Crises in the Anthropocene

2022 was a year of crises, not just one but multiple intersecting crises that caused traumatic stress in billions of people worldwide. COVID-19 is still not over. New wars have started, and the climate change impact is bigger than ever. Will the Anthropocene be an era of continued crises? This past year the European Journal of Psychotraumatology (EJPT) has again tried to contribute to how to prevent or treat the consequences of these major crises as well as other events and we will continue to do so the year to come.

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Cross-cultural validity and psychometric properties of the International Trauma Questionnaire in a clinical refugee sample

Background: The ICD-11 post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD diagnoses have been examined in several studies using the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ). The cross-cultural validity of the ITQ has not previously been studied using item responses theory methods focused on the issue of equal item functioning and thus comparability of scores across language groups.

 

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Exposure-based treatments for childhood abuse-related post-traumatic stress disorder in adults : a health-economic evaluation

Background: Prolonged exposure (PE) is an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

 

Objective: This study aimed to analyse the cost-effectiveness of three exposure-based treatments in patients with childhood abuse-related PTSD.

 

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A balancing act : caring for ‘difficult’ patients in community mental health nursing = Een evenwichtsoefening : geven om ‘moeilijke’ patiënten in de sociaal psychiatrische verpleegkunde

Het algemene doel van dit proefschrift was het verkennen en evalueren van nieuwe en methodische manieren om de langdurige behandeling van patiënten met een ernstige niet-psychotische psychiatrische aandoening, die door hun sociaal-psychiatrisch verpleegkundigen als moeilijk worden ervaren, te verbeteren. Daarbij was het belangrijk om inzicht te krijgen in waarom zij als moeilijk worden ervaren. Hoewel er verschillende antwoorden op de onderzoeksvragen zijn verkregen, komen er nieuwe en fundamentele vragen naar voren over de zorg voor deze groep patiënten. 

 

 

 

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Altered cortical thickness and emotional dysregulation in adolescents with borderline personality disorder

Background: Emotional dysregulation is a core feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Previous studies have reported that abnormal grey matter volume is associated with the limbic–cortical circuit and default mode network (DMN) in patients with BPD. However, alterations of cortical thickness in adolescents with BPD have not been well evaluated.

 

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess cortical thickness and its association with emotional dysregulation in adolescents with BPD.

 

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Appeasement : replacing Stockholm syndrome as a definition of a survival strategy

Background: Stockholm syndrome or traumatic bonding (Painter & Dutton, Patterns of emotional bonding in battered women: Traumatic bonding. International Journal of Women’s Studies, 8(4), 363–375, 1985) has been used in mainstream culture, legal, and some clinical settings to describe a hypothetical phenomenon of trauma survivors developing powerful emotional attachments to their abuser.

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The effects of traumatic experiences during transit and pushback on the mental health of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants

Background:
There are 26 million people recognised as refugees worldwide. Many of them spent a prolonged period of time in transit – time after they leave their country of origin and before they reach the receiving country. Transit brings numerous protection and mental health risks refugees are exposed to.

 

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The relationship between multiple traumatic events and the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms – evidence for a cognitive link

Background: Previous research has shown that multiple traumatic experiences cumulatively increase the risk for the development of severe symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Yet, little is known about the specific psychological mechanism through which this increased risk comes about.

 

Objective: In the present study, we examined a possible cognitive link between multiple traumatic events and PTSD symptom severity through dysfunctional cognitions and expectations.

 

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Trauma exposure and psychometric properties of the life events checklist among adults in South Africa

Background: Trauma exposure is widespread and linked to chronic physical and mental health conditions including posttraumatic stress disorder. However, there are major gaps in our knowledge of trauma exposure in Africa and on the validity of instruments to assess potentially life-threatening trauma exposure.

 

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School connectedness and psychological resilience as mediators in the relationship between childhood abuse and suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents

Background: Suicide among adolescents is a huge public health concern around the world. Although childhood abuse has been established as a substantial risk factor for suicide behaviours, potential mediators in this relationship remain unclear.

 

Objective: This study aimed to examine the mediating roles of school connectedness and psychological resilience in the association between childhood abuse and suicidal ideation among Chinese high school students.

 

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