Branka Begovac

Self-image, war psychotrauma and refugee status in adolescents

The aim of this study was to assess how war psychotrauma, refugee status and other factors relate to self-image. Psychotherapeutic-psychiatric interview, the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ), questionnaires for measuring war stressors, posttraumatic stress reactions (PTS-reactions), depression and general data were administered. A total of 322 adolescents from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia were included in the study. In 60.32% of the examinees, more than four war stressors were encountered. In 13.68% of the examinees, high PTS-reactions occurred. The refugees had nearly four times higher odds (aOR=3.66; 95% CI=1.63–8.2; p<0.01) of having a higher Offer score for the sexual attitudes subscale. Lower war stress had 0.28 times lower odds (aOR=0.28; 95% CI=0.11–0.71; p<0.01) of having a higher Offer score for the sexual attitudes subscale. More severe PTS-reactions had six times higher odds (aOR=6.15; 95% CI=1.7–22.2; p<0.01) of reaching a higher Offer score for the emotional tone subscale. War psychotrauma and refugee status are related to poorer adjustment only in some of the OSIQ subscales. Practical measures of joined sexually preventive/therapeutic activities are proposed, as well as educational and preventive/therapeutic psychotrauma models.

Delinquency in incarcerated male adolescents is associated with single parenthood, exposure to more violence at home and in the community, and poorer self-image

Aim To assess the relationships between delinquency and demographic and family variables, academic performance, war stressors, home/community, school, and media violence exposure, self-image, and psychopathology. Methods This cross-sectional study included 100 delinquent, incarcerated male adolescents and 100 matched schoolchildren from Croatia. It lasted from January 2008 to June 2009, and used socio-demographic questionnaire, questionnaire on children’s stressful and traumatic war experiences, exposure to violence scale, the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire, and Youth Self-Report Questionnaire. Results Logistic regression analysis showed that delinquency in incarcerated adolescents was more likely related to having parents who did not live together (odds ratio [OR] 2.40; confidence interval [CI] 1.18-4.90, P = 0.015), being more exposed to violence at home/community (OR 3.84; CI 1.58-9.34, P = 0.003), and having poorer self-image (OR 1.09; CI = 1.03-1.16, P < 0.002). Conclusion Preventive and therapeutic interventions in incarcerated delinquents should be specifically targeted toward single parenthood, family factors, trauma oriented interventions, and focused on multiple dimensions of self-concept of adolescents.

Dreams of Deceased Children and Countertransference in the Group Psychotherapy of Bereaved Mothers: Clinical Illustration

This article presents, in the form of a clinical illustration, a therapeutic group of bereaved mothers with special reference to their dreams about their deceased children. The article presents descriptions of the emotions of these mothers and countertransference feelings, a topic that, to our knowledge, has not been frequently studied. The group was small, analytically oriented, slow-open, comprised of women bereaved by the death of a child, and conducted by a female therapist. Over more than three years, the group included 20 members in total. This article describes a number of dreams recorded during a period when the group included seven members. Dreams helped the group members access their emotional pain, helplessness, yearning for a relationship with the deceased, guilt, and feelings of survival guilt. The transference-countertransference relationships were characterized by holding. Countertransference feelings of helplessness predominated. The therapist and the group as a whole contained various emotions, allowing the group members to return to the normal mourning processes from the parallel encouragement of group development and interpersonal relationships.

Group Cohesion and Coherency and a Threat of Loss in the Analytic Group

We discuss the dynamics of an analytic group when a female member spoke about her three-year-old child suffering from a malignant disease. The group was slow-open and consisted of six members and the female therapist (the first author). The group held sessions one and a half hours a week for approximately five years. The therapist conducted the group in accordance with the theoretical background of Foulkes. During the period described in this article (10 months), the group went through hard times; they moved from an initial fear of disintegration to gradual recovery by working through the previous separation anxiety of individual members and of the group as a whole. We believe that the threatening loss (i.e., facing the fear of death) led to more profound interactions. In our opinion, the well-developed coherency very much contributed to the gradual recovery.

The Process of a Member’s Planned Termination from an Analytic Group

We discuss the dynamics of a therapy group when a female member announces her planned and then mutually agreed termination. To our knowledge, this subject is a relatively neglected area in professional literature. The group held sessions for a total period of one and a half hours a week for approximately six years. The group was slow-open and consisted of seven members and the conductor. The conductor conducted the group in accordance with the theoretical background of Foulkes. We describe the announcement of the member’s termination, the group dynamics and the group’s transference-countertransference feelings. Interestingly, after the member announced her departure from the group another member’s grandfather died, which intensified the issues of death, loss, separation and mourning within the group.