Psychiatry under tyranny: A report on the political abuse of Romanian psychiatry during the ceausescu years

Romanians suffered incredible deprivations of every sort during the decades of Communist dictatorship. Most of the country’s 1,000 psychiatrists, and most of their patients, were victimized by the political system. A few psychiatrists actively engaged in practices amounting to torture. Many, however, became willing or unwilling participants in the political abuse of their profession. Such political abuses were fostered by abusive legislation and abusive law enforcement by the secret police. Abuses included: mass detentions in psychiatric hospitals of dissidents and political undesirables; abusive interpretation of the laws in detaining persons not suffering from mental illness; false, politically motivated diagnoses and treatment; and detention in secret facilities.     

Social hierarchy and depression: the role of emotion suppression

Position in the social hierarchy is a major determinant of health outcomes. We examined the associations between aspects of social hierarchy and depressive symptoms with a specific focus on one potential psychological mechanism: emotion suppression. Suppressing negative emotion has mental health costs, but individuals with low social power and low social status may use these strategies to avoid conflict. Study 1 assessed perceived social power, tendency to suppress negative emotion, and depressive symptoms in a community sample of women. Low social power was related to greater depressive symptoms, and this relationship was partially mediated by emotion suppression. Study 2 examined education as a proxy for social hierarchy position, anger suppression, and depressive symptoms in a national, longitudinal cohort study (The coronary artery risk development in young adults [CARDIA] study; Cutter et al., 1991). Much as in study 1, low education levels were correlated with greater depressive symptoms, and this relationship was partially mediated by anger suppression. Further, suppression mediated the relationship between low education and subsequent depression up to 15 years later. These findings support the theory that social hierarchy affects mental health in part through a process of emotion suppression.     

Functional Impairment as a Variable in Adjustment Post-Combat

This study examined how functional impairment relates to postcombat adjustment over time, controlling for the influence of combat exposure. Analyses used sequential random coefficient models to examine 2 hypotheses: a) combat exposure and functional impairment predict the change in posttraumatic stress, depression, and anger/aggression symptoms during the first year postcombat; and b) combat exposure and functional impairment at reintegration predict symptom scores at 1 year postdeployment. A Brigade Combat Team completed surveys at reintegration, 4 months, and 12 months after a 1-year deployment to Iraq. Soldiers reporting high functional impairment at reintegration had higher symptoms at both follow-up periods, and functional impairment was a significant predictor of symptoms at the last time point, even after accounting for the influence of combat exposure. There was also an interaction effect, such that functional impairment exacerbated the impact of combat exposure on posttraumatic stress and anger/aggression symptoms at 12 months postdeployment.     

Unit Cohesion,Resilience, and Mental Health of Soldiers in Basic Combat Training

Military unit cohesion has been shown to correlate with physical and psychological outcomes. However, little is known about the development of cohesion in the early days of military service during Basic Combat Training (BCT) and how it relates to positive support and the negative stressors of training. The current study assessed the development of unit cohesion across the 10-week BCT period (N = 1,939), and the relation of cohesion to stress, resilience, mental health measures, and BCT outcomes (graduation, passing the Army Physical Fitness Test, and final Basic Rifle Marksmanship scores). The sample was primarily male (62%), under age 25 (88%), and unmarried (88%). All putative mediators showed significant change over time. Unit cohesion increased over time (slope 0.22; p < .001), and these increases were associated with decreases in psychological distress (p < .001), sleep problems (p < .001), and tolerance of BCT stressors (p < .001), as well as increases in resilience (p < .001), confidence managing stress reactions (p < .001), and positive states of mind (p < .001). Unit cohesion was indirectly associated with successful graduation and passing the Army Physical Fitness Test through cohesion-related improvement in psychological distress, resilience, and confidence managing reactions to stress. Sleep problems also mediated BCT graduation. Cohesion effects on the Basic Rifle Marksmanship scores were mediated by psychological distress and tolerance of BCT stressors only. These results suggest that unit cohesion may play a key role in the development of psychological health among new soldiers.     

Remarriage Beliefs as Predictors of Marital Quality and Positive Interaction in Stepcouples: An Actor–Partner Interdependence Model

Using an Actor–Partner Interdependence Model, we examined remarriage beliefs as predictors of marital quality and positive interaction in a sample of 179 stepcouples. Three beliefs were measured using subscales from the Remarriage Belief Inventory (RMBI) including success is slim, children are the priority, and finances should be pooled. Several significant actor and partner effects were found for both wives' and husbands' beliefs. Wives' marital quality was positively associated with their own beliefs that finances should be pooled and negatively associated with their own beliefs that success is slim. Wives' reports of their own and spouses' positive interaction were both positively associated with their beliefs that finances should be pooled. Their reports of spouses' positive interaction were also negatively associated with husbands' beliefs that success is slim. Husbands' marital quality was positively associated with wives' beliefs that children are the priority, positively associated with their own beliefs that finances should be pooled, and negatively with success is slim. Positive interaction for husbands was positively associated with wives' beliefs that finances should be pooled and negatively associated with their own beliefs that success is slim. Finally, husbands' reports of positive interaction for their spouses were positively associated with wives' beliefs that finances should be pooled. Implications for future research utilizing dyadic data analysis with stepcouples are addressed.     

Sleep Leadership in High-Risk Occupations: An Investigation of Soldiers on Peacekeeping and Combat Missions

Individuals in high-risk occupations (e.g., military service) often report physical, psychological, and organizational problems. Although leaders can partially buffer their subordinates against these problems, the impact of established leadership skills appears limited, especially in high-risk occupations. Thus, building on recent theories of domain-specific leadership, we examined whether leadership focused on the specific domain of sleep might be negatively associated with some specific problems facing individuals in high-risk occupations, beyond their relationship with general leadership. Studying military personnel on peacekeeping and combat deployments, we predicted that “sleep leadership” would be negatively associated with sleep problems (physical), depressive symptoms (psychological), and negative climate (organizational), and that sleep would mediate the relationship between sleep leadership and the psychological and organizational problems. Results were generally supportive, contributing to theories of domain-specific leadership by showing that sleep-focused leader behaviors may go beyond general leadership behaviors, relating directly to the problems facing individuals in high-risk occupations.     

Latina Immigrant Victims of Interpersonal Violence in New Jersey: A Needs Assessment Study

Recent studies have stressed the seriousness of male-female intimate partner violence (MFIPV) suffered by Latina women and the need for more comprehensive and culturally sensitive services for this population. This article provides an overall understanding of the type and severity of abuse suffered by examining Latina victims in New Jersey, a state that has a remarkably diverse and numerous Latino population. Socio-economic and residence statuses are considered, and self-help seeking behaviors and the challenges of women's social isolation are addressed. In addition, risk factors related to MFIPV, such as substance abuse and witnessed/experienced violence in childhood, are explored. The understanding of these characteristics and risk factors are critical to the design of prevention and intervention programs.