Publications by authors named "Robyn Brunton"

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is any physical, sexual, or psychological abuse or violence, including stalking and coercive behavior such as degradation, intimidation, and control. IPV self-stigma is the awareness of and agreeance with negative IPV stereotypes/attitudes that are internalized by individuals victimized by IPV. IPV stereotypes contribute to self-stigma (e.

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Childhood abuse can have long-term adverse outcomes in adulthood. These outcomes may pose a particular threat to the health and well-being of perinatal women; however, to date, this body of knowledge has not been systematically collated and synthesized. This systematic review examined the child abuse literature and a broad range of perinatal outcomes using a comprehensive search strategy.

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Intimate partner violence (IPV) disproportionally affects women. Using the vulnerability-adaptation stress model, we examined adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), self-esteem, and hope as vulnerability indicators and relationship status and length, positive and negative affect, and socioeconomic status (SES) as stressors to ascertain the risk for IPV. Women ( = 491, = 37.

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Background: The detrimental effects of childhood abuse on long-term outcomes are well-known, however few studies have examined these effects in the context of postpartum psychopathology, maternal self-efficacy, and mother-infant bonding quality.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between a maternal childhood abuse experience (i.e.

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Background: Pregnancy-related anxiety has received greater research attention recently given its association with adverse outcomes (e.g., negative birth experiences).

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Self-stigma is the internalization of widespread and negative attitudes around a devalued attribute. Being a victim of intimate partner violence (IPV) is a stigmatized identity, with IPV self-stigma is a potential barrier to help seeking. The lack of an IPV self-stigma scale limits current measurement of this latent trait; this study sought to fill this gap.

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Introduction: Childhood abuse is linked to poorer well-being, yet some survivors show no prolonged effect, suggesting multifinality. Men and women also differ in the experience and sequelae of abuse supporting gender-specific analyses. To assist in circumventing poor outcomes associated with child abuse, this study examined fear of self (FoS) and self-compassion (SC) as risk and protective factors between child abuse and well-being.

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Background: Up to 25 % of expectant parents experience anxiety symptoms. Pregnancy-related anxiety is characterised by concerns and worries specific to pregnancy, childbirth, and the transition to parenthood. While pregnancy-related anxiety is well-researched in women, the exact nature of this construct in men is unclear.

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Background: Women undergo significant physical, physiological, and psychological changes during pregnancy. They are also exposed to sociocultural pressure to meet appearance-related ideals. These pregnancy-related changes and sociocultural appearance-related pressures may place pregnant women at greater vulnerability to developing body dissatisfaction and psychological distress.

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Pregnancy-related anxiety has been linked to many maternal and child-related negative outcomes. However, there is an absence of free, well-validated screeners for this condition. The Pregnancy-related Anxiety Scale-Screener (PrAS-Screener) was evaluated using robust Rasch methodology.

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Pregnancy-related anxiety, a distinct anxiety characterized by pregnancy-specific concerns, has consistently been associated with adverse birth outcomes and obstetric and pediatric risk factors. Despite this, widespread screening for pregnancy-related anxiety has not been integrated into routine antenatal care likely due to the absence of a psychometrically sound screener. This study reports on the initial development of a brief screener derived from the 32-item pregnancy-related anxiety scale (PrAS).

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Rationale: Sexual violence (SV) is associated with adverse psychosocial and behavioural outcomes with revictimization likely. However, there are significant gaps in the current literature in regard to (a) whether over time women's levels of distress/behaviour change, and (b) whether social support mediates the relationship between SV and adverse outcomes.

Methods And Results: This study aimed to address these two issues by analysing data from the Australian Longitudinal Women's Health Survey, surveys 4 (2006) to 8 (2018).

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Background: Child sexual abuse is related to many negative outcomes but less known is the effect on pregnancy and childbirth.

Objective: This review critically examined the literature on the occurrence of child sexual abuse and outcomes associated with this abuse during pregnancy and childbirth.

Methods: Five databases were searched over 50 years using an iterative approach and the terms pregnancy, sexual abuse/assault, childbirth/labour, identifying 49 studies.

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Physical, sexual and psychological abuse were examined as risk factors for pregnancy-related anxiety with resilience and social support as mediators. Pregnant women ( = 638) completed measures of pregnancy-related anxiety, resilience, perceived social support and childhood abuse. Women with an abuse history had higher pregnancy-related anxiety scores ( = 64.

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Background: Increasingly pregnancy-related anxiety is acknowledged as a distinct anxiety type, characterised by specific fears/worries. The Pregnancy-related Anxiety Scale (PrAS) screens for this distinct anxiety and refinements to the scale have prompted further validity examination. This study aims to: replicate findings that distinguished pregnancy-related anxiety from general anxiety/depression using the PrAS; confirm the PrAS's factor structure, and examine the validity of the PrAS subscales: Acceptance of Pregnancy, Avoidance and Worry About Self.

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Pregnancy-related anxiety is contextualised by pregnancy and is a health concern for the mother and child. Perceived parental self-efficacy is associated with this anxiety and age and parity are identified as influential factors. This research, therefore, predicted that negative perceptions of parental self-efficacy would predict greater pregnancy-related anxiety, moderated by parity and age.

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Background: During pregnancy, women are vulnerable to mood and anxiety disorders due to the significant physical and emotional changes that occur during this period. For some women, pregnancy can also present as a period of immense body dissatisfaction due to the substantial changes in body shape and size.

Objectives: This study examined the mediating role of Fat Talk (i.

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Problem/background: Pregnancy-related anxiety is a distinct anxiety characterised by pregnancy-specific concerns. This anxiety is consistently associated with adverse birth outcomes, and obstetric and paediatric risk factors, associations generally not seen with other anxieties. The need exists for a psychometrically sound scale for this anxiety type.

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Background: Recognition of pregnancy-related anxiety as a distinct anxiety is supported by evidence differentiating it from general anxiety and depression. Adverse associations with pregnancy-related anxiety further support this distinction. An influential study by Huizink et al.

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Background: Pregnancy-related anxiety is increasingly recognised as a common condition that is associated with many deleterious outcomes for both the mother and infant (e.g., preterm birth, postnatal depression).

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Background: Depression in pregnancy is a serious health issue; however, anxiety in pregnancy, with a reported higher prevalence, may also be a serious issue. Anxiety symptoms in pregnancy can relate to several anxiety types, such as general anxiety, anxiety disorders, and pregnancy-related anxiety (PrA), anxiety characterised by pregnancy specific fears and worries. Awareness of these distinctions however, is not always widespread.

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