Sexual Behavior and Concerns in a Sample of Elderly, Former Indentured Swiss Child Laborers

Introduction

Past research suggests a link between post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and an increased risk for sexual problems. However, there is still no clear picture whether these higher rates are related to trauma exposure or to PTSD itself.

Aim

The aim of the present study was to complement existing knowledge on the relative impact of trauma and PTSD on sexuality in later life, considering different aspects of trauma exposure on both men and women.

Methods

The study was conducted on a unique population sample of former Swiss indentured child laborers (55 men,M _age 78, age range 60–95 years) who have repeatedly experienced a variety of severe childhood traumas.

Main Outcome Measures

Sexual outcomes were measured using two scales from the Trauma Symptom Inventory—Dysfunctional Sexual Behavior (DSB) and Sexual Concerns (SC). PTSD symptoms and trauma were assessed with the Short Screening Scale for PTSD and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, respectively.

Results

Twenty‐two individuals showed PTSD symptoms, and 53 reported having experienced childhood trauma. Significant differences between men and women were reported for DSB and SC. Men reported a significantly higher prevalence of both SC and DSB compared with women.

Conclusions

This is the very first study investigating DSB and SC in a sample of older adults exposed to similar traumatic experiences and settings. However, some study limitations need to be considered such as the small sample size. Additional studies are needed to further explore the relative role of traumatization and PTSD on sexual behavior and well‐being, especially to improve sexual therapy for patients who experience trauma.

...Although there is an extensive body of literature suggesting the tendency for sexual abuse alone to predict sexual symptoms (e.g., Briere et al. [13, 20]), only physical abuse was significantly associated with sexual concerns in this study. None of the other trauma exposure types (i.e., sexual or emotional abuse) were associated with either SC or DSB. These findings are in line with a recent epidemiologic study, which found a significant relationship between previous experiences of any kind of abuse and sexual impairment of various domains of women's sexual functioning [10]. The study further revealed that the specific form of abuse was irrelevant to the development of sexual problems, suggesting that different types of abuse—whether they are of emotional, sexual, or physical nature—all have similar effects on one's emotional regulation and sexuality. This study also supports our findings concerning the artificial categorization of the various traumas into interpersonal vs. accidental—interpersonal trauma was more significantly associated with SC compared with accidental trauma. Further, no specific effects of cumulative trauma on sexual behavior could be detected in the present study, but additional research including both men and women and assessing different types of trauma events is needed.

Overall, the results of this study support that neither time of the traumatic event nor screening positively for PTSD symptoms is an independent risk factor or predictor for sexual problems...

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/Rqoobi

By:  Karin Rechsteiner, MSc, 1 Andrea Burri, PhD, 1 and Andreas Maercker, PhD, MD 1

¹University of Zurich—Department of Psychology, Zurich, Switzerland

Corresponding author.

^*Corresponding Author: Karin Rechsteiner, MSc, University of Zurich—Psychology, Binzmühlestrasse 14/17, Zürich 8050, Switzerland. Tel: 41‐44‐635‐73‐12; E‐mail: moc.liamg@nirak.renietshcer

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High School Incompletion and Childhood Maltreatment among Street-Involved Young People in Vancouver, Canada

While the link between educational attainment and future health and wellness is well understood, little investigation has considered the potential impacts of distinct forms of childhood maltreatment on high school completion. 

In the present study, the relationship between five categories of childhood maltreatment (physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and physical and emotional neglect) and completion of high school education were examined using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). From September 2005 to May 2013, data were collected for the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS), a cohort of street-involved young people who use illicit drugs in Vancouver, Canada. We used logistic regression to examine the relationship between childhood maltreatment and high school completion, while controlling for a range of potential confounding variables. Specifically, five separate models for each category of maltreatment and two combined models were employed to examine the relative associations between, and cumulative impact of, different forms of childhood maltreatment and educational attainment. 

Among 974 young people, 737 (76%) reported not completing high school. In separate multivariable analyses physical abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect remained positively and independently associated with an incomplete high school education. In a combined multivariable model with all forms of childhood maltreatment considered together, emotional abuse (adjusted odds ratio = 2.08; 95% confidence interval: 1.51-2.86) was the only form of maltreatment that remained significantly associated with an incomplete high school education. The cumulative impact assessment indicated a moderate dose-dependent trend where the greater the number of different forms of childhood maltreatment the greater the risk of not completing a high school education. 

These findings point to the need for trauma-informed interventions to improve educational attainment among vulnerable young people, as well as evidence-based prevention programmes, such as the Nurse-Family Partnership, aimed at supporting at-risk families before maltreatment occurs.

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By:   Barker B^1,2, Kerr T^1,3, Dong H¹, Wood E^1,3, DeBeck K^1,4.

¹Urban Health Research Initiative, British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

²Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

³Division of AIDS, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

⁴School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 

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Childhood Trauma and Its Relation to Chronic Depression in Adulthood

There is a large consensus indicating that childhood trauma is significantly involved in the development of depression. 

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of retrospectively recalled childhood trauma in chronically depressed patients and to investigate a more specific relationship between trauma type and depression. 

We further asked for the influence of multiple experiences of childhood trauma on the vulnerability to a chronic course of depression in adulthood. 349 chronically depressed patients of the German LAC Depression Study completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, a self-report measure of traumatic experiences in childhood. 75.6% of the chronically depressed patients reported clinically significant histories of childhood trauma. 37% of the chronically depressed patients reported multiple childhood traumatization. 

Experiences of multiple trauma also led to significantly more severe depressive symptoms. Stepwise multiple regression analysis suggested that childhood emotional abuse and sexual abuse were significantly associated with a higher symptom severity in chronically depressed adults. Yet, expanding the regression model for multiple exposures showed that multiplicity was the only remaining significant predictor for symptom severity in chronically depressed patients. 

Clinical implications suggest a precise assessment of childhood trauma in chronically depressed patients with a focus on emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and multiple exposures to childhood trauma. This trial is registered with registration number ISRCTN91956346.

…Overall, the prevalence of childhood trauma was remarkably high with a magnitude of 75.6%. Moreover, CTQ subscale means indicated childhood trauma on the thresholds from moderate to severe exposure [56–58]. We additionally applied higher thresholds for the specific examination of clinically relevant childhood trauma [62]. Specific contributions of certain types of childhood trauma to the vulnerability of different forms of psychopathology were repeatedly reported. Our results show that emotional abuse was reported most frequently with 61%. Additionally, 25% of the patients reported childhood sexual abuse. Contrastingly, 15% emotional abuse and 12.6% sexual abuse were found in a representative German survey study on the prevalence of childhood trauma [64]. These findings show chronically depressed patients to be highly burdened by childhood adversities and supports reports of greater childhood adversity in chronic forms of depression compared to nonchronic forms [46]. For example, dysthymic patients were reported to have significantly poorer early parental relationships and to receive less care than patients with episodic depression [65]. Also, duration of depression was reported to be uniquely predicted by maternal abuse, maternal indifference, and paternal overcontrol [47].

In our study, women reported significantly more frequent childhood trauma in general and emotional abuse and sexual abuse in particular. McGrath et al. [66] pointed to the higher risk of victimization in women and estimated childhood abuse in women at 21.7 to 37%. Lampe's [67] review on childhood trauma confirmed that women suffered more frequently from sexual abuse than men. Scher et al. [63] showed that women were nearly twice as likely to report emotional abuse and four times as likely to report sexual abuse. Furthermore, our results showed that when referring to associations of trauma types and trauma groups with symptom severity, gender did not contribute significantly. Arnow et al. [68] examined the moderating role of gender on the association between childhood abuse, neglect, and depression, yet they found no gender differences. However, they also identified significantly more depressed women than men reporting histories of emotional abuse and sexual abuse, which they interpreted as stemming from higher rates of victimization among women (p. 179). The lack of evidence for gender differences in the relationship of childhood adversity and depression was also substantiated by other studies reporting that among those with a history of childhood sexual abuse [35] with physical [69] or emotional abuse [69, 70] men and women were equally at risk for depression…

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/NWAaCV

By:   Alexa Negele, 1 , * Johannes Kaufhold, 1 Lisa Kallenbach, 1 and Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber 1 , 2

¹Sigmund-Freud-Institute, 60323 Frankfurt, Germany

²University of Kassel, Psychoanalytical Psychology, 34127 Kassel, Germany

*Alexa Negele: Email: ed.tutitsni-duerf-dnumgis@elegen

  

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Influence of the 5-HT3A Receptor Gene Polymorphism and Childhood Sexual Trauma on Central Serotonin Activity

Background

Gene-environment interactions are important for understanding alterations in human brain function. The loudness dependence of auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) is known to reflect central serotonergic activity. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 5-HT3A serotonin receptor gene are associated with psychiatric disorders. This study aimed to investigate the effect between 5-HT3A receptor gene polymorphisms and childhood sexual trauma on the LDAEP as an electrophysiological marker in healthy subjects.

Methods

A total of 206 healthy subjects were recruited and evaluated using the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ) and hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). Peak-to-peak N1/P2 was measured at five stimulus intensities, and the LDAEP was calculated as the linear-regression slope. In addition, the rs1062613 SNPs of 5-HT3A (CC, CT, and TT) were analyzed in healthy subjects.

Results

There was a significant interaction between scores on the CTQ-sexual abuse subscale and 5-HT3A genotype on the LDAEP. Subjects with the CC polymorphism had a significantly higher LDEAP than T carriers in the sexually abused group. In addition, CC genotype subjects in the sexually abused group showed a significantly higher LDAEP compared with CC genotype subjects in the non-sexually abused group.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that people with the CC polymorphism of the 5-HT3A gene have a greater risk of developing mental health problems if they have experienced childhood sexual abuse, possibly due to low central serotonin activity. Conversely, the T polymorphism may be protective against any central serotonergic changes following childhood sexual trauma.

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By:   

Kuk-In Jang, Jeong-Ho Chae

Department of Biomedicine & Health Sciences, The Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Seung-Hwan Lee

Department of Psychiatry, Inje University College of Medicine, Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea

Kuk-In Jang, Seung-Hwan Lee

Clinical Emotion and Cognition Research Laboratory, Inje University, Goyang, Korea

Hyu Jung Huh, Jeong-Ho Chae

Department of Psychiatry, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

 

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Childhood Trauma & Meth Abuse among Men Who Have Sex with Men: Implications for Intervention

Methamphetamine (meth) has become one of the most widely abused drugs in South Florida, particularly among MSM who may or may not be HIV seropositive. High rates of childhood trauma have been reported among HIV-infected MSM (Chartier et al., 2010), but, the association of childhood trauma, and mood disorders with methamphetamine use in HIV-infected men, has not been comprehensively explored. 

A better understanding of the association between these factors could improve existing substance abuse treatment intervention strategies and medical treatment programs (e.g., medication adherence; Carrico, 2010) to enhance positive health outcomes for male meth abusers living with the psychological consequences of childhood abuse. 

This study, as part of a larger study, examined the occurrence of childhood trauma and depression in a group of HIV seropositive meth abusing MSM. Significantly higher levels of depression symptom severity were found among meth users relative to non-meth users (p < .001). 

Irrespective of HIV status, meth users also reported higher frequencies of emotional, physical and sexual child abuse relative to non-meth users (p < .001). Among meth users, depression was predicted by childhood emotional neglect. These results suggest that childhood maltreatment may be implicated in the development of emotional distress (e.g., depression) and higher prevalence of methamphetamine/drug abuse in this population. 

These findings have important implications for substance abuse interventions, specifically targeting Meth addiction among MSM. Addressing childhood trauma and depression may play a key role in enhancing the effectiveness of interventions for methamphetamine addiction.

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By:  Lopez-Patton M1, Kumar M2, Jones D2, Fonseca M2, Kumar AM2, Nemeroff CB2.

• 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA. Electronic address: mrosana512@yahoo.com.
• 2Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA.

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Effects of HIV & Childhood Trauma on Brain Morphometry & Neurocognitive Function

A wide spectrum of neurocognitive deficits characterises HIV infection in adults. HIV infection is additionally associated with morphological brain abnormalities affecting neural substrates that subserve neurocognitive function. Early life stress (ELS) also has a direct influence on brain morphology. However, the combined impact of ELS and HIV on brain structure and neurocognitive function has not been examined in an all-female sample with advanced HIV disease. 

The present study examined the effects of HIV and childhood trauma on brain morphometry and neurocognitive function. Structural data were acquired using a 3T Magnetom MRI scanner, and a battery of neurocognitive tests was administered to 124 women: HIV-positive with ELS (n = 32), HIV-positive without ELS (n = 30), HIV-negative with ELS (n = 31) and HIV-negative without ELS (n = 31). Results revealed significant group volumetric differences for right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), bilateral hippocampi, corpus callosum, left and right caudate and left and right putamen. Mean regional volumes were lowest in HIV-positive women with ELS compared to all other groups. Although causality cannot be inferred, findings also suggest that alterations in the left frontal lobe, right ACC, left hippocampus, corpus callosum, left and right amygdala and left caudate may be associated with poorer neurocognitive performance in the domains of processing speed, attention/working memory, abstraction/executive functions, motor skills, learning and language/fluency with these effects more pronounced in women living with both HIV and childhood trauma. 

This study highlights the potential contributory role of childhood trauma to brain alterations and neurocognitive decline in HIV-infected individuals.

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By: Spies G1,2, Ahmed-Leitao F3, Fennema-Notestine C4,5, Cherner M4, Seedat S3,6.

• 1South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI), PTSD program, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa. ggiocos@sun.ac.za.
• 2Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, PO Box 241, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa. ggiocos@sun.ac.za.
• 3South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI), PTSD program, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
• 4Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
• 5Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
• 6MRC Unit on Anxiety and Stress Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa. 

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