Psychoanalysis and the regulation of society

Multiple losses can be associated with both infertility and child sexual abuse. This work seeks to explore the ways in which such connections can affect a survivor who subsequently experiences infertility and who may choose to pursue medical treatment. The potential consequences of such mirroring are explored from the perspective of counselling practice under the provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (1990).     

Transgenerational processes and the trauma of sexual abuse

The process of the unconscious transmission of trauma between generations has been written about within the psychoanalytic field since Freud. the concept was further developed by psychoanalysts in their work with second generation survivors of the Holocaust. the particular characteristic is that it is a transmission that takes place silently and in secret, but actively. It is especially found in families where there is an inhibition against thinking. It is suggested in this paper that the concept could be usefully considered in families where a parent is a survivor of child sexual abuse but has kept the trauma a secret. Clinical examples illustrate how children in such families may carry the unconscious dynamics which can emerge into consciousness through symptomatology in the child.     

I have cried to Him a thousand times,but it makes no difference: sexual abuse,faith, and images of God

Experiences of sexual abuse may lead to religious struggles and affect a person's faith. This study focused on how victims of sexual abuse describe their relationships with God and with other parishioners. Our interest was in sexual abuse that had occurred outside the religious congregation, not abuse perpetrated by a minister or any other representative of the church. Interviews conducted with seven women and one man were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The informants described a wavering relationship with God and with the congregation. They felt that God had betrayed and abandoned them, and they struggled with different aspects of anger. These emotions made the informants feel different from, and sometimes excluded from, the Christian community. Along with these feelings, however, the informants expressed a strong longing for God and a need to feel protected by the congregation. All informants described the effect the abuse had on their faith as essential to their trauma, and as an issue they needed to work through to learn how to live with their experiences.     

Intimate partner abuse of educated,employed black South African women: sociocultural factors

This study aimed to explore the influence of African culture and tradition on the abuse experiences of Black South African women who are educated and employed. Interviews were conducted with seven Black South African women (age range 38 to 47) who are college educated and employed. All participants were married for seven or more years and self-reporting to be in an abusive relationship. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic content analysis. The results indicate sociocultural factors such as patriarchal values within their culture as an underlying reason for their husbands’ abusive behaviour. Abuse seemed likely when the women perceived gender roles that were in conflict with their husband's gender role expectations of them. The cultural expectation that women should not leave a marriage appeared to play an implicit role in their staying in an abusive relationship.     

Abused Women in South Africa who Kill their Intimate Male Partners: A Psychological Exploration

The aim of this study was to explore psychological risk factors that may precipitate the murder of a partner by an abused woman. In this article, the authors use multiple case studies and interviews with three women incarcerated for the murder of their partners. Four themes relating to intimate partner violence emerged from the interviews: 1) post-traumatic stress disorder, 2) coercive control, 3) substance abuse and 4) interrelational conflict. The study indicates psychological factors that may precipitate the murder of an intimate partner that should be taken into account when counselling abused women.     

Mental health correlates of HIV risk behaviour and STIs/HIV infection among university students from 22 low,middle and high income countries

The aim of this study was to determine mental health correlates of HIV risk behaviour and self-reported STIs/HIV infection among university students in 22 low, middle and high income countries. Data on mental health and HIV risk were collected from 16 567 undergraduate university students (mean age 20.9, SD = 2.9) from 23 universities in 22 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Results indicate that overall 16.8% of the students had two or more sexual partners in the past 12 months, and among the sexually active, 73.7% had inconsistently used a condom in the past three months with their primary sexual partner, 3.2% had ever been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and 0.6% had been diagnosed with HIV. In multivariate logistic regression poorer mental health and child abuse (physical and sexual) were associated with HIV risk behaviour, and child abuse (physical and sexual) was associated with STI and HIV positive diagnoses.     

A qualitative review of perception of change for male perpetrators of domestic abuse following abuser schema therapy (AST)

Introduction: Domestic abuse is known to have detrimental effects on all members of the family, yet it is often difficult for victims to leave. It is therefore important to research available intervention programmes for perpetrators who want to change their behaviour. Intervention programmes for perpetrators are informed by different theoretical and philosophical approaches, such as pro‐feminism, psychopathology or biopsychosocial theories. However, there is little consensus to the most effective intervention and there is a paucity of qualitative research on the perspectives of the perpetrators who attend the available therapies. Aim: The aim of this research was to discover the perceptions of change of 18 male, heterosexual perpetrators with female partners who self referred to a community‐based therapy service providing abuser schema therapy (AST). Method: A qualitative methodology was adopted using semi‐structured interviews on completion of therapy, and at three, six, nine and 12 months follow‐up. A content analysis was conducted and data was coded and mapped against a priori variables. Findings: The findings indicated that the four highest rated variables were: (1) a reduction of anger, (2) an increase in communication and assertiveness skills, (3) an increase in ability to think prior to behaviour, and (4) responsibility for personal power. The findings are discussed in relation to the perceived changes for perpetrators. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study seeks to contribute to the development of future effective interventions to reduce aggression within the home.     

Ecstasy Use,Outcome Expectancies,and Sexual Risk Taking

Ecstasy has become one of the most widely used illicit drugs in Australia. This study investigated outcome expectancies as possible motivating and maintaining factors in ecstasy use and sexual risk‐taking behaviour. A sample of regular ecstasy users (N = 220) from Sydney and Canberra, Australia, was recruited for structured face‐to‐face interviews. They also completed an Ecstasy Expectancy Questionnaire. Seven of eight subscales significantly differentiated regular users from non‐users. Interestingly, light and heavier users held similar outcome expectancies, except that light users endorsed items on the sexual enhancement subscale more strongly than heavier users. Further investigation showed that the level of sexual risk taking observed in this sample was high, with the majority of participants reporting multiple partners, “casual” sexual encounters, sex under the influence of substances, and inconsistent condom use. Using logistic regression analyses, a key finding was that positive sex‐related ecstasy outcome expectancies were associated with involvement in disinhibited sexual behaviour under the influence of ecstasy. These effects persisted after statistically controlling for the frequency of ecstasy use. The findings suggest that sexual risk taking is related not only to the disinhibiting properties of ecstasy but also to beliefs that users hold about the effects of the drug.     

“Thine is the Kingdom,the Power,and the Glory”: New Vistas for the Theology of the Cross

Abstract : This article examines fifteen recent books on a theology of the cross in the English language. Following the publication of Moltmann's The Crucified God and Hall's Lighten Our Darkness in the 1970s, unprecedented interest has been devoted to a theology of the cross in theological literature. The author categorizes this literature into four types: exegetical and historical treatments, critiques of theologies of glory, challenges to the abuse of power, and signals of the coming of God's kingdom. Two hypotheses are ventured regarding the emergence of these works at this time: 1) they evidence a theological response to the enormity of human suffering brought into awareness in an age of instant electronic communication; and 2) the urgent concern for the poor and the cry for social justice, which emerged with liberation theologies, are now finding expression through advocates for the theology of the cross.