A Latent Class Analysis of Adverse Life Events for Kenyan Adolescents.

Extant evidence indicates that exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACE) tend to cluster among children and adolescents. Considering that adolescents from African countries present higher risk of being exposed to multiple ACE compared to other countries, the identification of victimization profiles in this population is clearly warranted. The aim of this study was to determine meaningful clusters of individuals with similar experiences of ACE in a sample of Kenyan adolescents.

Coping Styles and Defense Mechanisms Mediate Associations Between Exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences and CPTSD Symptoms in Faroese Adolescents.

Background: The experience of several adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has been shown to be associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Disturbances in Self-Organization (DSO) symptoms among adolescents. Defense mechanisms and coping styles are psychological processes involved in the association of ACEs with PTSD and DSO symptoms. However, there is a lack of research on the joint association of these variables among Faroese adolescents.

Polytraumatization, defense mechanisms, PTSD and complex PTSD in Indian adolescents: a mediation model.

Background: Adolescence is recognized as a particularly susceptible developmental period for experiencing multiple types of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), increasing the vulnerability to higher levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD symptoms. Some studies found that defense mechanisms play an important role on the association between ACE and psychological symptoms.

Methods: We analyzed the associations between direct and indirect exposure to ACE and PTSD and Complex PTSD (affective dysregulation, negative self-concept and disturbances in relationships) through the mediation role of mature defense mechanisms: mature, neurotic, and immature defense mechanisms in Indian adolescents.

Attachment Anxiety and Dissociation Mediate Associations Between Polytrauma and Somatization in Kenyan Adolescents.

The experience of several potentially traumatic events (PTE) is a risk factor for higher somatization symptoms severity among adolescents. Attachment orientations and dissociation may influence the link between exposure to PTE and somatization symptoms severity. We analyzed the associations between direct exposure to PTE and somatization symptoms in Kenyan adolescents and explored the mediating role of attachment orientations and dissociation symptoms in the associations between direct exposure to PTE with somatization symptoms severity.

Attachment mediates the impact of previous trauma on posttraumatic symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: There is some evidence that individuals previously been exposed to traumatic events may present higher vulnerability to PTSD because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, exposure to traumatic events may cause changes in attachment orientations which might influence levels of PTSD symptoms (PTSS) in populations subjected to "stay-home" measures related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Method: The present study analyzed interrelations of number of traumatic events, attachment orientations, and PTSS during the COVID-19 in a group of Portuguese participants.

Telework and Mental Health during COVID-19.

COVID-19 has come to change societal organization. Due to lockdowns, work typologies have been rethought and telework has gained strength. However, the impact of the constant use of information and communication technologies on the mental health of workers needs to be considered.

Worldviews about the self mediate the impact of immature and mature defense styles on posttraumatic symptoms in bereaved parents.

The present study analyzed the mediating role of assumptive worldviews on the effect of defense mechanisms on post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTS) in bereaved parents. Sample included a convenience sample of 153 bereaved parents and a control group of 157 nonbereaved parents. Structural equation modeling was conducted to examine our hypotheses.

Attachment and social support mediate associations between polyvictimization and psychological distress in early Uganda and Kenya adolescents.

Background: There is strong evidence that the experience of several potentially traumatic events (polyvictimization) is a risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological distress among adolescents. The identification of the variables that influence the link between polyvictimization and PTSD and other psychiatric symptoms is warranted.

Objective: We analyzed the associations between polyvictimization, PTSD symptoms (PTSS) and psychiatric symptoms in Kenya and Uganda adolescents, and explored the mediating roles of attachment orientations and perceived social support in the associations between polyvictimization, PTSS and psychiatric symptoms among adolescents from lower-middle-income countries (LALMIC).

Pathways Between Combat Stress and Physical Health Among Portuguese War Veterans.

In this study, I explored the experience of both physical and psychological chronic illnesses among a sample of Portuguese war veterans. Twenty suffered from chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; unrecovered) and 20 had remission from PTSD (recovered), and all participants suffered from a chronic physician-diagnosed medical disorder. Two semistructured interviews were conducted.

Mental strategies as mediators of the link between attachment and PTSD.

The authors analyzed the relationship between attachment dimensions (avoidance and anxiety) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms through the mediation of the mental strategies organization, that is, behavioral and intrapsychic strategies used to cope with traumatic events and symptoms, among a sample of war veterans. Sample was composed of Portuguese war veterans (N = 60): 30 veterans suffered from chronic PTSD (nonrecovered) and 30 veterans had remission from PTSD (recovered). Assessment of mental strategies was retrieved from 1 interview assessed by 3 judges, and attachment patterns and PTSD symptoms were assessed through self-report measures.

The effects of combat exposure, abusive violence, and sense of coherence on PTSD and depression in Portuguese colonial war veterans.

We analyzed the effects of 3 war components-combat exposure (CES), observation of abusive violence (OBS), and participation in abusive violence (PARTC)-and sense of coherence (SOC) on the development of both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among a sample of war veterans. We also analyzed the role of SOC as a mediator of the effects of CES, OBS, and PARTC on both depression and PTSD symptoms. Sample was composed of 120 Portuguese Colonial War veterans.

Portuguese War Veterans: Moral Injury and Factors Related to Recovery From PTSD.

This study explored the factors to which a sample of Portuguese war veterans attributed their recovery from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants were a sample of veterans (N = 60) with mental sequelae of the Portuguese Colonial War: 30 suffered from chronic PTSD (unrecovered) and 30 veterans with remission from PTSD (recovered). Two semistructured interviews were conducted.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis (OPD-2) in Portugal.

Background: The Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis (OPD-2) is internationally established as one of the major instruments available for clinical diagnosis and scientific research, being frequently used as an auxiliary tool in the selection of therapeutic interventions.

Aims: 1) To describe the methodological aspects of the adaptation of the OPD-2 into Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil). 2) To assess inter-rater agreement for the different axes of the instrument when scoring clinical interviews.