Child sexual abuse and social identity loss: A qualitative analysis of survivors' public accounts.

Emerging evidence suggests that social identities are an important determinant of adaptation following traumatic life experiences. In this paper, we analyse accounts of people who experienced child sexual abuse. Using publicly available talk of people who waived their right to anonymity following successful conviction of perpetrators, we conducted a thematic analysis focusing on trauma-related changes in their social identities. Analysis of these accounts highlighted two themes. The first highlights the acquisition in these accounts of unwanted and damaging identity labels. The second presents child sexual abuse as a key destructive force in terms of important identity work during childhood. Discussion of this analysis centres on the pathological consequences of social identity change. Both the loss of valued identities and the acquisition of aberrant and isolating identities are experienced and constructed as devastating by those affected by child sexual abuse. This has important implications, not only for those impacted by child sexual abuse but for how abuse is discussed in society, and how it is approached by policy makers, educators and individuals working with survivors and their families.

UPDATED PROTOCOL: Universal school-based programmes for improving social and emotional outcomes in children aged 3-11 years: An evidence and gap map.

This is the protocol for an evidence and gap map. The objective of this EGM is to identify and map all primary studies (including randomised and cluster randomised trials) and systematic reviews on universal, school-based social and emotional learning programmes for young children (3-11 years) to create a live, searchable, and publicly available evidence and gap map.

PROTOCOL: Group-based interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the role of trauma type.

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The primary objective is to assess the effects of group-based treatments on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology in people diagnosed with PTSD (by a clinician or screening instrument) or referred to a PTSD treatment group for their symptoms by a medical professional. We will also examine a range of moderators that may affect the efficacy of group-based treatments, including the nature of the trauma (interpersonal, stigmatized) and the group fit (in terms of gender and shared vs. unshared trauma). Further, we will also explore what, if any, group-based and social identity factors are recorded and how they relate to PTSD outcomes.

Pandemic threat and group cohesion: national identification in the wake of COVID-19 is associated with authoritarianism.

Authoritarianism emerges in times of societal threat, in part driven by desires for group-based security. As such, we propose that the threat caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased authoritarian tendencies and that this can be partially explained by increased national identification. We tested this hypothesis by collecting cross-sectional data from three different countries in April 2020. In Study 1, data from Ireland (N = 1276) showed that pandemic threat predicted increased national identification, which in turn predicted authoritarianism. In Study 2, we replicated this indirect effect in a representative UK sample (N = 506). In Study 3, we used an alternative measure of authoritarianism and conceptually replicated this effect among USA citizens (N = 429). In this US sample, the association between threat and authoritarian tendencies was stronger among progressives compared to conservatives. Findings are discussed and linked to group-based models of authoritarianism.

Social integration: Implications for the association between childhood trauma and stress responsivity.

OBJECTIVE: Childhood trauma is linked to the dysregulation of physiological responses to stress, particularly lower cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to acute stress. The mechanisms that explain this association, however, are not yet fully understood. METHOD: Using secondary data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Biomarker Project (N = 1,148; n = 652 females), we examine whether social integration can help explain the association between childhood trauma and lower CVR. Participants completed a standardized laboratory stress paradigm which involved completing executive functioning (Stroop) and mental arithmetic (MATH) tasks. Cardiovascular measurements were continuously assessed using electrocardiogram (ECG) and Finometer equipment. The Social Well-Being Scale (Keyes, 1998) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ; Bernstein et al., 2003) measured social integration and trauma, respectively. RESULTS: Regression analyses demonstrated that childhood trauma was associated with lower systolic (SBP; ß = -.14, p < .001) and diastolic (DBP; ß = -.11, p < .001) blood pressure reactivity but not heart rate (HR) reactivity. Mediation analyses, using Hayes PROCESS Model 4, showed that higher levels of trauma were associated with less social integration and in turn linked to lower reactivity across all biological indices. Moreover, sensitivity analyses showed that this indirect effect via social integration was evident for emotional and physical abuse, emotional and physical neglect, but not sexual abuse. CONCLUSION: Overall, the results indicated that dysregulated cardiovascular stress responses owing to childhood trauma may be shaped by a lack of social integration. The implications of this, as well as the findings for the individual types of trauma, are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

New group memberships formed after an acquired brain injury and posttraumatic growth: A prospective study.

Predicting positive psychosocial outcomes following an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) remains a challenge. Considerable research demonstrates that social group memberships can have positive effects on psychological well-being, particularly during life transitions. Social group memberships are argued to help people derive a sense of self. This prospective study examined if social group memberships (number of groups and connectedness with groups) could predict posttraumatic growth (PTG) in those affected by ABI. Thirty-six participants (10 females, Mage = 46.56, SD = 11.46) engaged in community rehabilitation services completed measures at two time-points. Mediation analyses demonstrated that the number of new group memberships (groups formed post-injury) predicted greater PTG at time 2, via stronger connectedness with these new group memberships (controlling for initial PTG). The observed results suggest that a focus on developing and strengthening connections with new group memberships may promote positive adjustment after brain injury.

Shared experiences and the social cure in the context of a stigmatized identity.

In an attempt to combat the social isolation and stigma associated with the incarceration of a family member, increasingly efforts are made to support families affected by imprisonment. Many of these forms of support are delivered in groups. Participation in support groups generates benefits, sometimes referred to as the social cure, by enhancing a sense of belonging, social connection, and subjective identification with the group. Where an identity is stigmatized, subjective group identification may be resisted and this could potentially undermine the effectiveness of group-based support. We used semi-structured interviews with 12 partners of incarcerated men participating in group-based support, to explore their identity constructions as well as their perceptions of the value of the support group. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using a material-discursive perspective. Findings emphasize the importance of shared experiences as a basis for connection with others in this context where subjective identification with an identity is problematic. Three themes are documented in the data that emphasize shared experience. These themes - Experiences of a 'situation' as the basis for social isolation; Experience of a 'situation' as the basis for inclusion; and Victims of circumstance - all orient to the role of shared experience in participants' talk. The theoretical discussion of these findings highlights the important role of shared experience as a basis for social connections for those affected by stigma. The implications of these findings for supporting families affected by incarceration are discussed, as is the more general potential of group-based approaches for those affected by stigma.

Longitudinal associations between parental incarceration and children's emotional and behavioural development: Results from a population cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Parental incarceration (PI) is associated with adverse developmental outcomes for children affected. However, research in this area often reports conflicting results with few studies following children across time in non-U.S. POPULATIONS: Additionally, more research is called for using multi-informant perspectives rather than relying on adult reports of child outcomes alone. METHODS: This study used data from the first two waves of a nationally representative cohort study of 8,568 children aged 9 years and followed up at age 13 living in the Republic of Ireland (2007-2012). Propensity score matching was used to match children who had experienced PI by the age of nine to children who had not experienced PI by sociodemographics and experience of other stressful events. Mental health, as measured by self-concept (Piers-Harris II) and externalizing and internalizing difficulties (strength and difficulties questionnaire), was compared across both groups. RESULTS: Fifty of the 8,568 children (weighted percentage 0.9%) reported experiencing PI by the age of nine. These children came from more socially disadvantaged homes and were more likely to have experienced other potentially stressful life events. In comparison to a matched sample of children not affected by PI, children affected by PI reported higher levels of anxiety at age nine. Longitudinal analysis indicated these children affected by PI also reported lower levels of happiness at age 13 with higher levels of emotional difficulties reported by their primary caregiver. CONCLUSIONS: Children of incarcerated parents face a greater array of life challenges. PI had an association with child-reported levels of anxiety at age nine. PI also had a medium-term association on caregiver assessments of emotional difficulties of children affected as well child-reported levels of happiness over time.

Perceived discrimination amongst young people in socio-economically disadvantaged communities: Parental support and community identity buffer (some) negative impacts of stigma.

There is increasing acceptance that children are not unaware of when they are targets of discrimination. However, discrimination as a consequence of socio-economic disadvantage remains understudied. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of perceived discrimination on well-being, perceptions of safety and school integration amongst children growing up within socio-economically disadvantaged communities in Limerick, Ireland. Mediation analysis was used to explore these relationships and to examine the potential role of parental support and community identity in boys and girls in the 6th to 9th year of compulsory education (N = 199). Results indicate perceived discrimination contributed to negative outcomes in terms of school integration, perceptions of safety and levels of well-being. Age and gender differences were observed which disadvantaged boys and younger children. All negative outcomes were buffered by parental support. Community identity also protected young people in terms of feelings of school integration and risk but not in terms of psychological well-being. Findings are discussed in terms of the different role of family and community supports for children negotiating negative social representations of their community.