A Comparison Study of Low Trauma Disclosure Participants and Their Partners in Army Couples

Intimate partner relationships provide unique conditions for examining how the interpersonal and/or systemic impact of trauma exposure and post-trauma responses can impact both the primary and secondary trauma survivors and the interpersonal dynamics of the couple. The current study explored qualitative and quantitative data from low trauma disclosure individuals (n?=?15) and their partners to understand the experiences of low trauma disclosure to spouses in a sample of Army couples. Contrary to the original hypothesis, the results indicated mixed trauma disclosure partners seemed to be functioning at lower individual and relationship functioning levels than the low or high trauma disclosure partners. Implications for practice and future research also are described.     

Hoofbeats and heartbeats: equine-assisted therapy and learning with young people with psychosocial issues – theory and practice

The practice of equine-assisted therapy and learning (EAT/L) to deliver psychosocial interventions to young people is a rapidly growing field. However, recent reviews have cited a need for further documentation of a theoretical foundation and evidence of outcomes of these programmes. This paper is a theoretical discussion of psychotherapeutic theories and models that the authors understood as being relevant and giving substance to the application of EAT/L at a Therapeutic Horsemanship centre in the UK. It also describes and defines the practice of EAT/L at the centre. Philosophical and psychological theories/models of Non-Violent Communication, Object Relations, Play and Dramatherapy, Mindfulness practice, and Attachment Theory, all set within a person-centred and relationship-based approach employed at the centre were examined and illustrated in the form of client case material. The authors report the central role relationship plays between client-horse-therapist and horse-handler in the building of trust and resolution of the impact of trauma. The paper highlights a need to carry out well-designed empirical studies with different client groups in the field of EAT/L in order to gain more insight into this growing field.     

‘Acupuncture for antenatal depression: It’s worth giving it a go’ — A qualitative study

Background

Treatment strategies for the management of antenatal depression are limited by varied and often modest response rates, unpleasant medication side effects and uncertainty regarding foetal safety. Consequently, many pregnant women experiencing depression seek alternative non-pharmaceutical options. Acupuncture may provide a safe and potentially effective additional treatment, however further investigation is required. In this qualitative study, we explored the views of health professionals regarding the possible incorporation of acupuncture into mainstream care.

Women’s experiences of having depression during pregnancy and receiving acupuncture treatment—A qualitative study

Background

Research indicates some women experiencing depression during pregnancy are dissatisfied with conventional depression treatments due to incomplete effectiveness, dislike of side effects, unsatisfactory experiences with providers and concerns regarding in-utero and breastfeeding safety. Consequently, many explore alternative options including acupuncture. To further understand women’s views, preferences and motivations in this regard, as well as their experiences of receiving acupuncture as part of a three-armed pragmatic randomised controlled trial evaluating acupuncture for antenatal depression in Sydney, Australia, in-depth interviews were conducted with a group of acupuncture recipients.

Citizenship in hard times: intra-EU naturalisation and the Euro crisis

Demarcated by growing austerity, economic uncertainty, and EU-exits, the past decade witnessed monumental shifts across the political and economic landscapes of Europe. Citizenship is a stabilising force in this era of crisis, particularly for intra-EU migrants. In this contribution, I examine how the Euro crisis impacted citizenship acquisition among these migrants. Building upon the model proposed by John Graeber’s article [2016. ‘Citizenship in the shadow of the Euro crisis: explaining changing patterns in naturalisation among intra-EU migrants.’ Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 42 (10): 1670–1692], I discuss the relative importance of citizenship in times of crisis from global and regional perspectives. I argue Graeber’s theory presents a strong model for citizenship acquisitions during the crisis, yet leaves the core dyadic structure and several inconsistent findings unexamined. I replicate these models and introduce a dyadic model using bilateral data from 21 receiving and 23 sending states in Europe between 2007 and 2013. Contrary to Graeber’s theory, I find citizenship acquisitions among intra-EU migrants primarily coincide with increased in-migration, rather than influences of the Euro crisis. I conclude that while economic sending and receiving contexts matter, the Euro crisis did not appear to restructure intra-EU migrant citizenship incentives.     

The Effects of Middle School Weight Climate on Youth With Higher Body Weight

This study examines whether social‐emotional difficulties associated with higher body weight vary across schools as a function of the school's weight climate. Weight climate, characterized by weight‐policing, was assessed indirectly by examining how strongly self‐reported weight predicts victim reputation within 26 ethnically diverse middle schools. Social‐emotional indicators included self‐reported loneliness, school belonging, and self‐esteem. In schools with stronger weight‐policing at seventh grade, loneliness was intensified by eighth grade among both girls (n = 2,101) and boys (n = 1,985) with higher weight. Similar effects were found for low self‐esteem among girls. Additionally, boys—regardless of their weight—reported lower sense of belonging in schools with stronger weight‐policing. The study offers a new method to estimate school weight climate, and the findings provide insights for interventions.     

Perceptual dialectology in northern England: Accent recognition,geographical proximity and cultural prominence

Work in perceptual dialectology has argued that listeners’ successful identification of accent areas is facilitated by their geographical proximity to a particular region. Montgomery ( 2007 , 2012 ) argues that this proximity effect is mediated by a ‘cultural prominence’ effect, where localities of high cultural salience seem less distant. We explore these claims using an online survey in which listeners were asked to identify the regional origin of speakers of five accents from England's ‘linguistic north’ (Liverpool, Manchester, Crewe, Stoke‐on‐Trent and Macclesfield) from audio clips of four different sentences. We show that the proximity and cultural prominence effects are partially supported, and that the proximity effect is driven by listeners’ likely contact with/experience of the dialect in question. We also show that listeners react differently to different sentences in the same accent. While some sentences are identified correctly very often, others, even for culturally prominent locations with distinctive accents (i.e. Liverpool), are hardly ever correctly identified. We connect this to the geographical distribution of the linguistic features in the clips, and we argue that the presence, absence and range of individual linguistic features should be systematically considered in all perceptual dialectology work which uses audio stimuli.