Mark's Story

The personal story of Mark Kent is not an easy one to read or to ignore. This chapter shares the difficult life story of Mark's journey from an individual who was sexually and emotionally abused as a child to one where he is currently in a healthy and happy marriage with four children. Mark attributes this success to his Asperger's Syndrome and the support of his family, but he also realizes he is an exceptional case study. He advocates for much better awareness, sexual education, and overall acceptance on the part of society to ensure others can overcome the same challenges he has faced.

Post-traumatic stress and psychological well-being of emotionally abused girls

The aim of the presented study was to analyse emotional abuse as a stressor of high intensity in a group (n = 52) of girls aged 17 to 25. The level of post-traumatic stress, satisfaction with social support, including emotional and instrumental support, and a sense of psychological well-being and its components in particular, were considered. It has been shown that a high level of post-traumatic stress is characterised by low indicators for the components of psychological well-being and dissatisfaction with social support. Differences in positive relationships with others, in environmental management, self-acceptance and psychological well-being in general were obtained between girls, who had experienced emotional violence, and those, who had had no such a life experience; among other things, the former are not satisfied with social support and they note lack of its instrumental component. Abused girls experience difficulties in managing everyday affairs, in choosing social conditions that would satisfy their life needs and values; they are characterised by rejection of themselves, self-doubt, sense of loneliness, isolation and frustration. In addition, they feel dissatisfied with the attention and understanding of others, and at the same time, they feel distrust of others and are somewhat closed to accepting support.

Building Resilience through Counseling in The New Normal

This study focused on the dynamic process a 26 years old woman is going through in building her resiliency. The woman used to be verbally and emotionally abused by her stepmother, and that experience brings a significant impact on her life. This article’s primary purpose is to describe how the woman’s dynamic faces the problems and how she uses the counseling process, e-counseling, and face-to-face support to transform herself into a resilient and forgiving person. It also takes into account the woman’s risk factors and protective factors. This is a case study, and the data was collected from a single case using in-depth interviews, observation, and psychological assessment. The data analysis is using thematic analysis. The result showed that the counseling process has helped the woman grow, raising her ability to cope with her problems, helped her to become more resilient, and become more forgiving and release some of her burdens.

The Angry, Abusive and Controlling Men in K.S. Maniam’s Short Story ‘Mala’

The fights against sexism have been going on for decades. However, women in the present society still experience gender and social injustice, domestic violence and sexual harassment on a daily basis. In many cases, conservative families with patriarchal values become a breeding ground for unfair treatment and discrimination against women. Maniam brings up these issues to the public through his short story ‘Mala’. This study seeks to examine the male characters’ behaviour, attitude and treatment towards Malati, the main protagonist of the story – and how she deals with the treatment she receives from them. The analysis reveals that the female protagonist is suppressed by her father when she was young, emotionally abused and exploited for free labour by her husband when she is married and harassed by her male clients at her workplace. The poor treatments she has received from men around her since young leave her with the feelings of numbness and unworthiness for the rest of her life.

Child Maltreatment Prevention

Child maltreatment is a costly, dynamically complex problem of global significance with serious consequences for children, families, and communities. The World Health Organization defines child maltreatment as abuse and neglect that results in actual or potential harm to a child’s health, survival, development, or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust, or power. While estimates vary by country, the most recent global estimates suggest that over the course of childhood 23 percent of adults are physically abused, 36 percent are emotionally abused, and 16 percent are physically neglected. Approximately one in five girls are sexually abused, a rate 2.5 times higher than that of boys. Overviews of the nature and scope of child maltreatment are provided in separate Oxford Bibliographies articles “Child Maltreatment,” “Child Maltreatment,” and “Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment.” In depth entries addressing systems of response to child maltreatment are provided in “Child Protection” and Child Welfare. This article focuses on universal and targeted strategies to prevent child maltreatment before it occurs. Whereas universal strategies seek to reach all children and families with prevention programming in a given community, targeted strategies are designed to reach specific families with identified needs. This entry provides general overviews on the topic of child maltreatment prevention from interdisciplinary perspectives. It directs readers to scientific journals that disseminate peer-reviewed research, scholarship on universal and targeted child maltreatment prevention strategies, and clearinghouses that provide timely evidence regarding the effectiveness of specific programs. The vast number of international and US agencies and organizations engaged in child maltreatment prevention efforts are highlighted. A growing body of established and emerging research evidence demonstrates that the prevention of child maltreatment is possible within our lifetimes through public and private investments in effective universal and targeted strategies; interdisciplinary and cross-systems collaboration; innovation; and political will.

Mark's Story

The personal story of Mark Kent is not an easy one to read or to ignore. This chapter shares the difficult life story of Mark's journey from an individual who was sexually and emotionally abused as a child to one where he is currently in a healthy and happy marriage with four children. Mark attributes this success to his Asperger's Syndrome and the support of his family, but he also realizes he is an exceptional case study. He advocates for much better awareness, sexual education, and overall acceptance on the part of society to ensure others can overcome the same challenges he has faced.

Medical costs associated with childhood maltreatment history among Japanese older people

Background Childhood maltreatment can have a significant impact on health across the life course, but its impact on health care costs in later life is unknown in Japan. This study aims to assess additional medical costs of Japanese older people with childhood maltreatment history. Methods Data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) 2013, a population-based cohort of independent people aged 65 years or older across Japan were used and linked uniquely with the database of health insurance claims for residents of a city with more than 1.5 million citizens, aged 75 years or younger (N = 978). Average annual medical costs for April 2012 and March 2013 and April 2013 and March 2014 were calculated and compared between those who experienced childhood maltreatment and those who did not, using generalized linear models. Results 4.5% of our sample witnessed their father physically abusing their mother, 1.9% were physically abused, 10.6% were emotionally neglected, and 5.7% were emotionally abused in their childhood. Average medical costs of those with any childhood maltreatment (N = 176, 18.0% of the sample) were significantly higher than those without maltreatment (549,468JPY vs. 413,013JPY (1USD is equivalent to 110JPY); p = 0.007). When examining the effect of each type of maltreatment, average costs of those with emotional neglect were higher than the counterpart (573,481JPY vs. 412,082JPY; p = 0.008). Average costs of those who experienced physical abuse were also higher than those who did not (726,254JPY vs 431,106JPY; p = 0.035). The effect of any childhood maltreatment remained statistically significant after older adults’ age and gender were controlled (p = 0.03). Conclusions Our findings suggest that childhood maltreatment is strongly associated with additional medical costs among older Japanese. If it was truly causal, it can be estimated that additional medical costs associated with childhood maltreatment can be more than 333 billion JPY per year nationwide. Key messages Average annual medical costs of older adults with any childhood maltreatment history were significantly 116,098 JPY greater than those with no maltreatment history. As for each type of childhood maltreatment, emotional neglect tends to increase medical costs in late adulthood.

An Arabic translation of Susan Glaspell's play, "Trifles"

This is an Arabic translation of “Trifles”, a famous play by prominent American playwright Susan Glaspell (1876-1948). Glaspell was one of the founders of the Playwright’s Theatre, formerly recognized as the Provincetown Players in the United States of America. She wrote ten novels, twenty plays, and more than forty short stories. “Trifles” is a one-act play written in 1916.2 It is considered to be one of Susan Glaspell’s major works. “Trifles” is a play that is frequently anthologized in American literature textbooks. The play was based on the murder case of the sixty-year-old farmer, John Hossack, which was covered widely by Susan Glaspell while she was working as a journalist with the Des Moines Daily News immediately after her graduation from Drake University. Accordingly, “Trifles” presents the murder of an oppressive husband by his emotionally abused wife. It is an attempt to re-address the John Hossack case from the point of view of women who might not have a similar viewpoint of the nature of marital disagreement and domestic unhappiness.3 The murder happened in a period where women had insufficient protection from domestic abuse, and had not yet obtained the right to vote. The main characters of the play are: 1- The Sheriff, Mr. Henry Peters; 2- Mrs. Peters(wife of the Sheriff); 3- Mr. Lewis Hale (a neighbour of Mr. and Mrs. Wright); 4- Mrs. Hale (wife of Mr. Hale); and 5- The County Attorney, Mr. George Henderson. The off-stage characters are: 1- Mr. John Write (the victim); 2-Mrs. Minnie Write (the victim’s wife); 3- Frank (Deputy Sheriff); 4- Harry (a helper of Mr.Lewis Hale); 5- Dr. Lloyd (the coroner). The play addressed the life of Mrs. Wright who becameenraged and took the life of her abusive and violent husband after he killed her bird. The motivefor murder was the killing of the canary because it represented freedom for her. Mrs. Wright, theprotagonist, lived through a series of emotions, such as rage, shock, lack of feeling, rejection,and deep sadness, mainly because the loss of her bird was sudden, surprising and unforeseen.4 She considered the death of her bird as a great calamity, as she lost something extremely crucialin her life. Susan Glaspell chose the title of the play from a line stated by one of the characters inthe play, Mr. Lewis Hale, when he says: “Well, women are used to worrying about trifles.” The title demonstrates irony when Mrs. Minnie Wright seemed to be more concerned about triflesthan she is about being under arrest for murder. This English play, “Trifles,” was chosen to betranslated into Arabic because of its significance and association to the Arab culture. For thesake of wide readability, it was translated into Modern Standard Arabic (formal Arabic), as it isquite the same in all Arab countries.

Validating the Experiences of Emotionally Abused Men: A Call to the Profession

While the prevalence and incidence of intimate partner violence (IPV) with males as perpetrators and women as victims has steadily gained public and professional attention since the 1970s, equal attention to the incidence of men as victims of IPV, specifically emotional abuse, has not kept pace. This article will prepare counselors to better understand, assess, and intervene in incidences where men are indeed victims of this dimension of IPV.

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Cyberbullying Perpetration Among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Trait Mindfulness

Preliminary studies have indicated that childhood emotional maltreatment (i.e., abuse and neglect) can be associated with higher cyberbullying perpetration (CBP) among university students. The purpose of the present study was to test the direct and indirect effects of childhood emotional abuse (CEA) on CBP via trait mindfulness and trait emotional intelligence (TEI). A total of 470 adolescent students participated in the study and completed a questionnaire comprising measures of the aforementioned variables. Path analysis showed that trait mindfulness, but not TEI, was a partial mediator between CEA and CBP among the total sample, males, and females. Results indicated that there were other factors that explain the relationship between CEA and CBP in addition to lower mindfulness. These findings suggest that developing mindfulness-based intervention programs for adolescents who have been emotionally abused as a child may reduce their engagement in cyberbullying. This study is the first to document the direct role of CEA on CBP and indirect via trait mindfulness among adolescents.