A Qualitative Systematic Review of the Barriers and Facilitators of the Reintegration of Men Convicted of a Sexual Offense From Prison or Secure Care into the Community.

This article is the first qualitative systematic review of studies examining the barriers and facilitators to male sex offenders reintegration from prison or secure care into the community. A search of 16 electronic databases produced 14,218 potential sources, which, after screening, resulted in 79 articles for inclusion. Papers were included if they used qualitative research methods about the barriers, facilitators, perceptions, experiences, and attitudes toward community reintegration from prison or secure care for men convicted of sexual offenses. Included papers were critically appraised and the findings were thematically synthesized. The findings identified that formal and cultural aspects of reintegration, such as probation services, stigmatization, and registration, were the three largest barriers that men faced upon their release, with stability aspects, such as positive relationships, religion, and support groups, being key facilitators to their successful reintegration. The implications for future research, and policy and practice, including prioritizing risk assessment and management, offering appropriate and timely treatment and rehabilitation, educating the community, better access to housing and employment, and services adopting a collaborative approach, are discussed.

The Process of Leaving Abuse: Midlife and Older Male Experiences of Female-Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence.

Leaving an abusive relationship is a difficult process for all survivors. For men, this can be particularly challenging due to the current knowledge and support for survivors being heavily influenced by a feminist discourse, despite a growing body of research that examines men's experiences. This raises concerns about how men make sense of abuse, where they seek support for injuries and psychological distress, and what services are available to them to help them move on from abuse. Narrative interviews with 12 midlife and older men (aged 45-65 years) who had experienced intimate partner violence from a female were conducted with the aim to explore their journey of leaving abuse. The men's stories revealed themes of how they made sense of what was happening to them (legitimacy as a survivor and self-help), their experiences of service readiness to respond to male victimization (discrimination from police, legal system set up to support women, and service readiness for males), and how men can leave abuse (post-separation abuse and support from friends and family). Implications of the findings demonstrate that many services are still not equipped to support male survivors. The men in our study found it difficult to comprehend their experience as abuse and this is negatively reinforced by ineffective services and stereotypical beliefs about abuse. However, informal support through friends and family is a powerful tool in supporting men to leave abusive relationships. More work is needed to increase awareness of male survivors and ensure that services, including legal systems, are inclusive.

Complex posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among midlife to older female survivors of intimate partner violence.

OBJECTIVE: Survivors of intimate partner violence are exposed to prolonged and repeated trauma due to the methods of control associated with abuse but do not always seek help from trauma-focused service provision. Despite links between complex posttraumatic stress disorder and partner violence, research has not explored how symptoms may be presented within the stories of abuse and the clinical implications of this. The aim was to explore the narratives of intimate partner violence and uncover how aspects of complex posttraumatic stress disorder may be present. METHOD: The stories from 13 women with a mean age of 52.3 years were explored using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Across the survivors' stories, four themes with associated subthemes were uncovered: (a) difficulties in affect regulation, (b) belief systems that erode self-determination, (c) managing the threat response, and (d) difficulties in sustaining relationships. The findings suggest underlying symptoms of complex trauma were present. Presentations of symptoms associated with complex posttraumatic stress disorder demonstrate a need for therapeutic practitioners to be more aware of the prevalence of this for those who have experienced relational abuse and the implications for therapeutic interventions and engagement. CONCLUSIONS: Exploring traumatic experiences from the perspectives of survivors is an important way of understanding the impacts on and consequences for the survivor and their adjustment beyond abuse, moving from a symptomatic lens to an approach of trauma journey exploration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A systematic review and qualitative synthesis of the experience of living with colorectal cancer as a chronic illness.

OBJECTIVE: Advances in detection and treatment mean that over 50% of people diagnosed with colorectal cancer can expect to live for more than ten years following treatment. Studies show that colorectal cancer patients can experience numerous physical and psychological late effects. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and qualitative synthesis on the experiences of living with colorectal cancer as a chronic illness. METHODS: Electronic searches of online databases were undertaken of peer reviewed and grey literature. Forty-seven papers were eligible for inclusion in the review, capturing the experiences of over 700 participants, the findings from which were analysed using thematic synthesis. RESULTS: Three higher order concepts were identified which were prevalent across studies and countries and which related to the supportive care needs of patients; common physical and psychological late effects of cancer; and methods of psychosocial adjustment to living with and beyond colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION: The results are considered in the context of existing theoretical approaches to chronic illness and the need to develop a theoretical approach which fully encapsulates the experience of living with colorectal cancer as a chronic illness in order to inform interventions to support patient adjustment.