Gender Differences in Childhood Maltreatment: A Comparative Study of Nightmare Sufferers and Non-sufferers

What are the Experiences of and Interventions for Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse in South Asia? A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis

Adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) may experience emotional, social, and psychological difficulties, heightened due to the interpersonal nature of harm. Despite the demonstrated effectiveness of trauma-focused treatments in the West, a culturally specific understanding of the needs of and treatments for survivors in South Asia is still in its infancy. The study aimed to systematically review research findings on the mental health impacts of CSA on adult survivors and current treatment approaches and their efficacy and acceptability in South Asia. Seven databases (Scopus, Ovid, CINAHL, ProQuest, EThOS, Google Scholar, and Dogpile) and five peer-reviewed South Asian journals were searched from inception until March 30, 2023. Searches included participants who were adult survivors of CSA of South Asian origin residing in South Asia. Studies on their mental health, different treatments, and the efficacy and acceptability of these treatments were included. Quality assessment tools were used to appraise the quality of included studies. The results were synthesized narratively. A total of 3,362 records were retrieved, and 24 articles were included in the final review. Twenty studies reported mental health impacts of CSA on adult survivors, four studies reported current treatments offered, and two studies were on recovery. However, no study focused on the efficacy or acceptability of the treatments being delivered. Even though the needs of adult CSA survivors in South Asia have been partly identified, there is very little research into the treatments for them.

Early Life Adversity and Neuropsychiatric Disease: Differential Outcomes and Translational Relevance of Rodent Models

It is now well-established that early life adversity (ELA) predisposes individuals to develop several neuropsychiatric conditions, including anxiety disorders, and major depressive disorder. However, ELA is a very broad term, encompassing multiple types of negative childhood experiences, including physical, sexual and emotional abuse, physical and emotional neglect, as well as trauma associated with chronic illness, family separation, natural disasters, accidents, and witnessing a violent crime. Emerging literature suggests that in humans, different types of adverse experiences are more or less likely to produce susceptibilities to certain conditions that involve affective dysfunction. To investigate the driving mechanisms underlying the connection between experience and subsequent disease, neuroscientists have developed several rodent models of ELA, including pain exposure, maternal deprivation, and limited resources. These studies have also shown that different types of ELA paradigms produce different but somewhat overlapping behavioral phenotypes. In this review, we first investigate the types of ELA that may be driving different neuropsychiatric outcomes and brain changes in humans. We next evaluate whether rodent models of ELA can provide translationally relevant information regarding links between specific types of experience and changes in neural circuits underlying dysfunction.