Richard L. Ogle

Methodological issues in assessing psychological adjustment in child witnesses of intimate partner violence

This review summarizes a growing number of methodological concerns emerging from research on child witnesses of intimate partner violence (IPV). A brief summary of various psychological, biological, and cognitive impairments associated with witnessing IPV is presented. Directions for future research in this area are explored with particular attention paid to experimental design. Advantages and disadvantages of retrospective, cross-sectional, and longitudinal designs are evaluated. Suggested improvements include the use of multiple informants, behavioral observations, and prospective, longitudinal assessment.

Perceived Control and Emotional Status in Abusive College Student Relationships An Exploration of Gender Differences

The authors assessed perceived control, dysphoria, hopelessness, self-esteem, and optimism in 280 college students involved in abusive and nonabusive relationships. Women reported higher levels of dysphoria and lower levels of self-esteem and optimism than men. Women in abusive relationships reported more psychological symptoms than men in abusive relationships. After controlling for gender differences in emotional status, participants in abusive relationships showed more psychological symptoms than those in nonabusive relationships. Women showed lower perceived control of relationship conflicts than men. Men experiencing high levels of abuse reported higher perceived control of relationship conflict than females experiencing low levels of abuse. Perceived control was affected more by gender than emotional status, abuse level, and gender-affected emotional status. The authors discuss the results in terms of their implications for future investigations of emotional reactions to abuse.

Deliberate Self‐Harm and Alcohol Involvement in College‐Aged Females: A Controlled Comparison in a Nonclinical Sample

Individuals who engage in deliberate self-harm (DSH) report using other problematic coping mechanisms. One potential problematic coping mechanism is alcohol consumption. Research on alcohol involvement and deliberate self-harm is conflicting. This study compared individuals who have engaged in deliberate self-harm to controls on a range of alcohol measures. Five hundred females completed questionnaires assessing deliberate self-harm and alcohol involvement. Controlling for differences in psychopathology and impulsivity, the DSH group did not differ from the controls relative to quantity and frequency of alcohol use but did differ relative to negative consequences, risky behaviors, and alcohol expectancies. The authors discuss mechanisms that account for increased negative consequences and expectancies of alcohol consumption in the absence of differences in quantity and frequency, as well as the clinical importance of assessing a broad spectrum of alcohol involvement in the DSH population.

Does Acknowledgment as an Assault Victim Impact Postassault Psychological Symptoms and Coping

Psychological symptoms, abuse characteristics, abuse disability, and coping were assessed in college women who either did or did not acknowledge victim status relative to rape or intimate partner violence. Women were asked directly whether they had experienced intimate partner violence or rape. They also completed the Conflicts Tactic Scale (CTS) and the Sexual Experience Survey (SES). Participants were then classified into groups depending upon whether their answer, when directly asked, was consistent with their self-report on the CTS or SES. Overall, women who met the experiential criteria for either assault, but who did not acknowledge victimization, reported greater disability, more psychological symptoms, and impaired coping. This effect was particularly strong for the rape groups, where those who did not acknowledge victimization reported far more psychological distress, disability, and impaired coping than controls and other victim groups. The authors discuss the results in terms of their methodological implications for studies of assault victims and in terms of the clinical implications for victim identification and treatment.

Addressing the Service Linkage Problem Increasing Substance Abuse Treatment Engagement Using Personalized Feedback Interventions in Heavy-Using Female Domestic Violence Shelter Residents

Two personalized substance abuse assessment and feedback interventions were tested for effectiveness in engaging female domestic violence shelter residents in sub-stance abuse treatment. One hundred forty-seven residents were assessed for quantity and frequency of substance use, negative consequences due to use, motivation to change substance use behavior, and psychopathological symptoms related to sub-stance abuse. Assessment identified (33) 22% of participants as heavy substance users. Twenty of the 33 heavy-using residents received one of two personalized sub-stance use feedback interventions: face-to-face feedback or written feedback placed in shelter mailboxes. Treatment engagement was defined as attending at least one substance abuse treatment session within 30 days after the intervention. Results showed a significant difference in treatment engagement rates in favor of the face-to-face feedback group (60% vs. 0%). The results provide preliminary data suggesting that substance abuse assessment can be effectively accomplished in the shelter environment and that the face-to-face feedback procedure may be an effective intervention to bridge the service linkage problem between domestic violence services and substance abuse treatment.

Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence: Relations between parent-child concordance and children’s adjustment

The current study examined the extent to which seventy-five 5- to 13-year-old children and their mothers agreed about whether children had been exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) and the association between parent–child agreement and children’s psychological adjustment. One type of disagreement (i.e., parents failed to report IPV exposure that children reported) was associated with children’s perceptions of less positive family relationships. Parents of these children, however, reported fewer child adjustment problems than did parents who agreed with their children about children’s IPV exposure. The findings suggest the importance of obtaining children’s reports of their own exposure to IPV in addition to parental reports. Moreover, parent–child concordance with respect to children’s IPV exposure may be an important variable to examine in understanding variations in children’s adjustment.

What Do Women Want? A Qualitative Study of Dating

Many approaches to decrease unwanted sex for women emphasize enhanced risk recognition. However, women often remain in risky situations despite recognition; so we need to understand the attractions of normative dating and sex. In this focus group study, 45 young adult women discussed their attractions to men, dating, and sex. Themes emerged describing conflicts between what they wanted, dating realities, desire for “traditional” behavior from the man, alcohol use, sexual arousal (hers and his), indirect communication about sex, feeling “obligated,” and enhanced self-esteem. Results suggest improving risk-recognition programs by examining and clarifying women’s goals for dating and putting positive emphasis on “have fun, achieve your goals, but try to avoid harm in the process.”

A Comparison Study of Coping, Family Problem-Solving and Emotional Status in Victims of Domestic Violence

ABSTRACT Domestic violence research has been limited by lack of appropriate comparison groups. In the present study, shelter-living, abused women were compared to community-living, abused women, maritally distressed women, and non-distressed non-abused women on relationship characteristics, emotional status, and family problem solving and coping. Shelter-living abused women reported more physical violence in the past year than community-living abused women. Both abused groups reported higher levels of depression and anxiety than non-abused groups. Community-living women reported greater use of aggressive solutions to family problems than other groups. Differences between community-living and shelter-living abused women point to the utility of including appropriate comparison groups in studies of abused women.

Assessing Acceptance of Violence Toward Women: A Factor Analysis of Burt's Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence Scale

The Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence Scale (AIV) is a self-report inventory assessing beliefs about violence toward women. This studys purpose was to test the multidimensionality of the AIV. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on half a sample of 772 male participants and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the other half. EFA indicated a two-factor solution. Factors were labeled Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence. The CFA showed this model provided a good fit and was superior to the original one-factor model. Potential problems when using the single sum score and the applicability of the derived factor structure to violence research are discussed.

Clinic Outcome Assessment of a Brief Course Neurofeedback for Childhood ADHD Symptoms.

Neurofeedback (NFB) is a noninvasive neurocognitive intervention that relies on the principles of operant conditioning to retrain brainwave patterns associated with concentration, relaxation, and attention. When conducting NFB, electrodes are attached to the scalp and connected to a computer, which reads the brain waves. Brain waves in the desired range are reinforced (e.g., earning points), while brain waves outside of the range are punished (e.g., hearing beeping tone). Typical neurofeedback batteries for childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms involve 30–40 neurofeedback sessions, each lasting 30–60 min. NFB can help children with ADHD symptoms learn which brain waves are associated with focused attention and which are not. NFB can involve teaching children to modify specific brainwaves associated with ADHD symptoms. Beta waves (13–30 Hz) are related to concentration and alertness, while alpha (8– 12 Hz) and theta (4–8 Hz) waves are associated with relaxation. Additionally, theta waves are associated with daydreaming and lethargy. Some NFB treatments for ADHD symptoms utilize theta/beta training to increase beta wave activity to target concentration and decrease theta wave activity to target unfocused behavior. Other NFB treatments utilize sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) training (13–15 Hz), a brain wave rhythm associated with relaxation and attentiveness. NFB has received BLevel 1 Best Support^ as an evidence-based treatment for childhood ADHD according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Receiving this designation means that there have been studies with sufficient sample size indicating that NFB is safe for use with children. It also means that studies have demonstrated that NFB is effective in reducing ADHD symptoms in children. However, evaluations of neurofeedback outside of research trials have been more limited, meaning it is not yet known how laboratory studies translate to real clinical practice.