A Multimodal Study of Childhood Trauma and Distress Tolerance in Young Adulthood.

Individuals with a history of childhood trauma experience deficits in emotion regulation. However, few studies have investigated childhood trauma and both perceived (i.e., self-report) and behavioral measures of distress tolerance. The current study evaluated associations between childhood trauma (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessing family violence) and measures of perceived (Distress Tolerance Scale) and behavioral distress tolerance (i.e., Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, breath-holding). Participants were 320 undergraduate students with a history of interpersonal trauma (e.g., sexual/physical assault). Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate associations between frequency of childhood trauma type and distress tolerance. Greater childhood physical abuse was associated with higher perceived distress tolerance. Greater levels of witnessing family violence were associated with lower behavioral distress tolerance on the breath-holding task. No significant effects were found for Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test performance. Associations between childhood trauma and emotion regulation likely are complex and warrant further study.

The influence of diagnosis on psychotherapy missed opportunities in a veteran population.

OBJECTIVE: Canceled or unattended psychotherapy sessions are a source of concern for patients, providers, and health-care systems. Veterans are particularly likely to experience mental health problems, and yet they are also especially susceptible to variables leading to premature termination of services. METHOD: This study examined a large (n = 2285) sample of veterans receiving psychotherapy services to determine if mental health diagnosis had an impact upon missed psychotherapy opportunities. RESULTS: There were differential cancelation rates for individuals with different classes of disorder, and the total number of appointments a person scheduled changed the nature of the effect. CONCLUSIONS: Health-care administrators and treatment providers should consider the specific effects of individuals with differing diagnoses when planning courses of treatment and coordinating care.

Exploring parenting as a predictor of criminogenic thinking in college students.

Crime-promoting cognitions and attitudes, globally labeled as criminogenic thinking, are shown to perpetuate maladaptive and antisocial behavior in criminals and nonoffenders. In the nonoffender population, these thinking patterns may not lead to illegal behavior, but can result in irresponsible or maladaptive behavioral consequences. Theories suggest that early childhood parent-child interactions may be partly responsible for the development of criminogenic thinking. While the relationship between parenting and antisocial behavior is well documented, the connection between parenting and the development of criminogenic thinking styles has not yet been explored. The current study examined the nature of the relationship between exposure to parenting behaviors and subsequent criminogenic thoughts in a nonoffender, college population. The sample included 119 undergraduates. Results indicate that parenting may affect general criminogenic thinking as well as specific types of criminogenic thinking styles. Relevance and importance of the findings with regard to clinical work and parenting are also discussed.

Church attendee help seeking priorities after Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and Louisiana: a brief report.

After a disaster, survivors find themselves seeking many types of help from others in their communities. The purpose of this exploratory study was to assist in mental health service planning by determining the type and priority of support services sought by church attendees after Hurricane Katrina. Surveys were given to church attendees from two Mississippi coast and four New Orleans area churches that were directly affected by Hurricane Katrina participants were asked to review a list of 12 potential sources of help and were asked to rank the items chronologically from whom they had sought help first after Hurricane Katrina. Overall, participants sought out assistance from informal social networks such as family and friends first, followed by governmental and clergy support. This study also showed there may be differences in help-seeking behaviors between church attendees in more urban areas versus church attendees in more rural areas. Moreover, findings highlighted that very few church attendees seek out mental health services during the initial impact phase of a disaster. Since timely engagement with mental health services is important for resolving trauma, strategies that link professional mental health services with clergy and government resources following a disaster could improve the engagement with mental health professionals and improve mental health outcomes. Disaster mental health clinical implications and recommendations are offered for psychologists based on these findings.

Patient advocacy in the community and legislative arena.

Nurses have hundreds of patient experiences upon which to draw in order to impact public policy. It is our obligation to strengthen skills that enable us to influence public policy so we can better serve patients. This article provides examples of how nurses can translate their hands-on experience with patients into steps that will influence policy. We begin by describing advocacy and providing examples of how nurses can advocate in the community, specifically in economic matters and the educational and healthcare systems. Then we describe the process for advocating in the legislative arena. We conclude by noting that the public needs the voice of nursing in public policy and that now is the time to move forward to advocate for patients in these various arenas.

Health and illness concepts among lower income Nicaraguan women.

Concepts of health and illness are culturally defined; however, few researchers have reported on these concepts among Latina women. A purposive sample of 14 lower income Nicaraguan women living in a squatter settlement is the focus of this qualitative study. The authors used in-depth, tape-recorded interviews in Spanish to gather data on the women's concepts of health and illness for adults and babies and of health maintenance activities. The authors analyzed the verbatim transcripts and analyzed them for themes. The women's concepts of health and illness included four themes: activities, disposition, eating, and appearance. Health maintenance activities included hygiene and sanitation, medical intervention, nutrition, and the appearance of cleanliness. Nurses and other health care providers will find these themes instructive in developing and providing health services for similar Latina women.

Subcutaneous array to transvenous proximal coil defibrillation as a solution to high defibrillation thresholds with implantable cardioverter defibrillator distal coil failure.

Implantation of a subcutaneous array to improve the defibrillation threshold of an existing transvenous defibrillation lead system without the need for lead extraction is discussed.