Jody Lynee Madeira

Sexual function and fertility quality of life in women using in vitro fertilization.

INTRODUCTION Women undergoing fertility treatment are likely to report negative changes in sexual function. With the rapid increase in the number of women pursuing in vitro fertilization (IVF), there is a need to better understand how IVF impacts a womans sexual experiences and quality of life. AIMS This study has three purposes: (i) test the psychometric properties of the Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ) in a sample of U.S. women undergoing IVF; (ii) compare sexual function of women undergoing IVF with a nonclinical sample of U.S. women; and (iii) identify the aspects of sexual function most related to fertility quality of life (FertiQoL). METHOD A total of 136 women who had recently undergone or who were currently undergoing IVF completed a web-based, cross-sectional survey about sexual experiences and quality of life. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Data were collected on infertility diagnosis, length of infertility, number of IVF cycles, pregnancy, and birth outcomes. Six domains of sexual function as well as the medical impact of IVF were assessed using the SFQ. A validated instrument was used to measure FertiQoL. RESULTS Reliability analyses for the SFQ indicate sufficiently strong fit (Cronbachs alpha = 0.79 to 0.89). Compared with a nonclinical sample, women undergoing IVF scored significantly lower in sexual interest, desire, orgasm, satisfaction, sexual activity, and overall sexual function (P < 0.05). A stepwise linear regression indicated that sexual problems predicted FertiQoL scores (Beta = 4.61, P < 0.01). The most common sexual problems included lack of sexual interest or desire (30%), difficulty with orgasm (15%), vaginal dryness (14%), and vaginal tightness (13%). CONCLUSIONS Women undergoing IVF may be at particular risk for sexual problems. Sexual function issues may markedly impact overall quality of life during fertility treatment and should be addressed as an important component of comprehensive care.

I’m Still Left Here With the Pain Exploring the Health Consequences of Homicide on Families and Friends

Limited research has focused on the aftermath of the homicide, namely, the families and friends of homicide victims left in the wake of the tragedy. The present study is a multisite study involving focus groups of families and friends of homicide victims and assessing participants’ resulting biopsychosocial consequences, their experiences with service providers, and whether or how their needs were met. This study is important to better understand their needs and to create a holistic systematic response to those most affected by homicide. The findings present recommendations regarding what approaches, resources, and services would be helpful for people who have had a loved one die by homicide, which may prove beneficial for academics, policymakers, practitioners, and medical responders.

Blood Relations: Collective Memory, Cultural Trauma, & the Prosecution & Execution of Timothy McVeigh

Based on interviews with 27 victims’ family members and survivors, this chapter explores how memory of the Oklahoma City bombing was constructed through participation in groups formed after the bombing and participation in the trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. It first addresses the efficacy of a collective memory perspective. It then describes the mental context in which interviewees joined groups after the bombing, the recovery functions groups played, and their impact on punishment expectations. Next, it discusses a media-initiated involuntary relationship between McVeigh and interviewees. Finally, this chapter examines execution witnesses’ perceptions of communication with McVeigh in his trial and execution.

The Visibly Offensive Offender: A Semiotic Phenomenology of an Execution

Starting from the premise that claims concerning “closure” from executions are actually claims about the lived experience of witnessing an execution, this chapter considers how the visual dynamics inherent in execution and the culture of capital punishment are impacted by execution method, whether and how an execution is witnessed, and the identities of the condemned and the execution witnesses. It focuses upon the semiotic interplay of visibility and invisibility in light of Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh’s 2001 execution by lethal injection. Applying semiotic phenomenology to interpret witnesses’ conscious experience of McVeigh’s execution, this chapter illustrates how the condemned body is steeped in semiotic meaning and reveals three themes essential to the lived experience of witnessing McVeigh’s execution: the perception of being compelled to witness, a perception of communicative interaction, and a sense of completion. The lived experience of witnessing McVeigh’s execution was that of rendering “justice” visible and McVeigh invisible. This phenomenological investigation reveals that perception of “accountability” and “justice” is not related only to an offender’s crimes but also to his personality and level of visibility before and after trial and sentencing, and confirms that family members’ emotional needs are, for better or for worse, tied to the criminal justice system and certain procedural outcomes.

A Constructed Peace: Narratives of Suture in the News Media

In the aftermath of violent crime, survivors are confronted by questions of comprehension, healing, normalcy, accountability, and restoration. These same issues are communicated to audiences via mass media coverage of the crime and ensuing legal proceedings that focuses upon survivors while they are in the public eye - and while those suspected of the crime are in the defendants chair. Such stories bring a human face to the innocents most affected by the outcome of the proceedings, relaying their involvement in and response to legal developments from arrest to execution. This paper examines these chronicles through the lens of narrative theory, practices integral to human communication and memory. It discusses how the mass media makes use of narrative practices in covering crises, events that in effect demand narration. This paper then focuses upon the suturing potential of narrative, its ability to knit together understandings of crises into beginnings, endings, and points in between. This discussion is illustrated by a content analysis of stories covering Dennis and Judy Shepard, whose son Matthew was brutally slain in 1998, from the time of the murder to the prosecution of the killers and beyond.