Severe versus less severe intimate partner violence: Aggressors and victims

In order to study the differences between severe intimate partner violence (S-IPV) and less severe intimate partner violence (LS-IPV), reports by 16,385 women who had suffered some type of abuse in 2016 and 2017 were analysed by means of the Police Risk Assessment Questionnaire. Chi-square tests indicate that S-IPV aggressors present criminological features to a significantly greater extent and are more likely to perpetrate various types of violence against their partners (for example, sexual aggression, death threats, degrading treatment, and controlling behaviour). Their behaviours seem to depend more on their beliefs and attitudes than on any possible psychopathological disturbance. Likewise, the victims of S-IPV are significantly more likely to report substance abuse, isolation from their environment, and vulnerability due to a mental disorder or disability; furthermore, they are less likely to report their abusers and continue with the judicial process. Therefore, efforts must be focused on fighting isolation, guaranteeing access to assistance and support services, and protecting victims during the processing of the criminal investigation. Professionals must also be alert to conflicts between partners linked to emotional breakdown and apply the relevant risk-management strategies, especially in cases with a history of mistreatment of women and an increase in violence severity.

Cumulative Lifetime Violence Severity and Chronic Pain in a Community Sample of Canadian Men

Objective To create a descriptive profile of chronic pain severity in men with lifetime cumulative violence histories, as a target and/or a perpetrator, and investigate how chronic pain severity is associated with and predicted by lifetime cumulative violence severity and known determinants of chronic pain. Methods Analysis of variance and binary logistic regression were performed on data collected in an online survey with a community convenience sample of 653 men who reported experiences of lifetime violence. Results The prevalence of high-intensity / high-disability pain in men with lifetime violence was 35.8%. Total Cumulative Lifetime Violence Severity-44 (CLVS-44) scores were significantly associated with high-intensity / high-disability chronic pain measured by the Chronic Pain Grade Scale (odds ratio= 8.40). In a model with 10 CLVS-44 subscale scores, only psychological workplace violence as a target (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]= 1.44) and lifetime family physical violence as a target (aOR= 1.42) significantly predicted chronic pain severity. In a multivariate model, chronic pain severity was predicted by CLVS-44 total score (aOR= 2.69), age (aOR= 1.02), injury with temporary impairment (aOR= 1.99), number of chronic conditions (aOR= 1.37), and depressive symptoms (aOR= 1.03). Conclusion The association between lifetime cumulative violence severity and chronic pain severity in men is important new information suggesting the need for trauma- and violence-informed approaches to assessment and intervention with men. This is the first analysis using CLVS-44 subscales to understand which configurations of lifetime cumulative violence may be most predictive of chronic pain severity; further investigation is needed to confirm these findings.

Sexual Functioning and Satisfaction Among College Survivors of Sexual Violence: Examining PTSD Symptoms and Sexual Schemas

Decreased sexual functioning is prevalent among female survivors of sexual violence yet psychological factors that contribute to sexual impairments in this population are understudied. To extend research in this area, the current study examined two psychological factors as they relate to sexual functioning concerns among 148 female survivors of sexual violence: severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSSs) and sexual self-schemas. Four domains of sexual functioning were examined: sexual desire, sexual arousal, sexual satisfaction, and orgasm functioning. It was predicted that PTSSs would be associated with a more negative sexual schema, which in turn, would be associated with decreased sexual functioning across the four domains. Using path analysis, PTSSs were found to be indirectly associated with decreased sexual satisfaction ( b = −.08, SE b = .04, p = .035), sexual arousal ( b = −.01, SE b = .001, p = .02), and reduced orgasm functioning ( b = −.01, SE b = .001, p = .002). Results also supported significant direct paths from PTSS to all sexual functioning variables. These results support that negative sexual self-schemas may be relevant to the co-association of PTSSs and reductions in sexual functioning and satisfaction.