A Causal Model of Children's Vicarious Traumatization

The mental functioning of school-age children in Poland since the outbreak of war in Ukraine and during the subsequent refugee crisis

BACKGROUND

There is growing body of research focusing on the functioning of children who have fled from war-torn areas. However, there is currently lack of data regarding the functioning of children residing in host countries.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to examine the presence of emotional problems, negative attitudes, interpersonal problems, and functional difficulties among Polish children during the first month after the outbreak of war and initial phase of the current refugee crisis.

PARTICIPANTS AND METHOD

The study group comprised children aged 9-15 (N = 360), living in Poland. The Children's Depression Inventory 2 (CDI-2) and The Cognitive Triad Inventory for Children (CTIC) was used to measure emotional functioning. The study took place 7 to 39 days after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

RESULTS

The children reported more emotional problems (t(359) = 9.340; p < .001; d = 0.49) with a negative mood (t(359) = 6.692; p < .001; d = 0.35) and negative self-esteem (t(359) = 9.632; p < .001; d = 0.51). The severity of depression symptoms was the highest in the first week after the outbreak of the war (F(5,354) = 2.472; p < .05; η2 = 0.03). The view of the self (F(1,358) = 3.858; p = .05; R2 = 0.01) and of the world (F(1,358) = 5.359; p < .05; R2 = 0.02) improved over time; however, their vision of the future remained unchanged.

CONCLUSION

The results shows that children who are not directly affected by the war can also display difficulties in mental functioning. In the initial months following the outbreak of the war and during the early stage of the current refugee crisis, Polish children demonstrated significantly higher levels of emotional problems and negative self-esteem. Moreover, the perception of oneself and the world appeared to be influenced by the duration since the onset of the war.

Adverse Childhood Experiences: Relationship with Empathy and Alexithymia

Several studies showed that adults who have experienced childhood adversity are more likely to develop alexithymia and low empathy. Therefore, this research aims to analyze the relationship between childhood adversity and alexithymia and empathy in adulthood and verify a predictive explanatory model of alexithymia. The sample comprised 92 adults who responded to the sociodemographic questionnaire, the Childhood History Questionnaire, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Alexithymia Scale of Toronto. Childhood adversity showed a positive relationship with alexithymia and a negative relationship with empathy. Predictive validity showed that marital status, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and empathic concern predicted higher alexithymia scores. These results show the impact of these childhood experiences on adult life, underlining the importance of developing intervention programs in this field.

How Maternal Trauma Exposure Contributed to Children's Depressive Symptoms following the Wenchuan Earthquake: A Multiple Mediation Model Study

Although well-established literature has indicated the burden of mental health among victims after the Wenchuan earthquake, no research has focused on the mental health of mothers and their children who experienced the earthquake and were pregnant during or shortly after it. This study investigates the relationship between maternal trauma exposure (TE) and children's depressive symptoms after the Wenchuan earthquake and explores the risk and protective factors underlying this relationship. A sample of 547 mother-child dyads, in which the mother experienced the Wenchuan earthquake, was used to assess maternal depressive symptoms, maternal TE, children's depressive symptoms, children's perceived impact of the earthquake and maternal posttraumatic growth (PTG). The results showed that maternal TE had two significant one-step indirect associations with children's depressive symptoms (through children's perceived impact of the earthquake and maternal PTG) and one two-step indirect association with children's depressive symptoms (through maternal depressive symptoms via children's perceived impact of the earthquake). The results indicated that maternal depressive symptoms, children's perceived impact of the earthquake and maternal PTG mediated the association between maternal TE and children's depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of mothers in supporting the mental health of these children. Maternal depressive symptoms and PTG, two posttraumatic outcomes, played positive and negative roles in the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Thus, post-disaster interventions should reduce the maternal transmission of trauma-related information and improve maternal PTG to support children's mental health.

Gender and race inequalities in adolescent and young adult homicide mortality rates: a multilevel ecological analysis of Brazilian municipalities

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between adolescent and young adult homicide mortality rates in Brazilian municipalities according to gender, race, and contextual characteristics at the municipal and federation unit levels. Methods: This is an ecological study that used secondary data available from the death records of the Mortality Information System and socioeconomic data from the Brazilian Census. The dependent variables were homicide mortality rates among people aged 15–29 years by sex and race from 2015 to 2017. The contextual variables were related to education, income, schooling, and vulnerability. Multilevel linear regression was applied in an ecological model to verify the first- and second-level variables’ effect. Each variable’s effect was estimated using β and its respective confidence intervals (95%CI) and statistical significance. Results: There was a direct and significant relationship between the adolescent and young adult mortality rates and the homicide mortality rates among adults, regardless of sex and race/skin color. However, this relationship was more pronounced among black adolescents and young adults. At the federative unit level, the human development index was significantly related to the mortality rates of black men, white men, and white women. Conclusion: There is racial inequality in adolescent and young adult mortality from violence in Brazil; the rates are related to municipal characteristics, such as violence in the adult population and inequalities in education and social protection.