A familiar face : violence in the lives of children and adolescents

This report presents the most current data on four specific forms of violence – violent discipline and exposure to domestic abuse during early childhood; violence at school; violent deaths among adolescents; and sexual violence in childhood and adolescence. The statistics reveal that children experience violence across all stages of childhood, in diverse settings, and often at the hands of the trusted individuals with whom they interact daily. The report concludes with specific national actions and strategies that UNICEF has embraced to prevent and respond to violence against children.

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Perceived support at work after critical incidents and its relation to psychological distress : a survey among prehospital providers.

INTRODUCTION:

Prehospital providers are at increased risk for psychological distress. Support at work after critical incidents is believed to be important for providers, but current guidelines are in need of more scientific evidence. This study aimed to investigate: (1) to what extent prehospital providers experience support at work; (2) whether support at work is directly associated with lower distress and (3) whether availability of a formal peer support system is related to lower distress via perceived colleague support.

 

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The role of clinical experience, diagnosis, and theoreticalorientation in the treatment of posttraumatic anddissociative disorders : A vignette and survey investigation

Controversy exists regarding the merits of exposure-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) versus a phased approach when prominent dissociative symptoms are present.

The first aim of this study was to examine the degree to which diagnosing dissociation in two traumatized patients' vignettes influenced clinicians' preference for phase-oriented treatment and whether clinicians' treatment experience contributed to their treatment preference.

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A retrospective study of ketamine administration and the development of acute or post-traumatic stress disorder in 274 war-wounded soldiers

The objective of this study was to explore whether ketamine prevents or exacerbates acute or post-traumatic stress disorders in military trauma patients. We conducted a retrospective study of a database from the French Military Health Service, including all soldiers surviving a war injury in Afghanistan (2010–2012). The diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder was made by a psychiatrist and patients were analysed according to the presence or absence of this condition.

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Association between baseline psychological attributes and mental health outcomes after soldiers returned from deployment

Background:

Psychological health is vital for effective employees, especially in stressful occupations like military and public safety sectors. Yet, until recently little empirical work has made the link  between requisite psychological resources and important mental health outcomes across time in those sectors. In this study we explore the association between 14 baseline psychological health attributes (such as adaptability, coping ability, optimism) and mental health outcomes following exposure to combat deployment.

 

Methods:

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Preventing PTSD with oxytocin : effects of oxytocin administration on fear neurocircuitry and PTSD symptom development in recently trauma-exposed individuals

ABSTRACT

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder which

develops in approximately 10% of trauma-exposed individuals. Currently, there are few early

preventive interventions available for PTSD. Intranasal oxytocin administration early posttrauma

may prevent PTSD symptom development, as oxytocin administration was previously

found to beneficially impact neurobiological (e.g. amygdala reactivity) and socio-emotional

PTSD vulnerability factors.

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Intranasal oxytocin : miracle cure after trauma?

Background: In popular media and on Internet, the neuropeptide oxytocin is often advertised as a miracle drug that cures all

types of disorders, reduces stress, saves marriages, all conveniently with a nasal spray. Here we will present the effects of intranasal

oxytocin on brain function in recently traumatized individuals and patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and

discuss clinical implications and further research. PTSD is characterized by exaggerated fear responses to threat and traumarelated

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Plasma lipoproteins in posttraumatic stress disorder patients compared to healthy controls and their associations with the HPA- and HPT-axis

Abstract

Background

Based on studies among primarily male veteran subjects, lipoproteins are thought to mediate the association of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, recent civilian studies with female samples or samples with both sexes represented provide little evidence for this association. Gender, diet and sex-specific effects of stress hormones on lipoproteins may explain this dissociation in findings.

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Risk of relapse after antidepressant discontinuation in anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder : systematic review and meta-analysis of relapse prevention trials

Objectives To examine the risk of relapse and time to relapse after discontinuation of antidepressants in patients with anxiety disorder who responded to antidepressants, and to explore whether relapse risk is related to type of anxiety disorder, type of antidepressant, mode of discontinuation, duration of treatment and follow-up, comorbidity, and allowance of psychotherapy.

 

Design Systematic review and meta-analyses of relapse prevention trials.

 

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Psychotraumatology in Greece

Psychological trauma is very common, understudied and consequently undertreated in Greece and many other countries. The word trauma comes from the Greek trauma (τραύμα) meaning trauma wound, alteration of trōma; akin to Greek titrōskein = to wound, tetrainein = to pierce. Although there is no data available on the prevalence rates of trauma or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Greece, there is no reason to believe that various types of traumatic experiences are not common phenomena in Greek society.

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