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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study by McCormack et al. was to examine the role of two factors which might influence coping ability in response to stressóperceptions of control over stressors and the availability of intrafamilial supportówith regard to familial abuse and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
METHODOLOGY:
The authors employed a quasi-experimental cross-sectional design with a non-probability sample of 149 runaways, between the ages of 16 and 21, who entered a shelter in Toronto during the summer of 1984. Perceptions of the subjects regarding their reasons for running were assessed. Subjects were asked about the importance of physical abuse by family as a reason for leaving home, and their perceived control of events leading to their departure was measured via use of a modified version of a scale described elsewhere (in Russell, 1982). Availability of support was measured with three Family Relationships Subscales of the Family Environment Scale: cohesion (degree of help, time and attention available), expressiveness (degree of open discussion) and conflict, all of which have established internal consistencies and test-retest reliabilities. Analysis included cross-tabulations and tests of mean difference.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
Fewer than half the subjects, 43%, reported physical abuse within their families as an important reason for leaving home. The authors found that subjects who ran away because of physical abuse were more likely than other runaways to believe that their situations were under the control of others, and that they could not have controlled or changed events. The authors suggested that this lack of coping mechanism, belief in control, increased the probability of these youth exhibiting PTSD. Scores on both cohesion and expressiveness for both groups of runaways were lower than the norm, with scores for the abused group being lower than for the non-abused group. Victims of abuse also reported higher levels of open anger and conflict within their families than did non-victims, with both groups having scores above the norm. The authors suggested that both types of runaway were likely to come from dysfunctional families. The authors concluded that the act of running away from home constituted a tactic used to control a stressful situation. For some, leaving the situation acts to relieve the symptoms that had arisen. However for others, running away does not have this effect, and they continue to experience symptoms consistent with PTSD. These individuals, according to the authors, are likely to have been physically abused by family. The authors concluded their study with the claim that PTSD disorders were mediated by perceptions of control over the trauma, with information affecting these perceptions coming from the social environment of the family.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors suggested that professionals who work with runaways should investigate a history of physical abuse in youth displaying PTSD symptomatology, and should focus upon rebuilding the youth's sense of control.
EVALUATION:
This study represents an interesting examination of the relationship between abuse and stress. However, the fairly small sample size, aged in the later adolescent years, and the fact that the sample includes only official and self-reported runaways, precludes generalization to all runaway individuals. The results can also only apply to physical abuse - sexual and emotional abuse were not included in the measures. The instrument employed in the measure of perceptions of control was not described in this report - a full description of this, and of all the measures, would have been helpful. Also useful would have been a discussion of implications of the results for prevention and intervention planning. Finally, a more thorough discussion of the findings would have been valuable. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Canada
KW - Countries Other Than USA
KW - Ontario
KW - Domestic Violence Effects
KW - Domestic Violence Victim
KW - Child Abuse Effects
KW - Child Abuse Victim
KW - Child Physical Abuse Effects
KW - Child Physical Abuse Victim
KW - Child Victim
KW - Juvenile Victim
KW - Juvenile Runaway
KW - Juvenile Adjustment
KW - Family Environment
KW - Psychological Victimization Effects
KW - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
KW - Runaway Causes
KW - Family Relations |