes (d=.83 and .51). Sex offenders against children showed substantial differences from non-offenders with medium sized effects in all six major categories (d's range from .39 to .58). CONCLUSION: Child sex offenders are different from non-sex offenders and non-offenders but not from sex offenders against adults. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This study suggests that the presence of general risk factors may lead to a variety of negative behavioral outcomes, including the perpetration of child sexual offending. Family factors were strongly related to the perpetration of child sex offending (vs. non-sexual offending or non-offending) and may be valuable intervention points for interrupting the development of child sex offending, as well as other negative behaviors. Other potential points for intervention may focus on the development of appropriate social and emotional skills that contribute to sexual offending.

Exploring the links between components of coordinated community responses and their impact on contact with intimate partner violence services.

In the 1990s, concerns with response fragmentation for intimate partner violence (IPV) led to the promotion of coordinated community responses (CCRs) to prevent and control IPV. Evaluation of CCRs has been limited. A previous evaluation of 10 CCRs funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed no overall impact on rates of IPV when compared to matched communities. However, there was great variability in the quality and quantity of CCR efforts between sites and thus potentially different levels of impact. This article establishes the impact of each of the 10 CCRs on women's past-year exposure to IPV and contact with IPV services and explores the associations between specific CCR components and contact with IPV services.

What Role Do Peers Play in Adolescent Dating? Insights From Adolescents With a History of Dating Violence.

Prior research suggests that peers are important to adolescent dating experiences. However, questions remain about the role peers play in adolescent relationships, including dating violence. To fill this gap, eight sex-specific focus groups were conducted with 39 high school-aged teens, all of whom had experienced prior relationship problems. Participants described how peers helped them initiate dating relationships, but once in the relationship, peers would spread rumors and create dramas that led to jealousy, discord, and violence between the couple. Prevention programs should focus on cultivating peers as helpful bystanders and counteracting peer actions that lead to dating violence.

Dating Violence and Substance Use: Exploring the Context of Adolescent Relationships.

The connection between adolescent dating violence (ADV) and substance use is important to consider because of the serious consequences for teens who engage in these behaviors. Although prior research shows that these two health problems are related, the context in which they occur is missing, including when (i.e., the timeline) in the relationship these events occur. To fill this gap, eight sex-specific focus groups were conducted with 39 high school-aged teens, all of whom had experienced prior relationship violence. Adolescents discussed using alcohol and/or drugs at the start of the dating relationship and after the relationship ended as a way to cope with the break-up. Alcohol and drugs were also used throughout to cope with being in an abusive relationship. The intersection of ADV and substance use occurred during instances when both partners were using alcohol and/or drugs, as well as when only one partner was using. These findings provide support for prevention and intervention programs that consider the intersection of ADV and substance use.

Severity, timing, and duration of reactions to trauma in the population: an example from Mexico.

Normative data describing acute reactions to trauma are few. Of 2509 Mexican adults interviewed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, 1241 met trauma exposure criteria for index events occurring more than 1 year previously. The modal response, describing 45%, was a reaction to trauma that was mild (present but below levels of posttraumatic stress disorder symptom criteria), immediate (within the first month), and transient (over within a year). Nonetheless, 29% experienced immediate and serious reactions. Of these, 44% had chronic posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Those whose reactions were serious and chronic differed in many ways from those whose reactions were serious but transient. They had more traumatic events during their lives, and their index events were more likely to have occurred in childhood and to have involved violence. They had more symptoms and functional impairment after the trauma and higher levels of depressive and somatic symptoms when data were collected. Psychiatrically significant reactions to trauma persist often enough to justify their detection and treatment. Persons in need of acute intervention can be identified on the basis of the nature and severity of the initial response as well as characteristics of the stressor.

Epidemiology of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in Mexico.

Prevalence rates of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were estimated from a probability sample of 2,509 adults from 4 cities in Mexico. PTSD was assessed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI; WHO, 1997). Lifetime prevalence of exposure and PTSD were 76% and 11.2%, respectively. Risk for PTSD was highest in Oaxaca (the poorest city), persons of lower socioeconomic status, and women. Conditional risk for PTSD was highest following sexual violence, but nonsexual violence and traumatic bereavement had greater overall impact because of their frequency. Of lifetime cases, 62% became chronic; only 42% received medical or professional care. The research demonstrates the importance of expanding the epidemiologic research base on trauma to include developing countries around the world.

The relationship among exposure to stressful life events, drug use, and violence perpetration in a sample of native Hawaiian, Samoan, and Filipino adolescents.

This study examined the relationship between stressful life events, drug use, and self-reported violence perpetration among 293 Native Hawaiian, Samoan, and Filipino adolescents. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with students in three high schools in Hawai'i. Stressful life events were delineated into three categories: transitions, discrete events, and victimization. Samoans reported more stressful life events than Native Hawaiians and/or Filipinos, depending on the subscale, but there were no sex differences in the stressful life events total scale or subscales. There were sex differences on several stressful life events items, including boys reporting more physical victimization and more life threatening illnesses and injuries than girls. Stressful life events were related to higher rates of violence perpetration for all groups, though specific types of events were significant for some groups but not others. Drug use moderated the influence of transitions on violent behaviors for boys and Samoan adolescents and also of discrete events on violence perpetration for Samoan adolescents. Additional research is needed to examine other risk factors, as well as types of protective factors that may moderate the relationship between life stressors and engaging in violent behaviors.

A network model for providing culturally competent services for intimate partner violence and sexual violence.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health implemented the Collaborative for Abuse Prevention in Racial and Ethnic Communities (CARE) project in two Latino communities, in the city of Chelsea and in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. One goal of CARE was to build collaborative networks of service providers to provide culturally competent services. Networks of existing community-based agencies that provide a variety of different services regarding violence against women were established in both locales. This article describes the CARE model, network formation, initial attempts to build collaboration and cultural competence, outreach and education activities, and organizational-level changes resulting from the establishment of the networks. The challenges, successes, and lessons learned in implementing this network model are also discussed.

Epidemiology of major depression in four cities in Mexico.

Analyses were conducted to estimate lifetime and current prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) for four representative cities of Mexico, to identify variables that influence the probability of MDD, and to further describe depression in Mexican culture. A multistage probability sampling design was used to draw a sample of 2,509 adults in four different regions of Mexico. MDD was assessed according to DSM-IV criteria by using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview collected by trained lay interviewers. The prevalence of MDD in these four cities averaged 12.8% for lifetime and 6.1% for the previous 12 months. MDD was highly comorbid with other mental disorders. Women were more likely to have lifetime MDD than were men. Being divorced, separated, or widowed (compared to married or never married) and having experienced childhood trauma were related to higher lifetime prevalence but not to current prevalence. In addition, age and education level were related to current 12-month MDD. Data on the profile of MDD in urban Mexico are provided. This research expands our understanding of MDD across cultures.