When Institutions Harm Those Who Depend on Them: A Scoping Review of Institutional Betrayal.

The term institutional betrayal (Smith and Freyd, 2014) builds on the conceptual framework of betrayal trauma theory (see Freyd, 1996) to describe the ways that institutions (e.g., universities, workplaces) fail to take appropriate steps to prevent and/or respond appropriately to interpersonal trauma.

A roadmap for preventing and responding to trauma: Practical guidance for advancing community-engaged research.

Objective: Community-engaged research (CEnR) is an approach to inquiry that centers scientist-community partnerships characterized by mutuality and reciprocity, and is well-aligned with trauma-informed principles, such as trustworthiness, transparency, and fostering empowerment.

Method: The current paper considers definitions and applications of CEnR, highlighting examples from the trauma literature, from the formulation of research questions to the dissemination of research findings.

Conclusion: To realize CEnR's promise to contribute to innovation, scientific understanding, and increased impact in the trauma field will require a shift in training and institutions.

Revictimization Patterns Among Unhoused Youth.

Young people experiencing houselessness are at high risk for revictimization. As has been identified in other populations, symptoms of psychological distress may be an indirect pathway by which initial victimization may increase risk for later revictimization among youth experiencing houselessness. The current study used cross-sectional mediation analyses to examine the hypothesis that there would be an indirect effect of interpersonal victimization that occurred before young people left home on subsequent victimization while experiencing houselessness, through posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms.

Dependence in adult relationships: Latent classes of relational dependence and associated outcomes in women exposed to intimate partner abuse.

Objective: Studies applying a betrayal trauma theory (BTT) framework to adult abuse have measured dependence by asking about the closeness of the victim-offender relationship. However, women's experiences of dependence may vary even in close victim-offender relationships, such as in the case of abuse perpetrated by intimate partners. This investigation assessed whether subgroups of women who were abused by intimate partners could be identified based on dependence characteristics.

Community-Engaged Research: Exploring a Tool for Action and Advocacy.

Trauma psychologists seeking to engage in evidence-based advocacy and action may benefit from methods that prioritize public problem solving. Community-engaged research (CEnR) is one such method, characterized by reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships between academic researchers and community organizations to address public problems. The CEnR framework is designed and implemented in the context of researcher-community partnership; as such, the findings from this approach promise to be responsive to the real-world concerns of communities seeking to address trauma.

Moving the Field Forward: Elucidating the Nexus Between Elder Abuse and Trauma.

At least 10% of older adults (age 60 and older) experience some form of elder abuse in a given year, with an additional 5% experiencing some form of financial fraud. However, conceptualizations of traumatic stress remain less well developed for elder abuse relative to other forms of trauma, such as child maltreatment and intimate partner violence. Incorporating a trauma framework into elder abuse research promises to deepen and expand our understanding of elder abuse, with the goal of preventing abuse and improving responses to older victims.

Exploring an Emerging Measurement Issue in Older Adult Maltreatment: Exploitation of Older Adults' Residences.

Despite nationwide housing challenges that might lead to the exploitation of older adults' housing resources, exploitation of older adults' residences has not been a focus of measurement in the rapidly developing field of elder abuse and neglect. Rather, measures of older adult abuse and exploitation used in the research literature emphasize specific property, money, or resources being taken. Two composites are used to illustrate exploitation of older adults' residences by trusted others on whom the older adults depended with potentially serious implications for environmental safety and ultimately the older adults' housing stability.

A randomized-control trial testing the impact of a multidisciplinary team response to older adult maltreatment.

Forensic center multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) have emerged to address older adult maltreatment; however, little research is available on this approach. The current study employed a randomized-control design to test the impact of a victim-focused, forensic center MDT relative to usual care (UC) on older adult victim and criminal justice outcomes. Cases of abuse, neglect, and/or financial exploitation involving a perpetrator in a position of trust were randomly assigned to MDT or UC.

After Older Adult Maltreatment: Service Needs and Barriers.

Little research is available specific to the service needs or related barriers of maltreated older adults. Further, no studies have asked at-risk older adults directly for their perspectives on service needs and barriers. As part of a larger study, a sample of 40 diverse older adults ( age = 76 years) were recruited from the population of older adults who were involved in an abuse, neglect, and/or financial exploitation case where the offender was in a position of trust to the victim.

Institutional Responses to Campus Sexual Assault: Examining the Development and Work of A Multidisciplinary Team.

Responding to campus sexual assault can involve complex processes and procedures that span campus, criminal justice, and community-based institutions, particularly when there are co-occurring Title IX and criminal investigations. This study investigated the development of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) that involved campus, criminal justice, and community-based institutions seeking to improve coordinated responses to campus sexual assault. Data included observations of MDT monthly meetings over 16 months as well as individual interviews with MDT members.

Social Reactions and Women's Decisions to Report Sexual Assault to Law Enforcement.

Following sexual assault, little is known about how the social reactions women receive from informal supports and community-based providers relate to decisions to report to law enforcement. Among 213 diverse women who had disclosed a recent sexual assault to a community-based provider, 56% reported to law enforcement. Law enforcement reporting was associated with more positive (tangible aid) and less negative (distraction, being treated differently) reactions from informal supports and more tangible aid and less emotional support from community-based providers.

Association Between Initial Age of Exposure to Childhood Abuse and Cognitive Control: Preliminary Evidence.

Cognitive control, which relies on the protracted development of frontal-parietal regions into adolescence, is a brain process that may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of childhood abuse. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine associations between the age of onset of childhood abuse and alterations to the neural mechanisms supporting cognitive control in early adulthood, which have not been previously examined. During fMRI scanning, participants completed hybrid block/event-related versions of a classic color-word Stroop task as well as emotional Stroop tasks (threat and positive words).

Women's Experiences of Social Reactions From Informal and Formal Supports: Using a Modified Administration of the Social Reactions Questionnaire.

A growing literature links social reactions to disclosures of intimate violence to posttraumatic outcomes. The Social Reactions Questionnaire (SRQ), a widely used measure developed to assess social reactions, asks about reactions received from people generally. The ability to examine the impact of social reactions from specific groups of people-such as criminal justice personnel versus community-based providers-has become increasingly more important from both research and practice perspectives.

Shame and alienation related to child maltreatment: Links to symptoms across generations.

Objective: The current study investigated associations between appraisals of shame and alienation related to mothers' own experiences of child maltreatment and symptoms across generations-in mothers themselves as well as their toddler/preschool-aged children.

Method: Mothers who survived maltreatment (N = 113) with a child between the ages of 2 and 5 were recruited to participate in an online study on Maternal Coping, Attachment and Health. Mother participants completed a series of questionnaires, including those that asked about posttrauma appraisals of their own maltreatment experiences as well as their child's and their own mental health symptoms.

Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma: Maternal Trauma-Related Cognitions and Toddler Symptoms.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate possible cognitive mechanisms involved in the intergenerational transmission of trauma from maltreatment-survivor mothers to their toddler/preschool-aged children. This study investigated whether maternal trauma-related cognitions-posttrauma appraisals and disorganized memory for maltreatment-were associated with higher levels of toddler internalizing and externalizing symptoms and more dysfunction in the mother-child relationship. A community sample of mothers with histories of maltreatment and a child between the ages of 2 and 5 years was recruited for a study on maternal attachment, coping, and health ( N = 113).

General and emotion-specific alterations to cognitive control in women with a history of childhood abuse.

Background: Although limited, the literature suggests alterations in activation of cognitive control regions in adults and adolescents with a history of childhood abuse. The current study examined whether such alterations are increased in the face of emotionally-distracting as compared to emotionally neutral information, and whether such alterations occur in brain regions that exert cognitive control in a more top-down sustained manner or a more bottom-up transient manner.

Methods: Participants were young adult women (ages 23-30): one group with a history of childhood physical or sexual abuse (N = 15) and one with no trauma exposure (N = 17), as assessed through the Trauma History Questionnaire and a two-stage interview adapted from the National Crime Victims Survey.

Victim-perpetrator dynamics through the lens of betrayal trauma theory.

Interpersonal trauma exposure is linked with a host of seemingly disparate outcomes for victims, such as psychological distress, post-trauma appraisals (e.g., alienation, shame), poor cognitive functioning, expectations of harm in relationships, and revictimization risk.

Acceptability of dating violence and expectations of relationship harm among adolescent girls exposed to intimate partner violence.

Objective: Little is known about the factors that contribute to adolescents' perceptions of the acceptability of dating violence, particularly among girls who have witnessed intimate partner violence (IPV). Drawing on relevant theory, the current study tests a path model linking frequency of witnessing IPV in childhood, sexist beliefs, and automatic relationship-to-harm associations to acceptability of dating violence.

Method: Participants were 79 female adolescents with a mean age of 16.

Betrayal trauma and child symptoms: The role of emotion.

Both mothers' and children's exposures to interpersonal violence-including betrayal traumas-are linked with heightened risk for children developing internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Despite this association, little research has examined additional factors that may explain this risk, such as emotion skills. The current study examined the relationship between mother-child emotion understanding abilities and use of emotion language on a behavioral facial affect perception task and betrayal trauma exposure in relation to child internalizing/externalizing symptoms.

Alienation appraisals distinguish adults diagnosed with DID from PTSD.

Studies are beginning to show the importance of appraisals to different types and severities of psychiatric disorders. Yet, little work in this area has assessed whether trauma-related appraisals can differentiate complex trauma-related disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociative identity disorder (DID). The current study evaluated whether any of 6 trauma-related appraisals distinguished adults diagnosed with DID from those diagnosed with PTSD.

The Impact of Appraisals and Context on Readiness to Leave a Relationship Following Intimate Partner Abuse.

The current longitudinal study examined the relative impact of symptoms and appraisals as well as contextual and demographic factors on women's subsequent readiness to leave a relationship following intimate partner abuse. An ethnically diverse sample of women (N = 177) completed measures assessing posttrauma appraisals, symptoms, dependence on the perpetrator, and abuse characteristics. One year later, women reported on their readiness to leave the relationship.

Links between posttrauma appraisals and trauma-related distress in adolescent females from the child welfare system.

Research on predictors of trauma-related distress in youth has tended to focus on trauma exposure and individual difference characteristics. This study extends previous research by examining the role of posttrauma appraisals in predicting trauma-related distress in a sample of female adolescents with current or prior involvement in the child welfare system and a history of maltreatment. Participants' posttrauma appraisals accounted for unique variance in trauma-related distress, above and beyond key trauma exposure and individual difference variables.