The child verbal competence effect in court: a comparative study of field investigative interviews of children in child sexual abuse cases

The purpose of this study is to compare field investigative interviews of children (FIIC) with three different legal outcomes in child sexual abuse cases: (i) insufficient evidence to proceed (IEP); (ii) convictions; or (iii) acquittals by the court. One hundred FIIC were divided into one of the three outcome possibilities. Amongst the female interviewees older than 10 years, there were no cases of acquittals and the convicted cases were over-represented. The children's response to open questions was found to be the main difference between the three FIIC outcomes. The responses to these open questions were 1.9 and 2.3 times longer in the convicted cases compared to acquittals and IEP. Possible explanations for the result are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mental health problems and post-migration stress among multi-traumatized refugees attending outpatient clinics upon resettlement to Norway

Refugees have often been exposed to multiple traumas making them prone to mental health problems later. The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence and symptom load of psychiatric disorders in refugees admitted to psychiatric outpatient clinics and to investigate the relationship between multiple exposure to traumatic events, the severity of traumatic symptoms and post-migration stressors. A clinical sample of 61 refugee outpatients from psychiatric clinics in Southern Norway was cross-sectionally examined using three structured clinical interviews (SCID-PTSD, SIDES and MINI) and self-report psychometric instruments (HSCL-25, IES-R). Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was diagnosed in 82% of the patients, while Disorders of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified (DESNOS) was present in 16% of them. Comorbidity was considerable; 64% of the patients had both PTSD and major depression disorder (MDD) and 80% of those who had PTSD had three or more additional diagnoses. Multi-traumatized refugees in outpatient clinics have high prevalence of PTSD, DESNOS, comorbid depression and anxiety disorders. A more severe symptomatology was found in patients diagnosed with both PTSD and DESNOS, than in those diagnosed with only PTSD. Higher rates of unemployment, weak social network and weak social integration were also prevalent in these outpatients, and related to increased psychiatric comorbidity and severity of symptoms. Further research may clarify the existence of a cumulative relationship between pre-resettlement traumas and post-resettlement stressors in the mental health of refugees, which in turn may help to improve therapeutic interventions.     

Centrality of Event and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After the 2011 Oslo Bombing Attack

It has been proposed that a highly integrated trauma leads to more accessible and vivid memories of the traumatic event, in turn heightening symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. The relationship between the centrality of a traumatic event and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder after the 2011 Oslo bombing attack was investigated in the present study. A high degree of perceived centrality was associated with higher symptom levels of posttraumatic stress as shown in the results. This association was found after controlling for gender, age and educational background. The relationship between types and level of trauma exposure, peritraumatic reactions and centrality of event was also investigated in the present study. Higher levels of trauma exposure and peritraumatic reactions were associated with higher levels of centrality of event as shown in the results. When a traumatic event becomes a reference point in the individual's life story and central to their identity, this is associated with an increased risk of symptomatology as suggested in the findings. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ecclesiology and the doctrine of creation: a Scandinavian theological perspective

With a view to the present challenges facing the traditional folk churches in Scandinavia, this article aims to present the interconnectedness of creation theology and ecclesiology, as this has been understood in Scandinavian ‘folk church Lutheranism’. While theologies of the Church often seem unrelated to a theology of creation, Bonhoeffer and de Lubac represent two different ways of connecting the two. This article shows how the theological tradition to which Grundtvig and Wingren belong, corresponds to and differs from these continental theologians. The specific character of the Scandinavian tradition is interpreted as stemming from an amalgam of Luther and Irenaeus. In conclusion, the article offers some critical comments on this tradition, and some reflections on how to negotiate between the all-inclusive nature of the Church, her catholicity, and the limited character of any actual local church. It is suggested that a reconsideration of the ecclesiological implications of the first article of faith (the doctrine of creation) is required for coming to terms with this challenge.     

Perception of threat and safety at work among employees in the Norwegian ministries after the 2011 Oslo bombing

Background and objectives: Terrorism can heighten fears and undermine the feeling of safety. Little is known, however, about the factors that influence threat and safety perception after terrorism. The aim of the present study was to explore how proximity to terror and posttraumatic stress reactions are associated with perceived threat and safety after a workplace terrorist attack. Design and methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was administered to employees in 14 of 17 Norwegian ministries 9–10 months after the 2011 bombing of the government headquarters in Oslo (n = 3520). Results: About 198 of 1881 employees completing the survey were at work when the bomb exploded. Regression analysis showed that this high-exposed group had elevated perceived threat (β = 0.36; 95% CI = 0.19 to 0.53) and reduced perceived safety (β = ?0.42; 95% CI = ?0.62 to ?0.23) compared to a reference group of employees not at work. After adjusting for posttraumatic stress reactions, however, proximity to the explosion no longer mattered, whereas posttraumatic stress was associated with both high perceived threat (β = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.48 to 0.63) and low perceived safety (β = ?0.71; 95% CI, ?0.80 to ?0.63). Conclusion: Terror-exposed employees feel more threatened and less safe after a workplace terrorist attack, and this is closely linked to elevated levels of posttraumatic stress reactions.     

The Launching and Ensnaring Effects of Construing a Traumatic Event as Central to One's Identity and Life Story

Construing a traumatic event as central to one's life story and identity is associated with posttraumatic stress. The longitudinal relationship between centrality of event and trajectories of posttraumatic stress was examined. Data from ministerial employees were collected 10 months, 2 years, and 3 years after the 2011 Oslo bombing (N = 259). Using structural equation modeling, the launch and the snare hypotheses were tested. Support for the launch hypothesis was found; higher levels of event centrality 10 months after the attack were associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress across time. Support for the snare hypothesis was also found; higher levels of centrality 10 months and 2 years after the bombing were related to higher levels of posttraumatic stress, beyond what could be anticipated based on the individual's general trajectory. This suggests that event centrality can influence the overall trajectory, and may also have additional time‐specific effects on posttraumatic stress.Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trust in Nanotechnology? On Trust as Analytical Tool in Social Research on Emerging Technologies

Trust has become an important aspect of evaluating the relationship between lay public and technology implementation. Experiences have shown that a focus on trust provides a richer understanding of reasons for backlashes of technology in society than a mere focus of public understanding of risks and science communication. Therefore, trust is also widely used as a key concept for understanding and predicting trust or distrust in emerging technologies. But whereas trust broadens the scope for understanding established technologies with well-defined questions and controversies, it easily fails to do so with emerging technologies, where there are no shared questions, a lack of public familiarity with the technology in question, and a restricted understanding amongst social researchers as to where distrust is likely to arise and how and under which form the technology will actually be implemented. Rather contrary, ‘trust’ might sometimes even direct social research into fixed structures that makes it even more difficult for social research to provide socially robust knowledge. This article therefore suggests that if trust is to maintain its important role in evaluating emerging technologies, the approach has to be widened and initially focus not on people’s motivations for trust, but rather the object of trust it self, as to predicting how and where distrust might appear, how the object is established as an object of trust, and how it is established in relation with the public.     

Perceptions of traffic risk in an industrialised and a developing country

This study aimed to investigate differences in traffic risk perception among a Norwegian and Ghanaian public. This was carried out while controlling for relevant background variables such as gender, age, and levels of educational achievement. In order to obtain the core aim of the study, a self-completion questionnaire was devised and distributed to a representative sample of the Norwegian population (n = 247) and to a stratified sample in Accra and Cape-Coast in Ghana (n = 299). The results showed that the Ghanaian sample perceived higher traffic risk than the Norwegian sample. Gender, age, and levels of educational achievement exerted minimal influences on risk perception. The results were discussed in context of industrialisation, cultural differences, and health beliefs.