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Evaluation ViewAttendees 4

Violence / Aggression
Symposia

Symposium 59 - Questioning Assumptions to Innovate the Fields of Trauma, Adversity, and Family Violence

Saturday, November 16, 2024
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
Location: Grand Ballroom A. Level 5, Downtown Marriott
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Abuse / Maltreatment, Intimate Partner Aggression, Trauma
Level of Familiarity: Basic to moderate
Recommended Readings: Smith, K. E., & Pollak, S. D. (2021). Rethinking concepts and categories for understanding the neurodevelopmental effects of childhood adversity. Perspectives on psychological science, 16(1), 67-93.,   Capaldi, D. M., & Owen, L. D. (2001). Physical aggression in a community sample of at-risk young couples: Gender comparisons for high frequency, injury, and fear. Journal of family psychology, 15(3), 425-440.,   Ferris, C. F. (2000). Adolescent stress and neural plasticity in hamsters: A vasopressin‐serotonin model of inappropriate aggressive behaviour. Experimental Physiology, 85(s1), 85s-90s.,   ,  

Trauma, adversity, and the experience, engagement in, and witnessing of family violence are widespread, central to many negative mental and physical health outcomes, and focal within the work of many cognitive-behavioral therapists. Furthermore, substantial literature notes that exposure to potentially traumatic events and other adversities increases risk for engagement in family violence, but identification of functional links that can be targeted in treatment requires substantial innovation across domains.
The presentations in this symposium collaboratively utilize data from the Children, Intimate Relationships, Conflictual Life Events, and Stress (CIRCLES) Study, an NIH-funded 8-stage longitudinal study comprising 448 at-risk partnered caregivers of children enrolled in (or eligible for) Head Start and who varied across race and the urban/rural divide. Presentation 1 will provide an overview of the goals and methodology of the CIRCLES Study, emphasizing how a community engaged approach facilitated effective recruitment and retention (particularly of fathers) as well as how the research infrastructure was used to support and advocate for study participants. Presentations 2 and 3 will describe how the CIRCLES Study methodology and partnership with participants facilitated innovation by questioning traditional assumptions in each field. This includes listening to participants’ experiences of trauma and adversity to better understand the underlying dimensions of such challenges (Presentation 2) and empirical development of participant-guided meaningful definitions of aggression severity (Presentation 3). Finally, Presentation 4 utilizes the work conducted by the authors of Presentations 2 and 3 to test alternative theories of how trauma and adversity functionally promote or inhibit engagement in aggression toward partners and children based on the nature of the aggressive conflict’s context. Each presentation identifies, questions, and empirically tests major assumptions in the respective field. Consequently, in addition to decreasing measurement error, an alternative model of how between-person experiences influence within-incident behaviors is constructed.
The symposium’s Discussant, a recognized expert in the treatment of trauma and intimate partner aggression, will share their perspective on the measurement and conceptual innovations as well as etiological discoveries that directly translate to more effective intervention approaches.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Identify key assumptions in the fields of trauma, adversity, and family violence.
  2. Appreciate how a community-engaged approach facilitates movement beyond traditional assumptions.
  3. Reconceptualize environmental challenges (including adversity and potentially traumatic events).
  4. Describe specific family aggressive behaviors that are most severe.
  5. Learn about alternative ways in which trauma exposure may either promote or inhibit aggressive behavior dependent upon the context.

Presentations:

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 59) The Children, Intimate Relationships, Conflictual Life Events, and Stress (CIRCLES) Study: A Participant-engaged Supportive Research Approach

    Speaker: Amy D. Marshall, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – The Pennsylvania State University

    Co-author: Angie Morrison, B.S. – The Pennsylvania State University

    Co-author: KC Britt, B.A. – The Pennsylvania State University

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 59) The Significance of Individuals' Experiences in the Measurement of Dimensions of Trauma and Adversity

    Speaker: Zhenyu Zhang, M.A., M.S. (he/him/his) – The Pennsylvania State University

    Co-author: Amy D. Marshall, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – The Pennsylvania State University

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 59) Leveraging Incident-level Data to Determine Severity of Intimate Partner and Parent-to-child Aggressive Behaviors

    Speaker: Emily Taverna, Ph.D. – National Center for PTSD, Women's Health Sciences Division

    Co-author: Amy D. Marshall, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – The Pennsylvania State University

  • 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EST
    (SYM 59) Alternative Models of the Role of Perceived Threat in the Link Between Trauma and Engagement in Aggression Toward Partners and Children

    Speaker: Alexandra Mattern, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – VA Boston Healthcare System

    Co-author: Emily Taverna, Ph.D. – National Center for PTSD, Women's Health Sciences Division

    Co-author: Zhenyu Zhang, M.A., M.S. (he/him/his) – The Pennsylvania State University

    Co-author: Amy D. Marshall, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – The Pennsylvania State University