Holistic Impacts on Sociocultural Variable - U7

Question 1

What is apart of the sociocultural variable?

Answer 1

• Language and communication patterns
• Cultural roles and expectations
• Social history: family, education and work/finances
• Relationships/SO
• Health beliefs, habits, and practices
• Ethnicity and race

Question 2

What are the general findings of impacts of trauma on relationships ?

Answer 2

• Expectations of harm lead to difficulties developing trust
• Confusion on what/who is safe
• Avoidance of relationships as a protective strategy
• Lack of healthy boundaries

Question 3

What are the impacts of trauma on marital/romantic relationships ?

Answer 3

• Relationship satisfaction for both parties may be affected by trauma symptoms like sleep issues, dissociation, and sexual dysfunction
• The non-traumatized partner may attempt to compensate for the trauma by exaggerating his/her role in the relationship (weakened boundaries, altering closeness and intimacy)

Question 4

What is revictimization ?

Answer 4

It is where a victim may identify with relationships that feel “familiar”, leading to reenactment of old traumas
- Poor affect regulation may increase risk of involvement in dysfunctional relationships*

Question 5

Victimizing others; THE VICTIM TO VICTIMIZER CYCLE:

Answer 5

• Trauma can have negative impacts on parenting behaviours, potentially influencing intergenerational transmission of trauma*
• The belief that males who have been victims of sexual abuse will become perpetrators themselves is over exaggerated
• There is evidence to suggest male survivors are more likely to react to their experience through externalizing behaviours (including victimizing others), where females are more likely to internalize their experience and act in self-destructive ways*
• Most people who experience abuse/trauma do NOT become perpetrators

Question 6

Victims’ perception of their perp(s); IDEALIZATION OF THE PERPETRATOR:

Answer 6

• The victim may blame themselves or external factors for the abuse and idealizes the perp. This allows for relationship maintenance/preservation*
• Relationship dynamics between the victim/perp may perpetuate this:
  EX. perp positive/apologetic behaviour following abuse makes the victim feel loved, which allows them to rationalize/minimize the extent of the abuse
• Intense experiences/extreme feelings bonds people together in a special (yet dysfunctional) way

Question 7

Victims’ perception of their perp(s); TRAUMA BONDING:

Answer 7

Patrick Carnes (1997) defines it as dysfunctional attachments that occur in the presence of danger, shame, or exploitation*
There are 2 conditions necessary:
1. Severe power imbalance causing the victim to feel helpless/vulnerable
2. Intermittent abuse that alternates with positive or neutral interactions

Question 8

Victims’ perception of their perp(s); PREOCCUPATION WITH HURTING/HARMING THE PERP:

Answer 8

• It signals an attempt to regain a sense of control/power after being victimized*
• It consists of a form of fantasizing, putting an end to the emotional pain and the effects of the trauma, which would create a “new ending”
• The overall level of risk for retaliation is LOW, but it may cue the RPN to assess for risk of harm to others

Question 9

High risk environmental factors; Early studies:

Answer 9

• Studies provided evidence that stressful life events play a significant role in the development of depression, anxiety, suicide, and psychosis in adulthood
• There was a report of a dramatic increase in the probability of children exhibiting behaviour disorder as a function of multiple family stressors

Question 10

What are Rutter’s indicators of adversity?

Answer 10

1. Severe marital discord
2. Low social economic status
3. Overcrowding or large family size
4. Parental criminality
5. Maternal mental disorder
6. Placement outside the child’s home

Question 11

What is the relationship between homelessness and trauma?

Answer 11

• 97% of homeless women have experienced physical/sexual abuse; 87% experienced this abuse both in childhood and adulthood
• 55% of homeless people from 3 BC communities reported physical abuse
  Contributing factors:
• Many individuals become homeless as a result of fleeing trauma*
• Homelessness in itself can be traumatic

Question 12

What is intergenerational trauma?

Answer 12

It is the ways in which trauma experienced in one generation is carried onto future generations
- Negative effects include, vulnerability to stress, reduced coping abilities, mental health symptoms/disorders

Question 13

Why does intergenerational trauma occur?

Answer 13

• child-parent attachment
• family communication issues (secrecy, silence)
• overprotectiveness
• cultural differences between parents and children

Question 14

What is historical trauma?

Answer 14

It is the experience of communities and ethnic groups exposed to large scale or repeated traumatic events and accompanying stresses
- The collective distress experienced in historical trauma is both psychological and social, affecting multiple levels of the individual, family, and community

Question 15

What is colonialism?

Answer 15

It is the practice of domination, which usually involves the transfer of a population to a new territory

Question 16

What are some of the long-term impacts of colonialism in Canada?

Answer 16

• Race-based traumatic stress (RBTS) refers to the mental and emotional injury caused by encounters with racial bias and ethnic discrimination, racism, and hate crimes
• RBTS addresses the unique psychological and emotional distress that black, Indigenous, and POC suffer as a result of racism and discrimination
• *Trauma informed approaches to addressing stress-related processes and psychological outcomes need to consider the unique social context of members of various socially marginalized groups (MATHESON ET AL., 2019) = ARTICLE

Question 17

What is cultural safety?

Answer 17

It is an outcome based on respectful engagement that recognizes and strives to address power imbalances inherent in the health care system.
It results in an environment free of racism and discrimination, where people feel safe when receiving HC

Question 18

What is cultural humility?

Answer 18

It is a process of self-reflection to understand personal and systemic biases and to develop and maintain respectful processes and relationships based on mutual trust.
It involves humbly acknowledging oneself as a learner when it comes to understanding another’s experience