Publications by authors named "Christina Hassija"

Sexual assault is a serious physical and psychological concern worldwide. Various negative psychological outcomes are associated with survivor well-being, including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive symptoms, and trauma-related shame. Opportunities for emotional expression and processing have been shown to be beneficial among survivors of trauma; however, survivors of sexual victimization may be reticent to disclose details of their traumatic experience, particularly to formal sources of support.

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The global outbreak of COVID-19 has required mental health providers to rapidly rethink and adapt how they provide care. Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is a trauma-focused, evidence-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder that is effective when delivered in-person or via telehealth. Given current limitations on the provision of in-person mental health treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, this article presents guidelines and treatment considerations when implementing CPT via telehealth.

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Sleep health is a public health concern and has been linked to an increased risk of number of deleterious health outcomes. Poor sleep health has been documented among college student populations; however, few studies have examined the social determinants of deficient sleep. The present study aims to address this gap, with emphasis on food insecurity, psychological distress, everyday discrimination, and academic performance.

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Objective: US veterans (hereafter, 'veterans') are at risk for being overweight or obese and associated unhealthy behaviours, including poor diet; although limited studies have examined the underlying factors associated with such outcomes. As such, the present study evaluated the association between food insecurity and dietary practices among veterans.

Design: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the California Health Interview Survey (2009, 2011/2012) was conducted.

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Introduction. A history of sexual assault (SA) is often associated with increased distress and heavy drinking. One's ability to cope with the distress and seek social support has been associated with drinking more generally.

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The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between college women's sexual victimization experiences, health risk behaviors, and sexual functioning. A sample of 309 college women at a mid-sized Midwestern university completed measures assessing sexual victimization, sexual risk taking, substance use behaviors, sexual desire, sexual functioning, prior sexual experiences, and social desirability. Severity of sexual victimization was measured using a multi-item, behaviorally specific, gender-neutral measure, which was divided into four categories based on severity (none, sexual contact, sexual coercion, rape).

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Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans experience significant rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related mental health conditions. Understanding how specific PTSD symptomatology affects physical health and psychosocial functioning may be useful in improving the conceptualization of PTSD nosology and informing treatment approaches for this population. Confirmatory factor analytic evidence supports four-factor models of PTSD symptoms that classify emotional numbing and/or dysphoria symptoms as a distinct PTSD symptom cluster, and these symptoms appear to be related to poorer psychological adjustment among returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.

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Given the availability of empirically supported practices for addressing posttraumatic stress disorder and other forms of trauma-related distress, the development and implementation of new technology to deliver these treatments is exciting. Technological innovations in this literature aim to expand availability of empirically based intervention, increase treatment adherence and acceptability, and overcome barriers commonly encountered with conventional trauma-focused treatment. Much of the current research on these technological developments consists of brief reviews and case studies of the separate therapy modalities.

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The type of causal attributions offered for traumatic life events has been documented as a potential vulnerability factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, few investigations have sought to identify the mechanisms by which such explanations are associated with greater posttraumatic distress. One possible factor that may account for the relationship between maladaptive attributional tendencies and PTSD symptoms is the quality of social reactions received from one's social network upon disclosure.

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The present study evaluated the impact of combat and interpersonal trauma exposure in a sample of 115 U.S. women veterans from Gulf War I and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars on 3 postdeployment trauma-related mental health outcomes: posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PSS), depressive symptom severity (DSS), and alcohol misuse.

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The present investigation evaluates the relationship between coping style, dispositional hope, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptom severity in a trauma-exposed Veteran sample. Specifically, we evaluated the adaptive value of emotional avoidant and approach coping strategies and perceptions of hope in a sample of 209 trauma-exposed Veterans receiving outpatient mental health care at a VA facility. Participants completed a life events questionnaire and inventories assessing coping, dispositional hope, and PTSD and depression symptom severity.

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No research is available regarding the association between coping styles and bodily pain by age-specific sub-groups in non-clinical older populations. To address this research gap, we recruited 317 older women (age 55-105, mainly from minority ethnic backgrounds) and divided our sample into sub-groups by decade. Regression analyses on the total sample and the age group of 65-74 demonstrated that denial and venting were inversely related to pain.

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Objective: Although evidence-based treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been available for some time, many treatment-seeking trauma survivors are unable to access such services. This is especially the case in remote and rural areas where access to specialists is an exception rather than a rule. Advances in videoconferencing-based technologies are improving rural residents' access to specialized psychological services.

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