Pedro J. Amor

Psychological Treatment of Men Convicted of Gender Violence A Pilot Study in Spanish Prisons

In this article, the effectiveness of a psychological treatment program for men who are in prison for committing a serious offence of gender violence is tested. The sample consisted of 52 men who were imprisoned in eight Spanish prisons. The psychological treatment was a cognitive-behavioral program, in a group format, with 20 weekly sessions that lasted for 8 months. The results showed a significant improvement of irrational beliefs, about both women and violence, as a strategy to cope with everyday difficulties and a significant decrease of psychopathological symptomatology, anger, and hostility. On the other hand, results indicated that the only difference between the patients who dropped out of treatment and those who completed it was the level of initial motivation for treatment. Implications of this study for clinical practice and future research in this field are discussed.

Psychopathological Profile of Men Convicted of Gender Violence A Study in the Prisons of Spain

In this article, a description of the demographic, penal, and psychopathological characteristics of 54 men who are in prison because of having committed a serious offense of gender violence was carried out. Furthermore, a comparison of all the variables studied between the participants with homicide and those without homicide was done. The results showed the existence of irrational beliefs both about women and violence as a strategy to cope with everyday difficulties, as well as a general inadaptation to daily life. However, from a psychopathological point of view, in spite of not observing a high degree of symptomatology in the sample, the psychiatric and penal antecedents and current emotional instability were much more frequent and severe in people who had not committed homicide. Therefore, two possible differential profiles among the violent men are presented.

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire

The aim of this study was to validate a Spanish version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-S), originally developed by Garnefski, Kraaij, and Spinhoven. To date, it is the only available instrument that permits a conceptually pure quantification of cognitive strategies of emotional regulation. A sample of 615 students (25% men; 75% women) completed the CERQ-S. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that, as in the original version, a nine-factor model also explained the data collected with the Spanish version. However, an alternative model that integrates the nine dimensions in two second-order factors shows appropriate global fit indices and has interesting implications. Likewise, the results of the present study are comparable with those obtained in previous work with measures of depression, anxiety, and anger, and increase support for the validity of this instrument for assessing normalized affective states.

Aggressors Against Women in Prison and in the Community: An Exploratory Study of a Differential Profile

The current study compares the demographic and psychopathological characteristics of 54 men, who were in prison because of a serious offence of violence against women, and of 42 men, who belonged to a program of community treatment for violence against women in the home. There were no significant differences in demographic variables between the two samples. However, from a psychopathological point of view, psychiatric antecedents and current emotional instability were much more frequent and severe in aggressors within the community. Therefore, two possible differential profiles among the violent men are presented. Implications of these results for further research and clinical practice are commented on.

Perfil psicopatológico e intervención terapéutica con los agresores contra la pareja

The aims of this paper were to analyze the personality and psychopathological characteristics of male batterers, together with the most important cognitive distortions of their minds, and to establish a typology of men who engage in intimate partner violence. Likewise, an individual 20 sessions cognitive-behavioral programme in the treatment of male batterers after 10 years implementation in a community setting is described. The success rate was 88% in those who completed the treatment. In spite of losing patients in the follow-ups (46% at the end of twelve months), the results were maintained in the patients contacted at follow-up (53% in the 12-month-follow-up), with a high impact on

Hombres violentos contra la pareja: trastornos mentales y perfiles tipológicos

The aims of this theoretical paper are to analyze the mental disorders and the most relevant psychological deficits of intimate partner violent men, as well as to identify different types of batterers according to the classifications of Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart (1994) and of FernandezMontalvo and Echeburua (1997). A review of multiple theoretical and empirical papers has been carried out with this purpose. The main results show that the aggressors usually show psychological deficits –lack of control over anger, difficulty in expressing emotions, cognitive distortions, deficit in communication skills and problem solving, and low self-esteem-, and, not as often, well-established clinical disorders (eg, alcoholism, personality disorders, delusional jealousy). In conclusion, there are different types of violent men –family only, dysphoric/borderline and generally violent/antisocialwho require treatment programs adapted to their specific characteristics and needs. Finally, the future perspectives and the most relevant goals of research are commented on.

Aggression, anger and hostility: Evaluation of moral disengagement as a mediational process.

This study examines how the mechanisms underlying moral disengagement serve as a mediator between anger and hostility and physical and verbal aggression. The study was carried out on 424 participants (61.1% females), aged 15 to 25 years, assessing the direct and indirect effects of the distinct variables using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that anger and hostility contribute independently and positively to physical and verbal aggression. Moreover, the relationships between anger, hostility, and aggression appear to be mediated by moral disengagement. Indeed, this process of mediation was invariant across sexes, and it tended to be stronger for physical--as opposed to verbal--aggression.

Escala de Gravedad de Síntomas Revisada (EGS-R) del Trastorno de Estrés Postraumático según el DSM-5: propiedades psicométricas

La Escala de Gravedad de Sintomas Revisada del Trastorno de Estres Postraumatico (TEPT) es una entrevista estructurada que consta de 21 items, basada en los criterios diagnosticos del DSM-5, y sirve para evaluar la gravedad de los sintomas de este cuadro clinico. En este trabajo se describen las propiedades psicometricas de este instrumento. La muestra conto con 526 victimas de agresiones sexuales o de violencia familiar y con una muestra normativa de 193 participantes. El instrumento global mostro una alta consistencia interna (α = .91), asi como una buena validez discriminante (g = 1.27) y convergente (rbp = .78 con el diagnostico). Los resultados del analisis factorial confirmatorio apoyan los cuatro nucleos de sintomas del DSM-5. Un punto de corte de 20, con una eficacia diagnostica del 82.48%, es apropiada para discriminar a las victimas con un TEPT. Esta escala resulta util para planificar el tratamiento y las investigaciones clinicas.

Current psychological therapeutic approaches for gambling disorder with psychiatric comorbidities: A narrative review

Background. Although the presence of a gambling disorder (GD) together with another mental disorder poses special treatment challenges, such as relapses, severe outcomes for patients and families, and increased number of hospitalizations, there are only a few critical reviews in the literature. Objective. To review empirical evidence of psychological approaches to cope specifically with these dual disorders. Method. A narrative review of the relevant bibliography on this topic was carried out. A systematic search of original articles (2010-October 2017) was conducted in MEDLINE and PsycInfo. Key terms were: 1. gambling/gamblers, 2. treatment/intervention/therapy/therapeutics, and 3. dual diagnosis/comorbidity. Results. Current treatment for GD involves a number of different options, including inpatient treatments, intensive outpatient therapy, individual and group cognitive-behavioral options (CBT), self-help groups, and pharmacotherapy. Inpatient care is generally limited to patients with severe acute crises, treatment failures, and severe comorbid disorders, particularly depression and attempted suicide. Treatment for GD with other mental disorder needs more research. CBT, motivational enhancement therapy and self-help groups have some empirical support when GD is comorbid with other addiction, mood disorder, or schizophrenia. Programs that combine pharmacotherapy and psychosocial treatments for GD into a single comprehensive package are most likely to have good treatment outcomes, at least with regard to treatment retention. Discussion and conclusion. Interventions should be tailored to the needs of the patients. Future research should be concerned about the statistical power of the studies, implement motivational strategies for patients with poor medication adherence, and design measures to study treatment fidelity in the CBT groups.

Presentación del monográfico [Introduction to the monographic]

La mayoria de los articulos que conforman este monografico tienen como denominador comun la violencia dentro de las relaciones de pareja. Este tipo de violencia supone un grave problema social y de salud, generando mucho sufrimiento a todas las victimas sean directas o indirectas; por otra parte, muchos de sus victimarios tambien sufren las consecuencias de sus actos, se enfrentan a juicios penales y, en algunos casos, acaban residiendo durante algun tiempo en Instituciones Penitenciarias.