Scam-based human trafficking is an emerging form of digitally mediated exploitation in which individuals may be financially victimized, coerced into online fraud operations, or both. This integrative narrative review synthesizes academic and gray literature on scam-based trafficking, including pig-butchering scams, romance fraud, scam compounds, forced criminality, and cyber-enabled financial exploitation, through a trauma-informed and intersectional lens. Structured searches were conducted in Google Scholar and PubMed, supplemented by citation tracking, coauthor-identified references, and targeted review of policy and agency reports. Sources were eligible if they addressed scam-based trafficking, online fraud, forced criminality, trauma vulnerability, psychological consequences, revictimization, help-seeking barriers, linguistic or technological mechanisms of deception, digital literacy, platform design, or trauma-informed intervention. After screening and eligibility assessment, 88 sources were included in the final synthesis. Findings are organized across five domains: trauma as a vulnerability factor, linguistic and technological mechanisms of deception, intersecting sociocultural and structural vulnerabilities, trauma outcomes and revictimization cycles, and trauma-informed interventions. The review suggests that trauma may function both as a preexisting vulnerability and as an outcome of exploitation. Scam-based trafficking should therefore be understood not only as financial fraud or cybercrime, but also as a trauma-related and intersectionally structured form of exploitation. Effective responses should combine trauma-informed clinical care, emotional scam literacy, culturally responsive services, digital safety education, platform accountability, and coordinated systems of support.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration is a significant public health concern, with up to 90% of individuals in intimate relationships experiencing some form of physical, psychological, or sexual IPV from their partner throughout their lifetime. Over 30 years of research have concluded that alcohol use results in greater risk for IPV perpetration. Despite this known association, only recently has alcohol use been examined as a proximal predictor of IPV perpetration in daily diary-type studies. The present study aimed to provide a systematic narrative review of current research on the event-level association between alcohol use and psychological, physical, and sexual IPV perpetration. Relevant studies were obtained by searching PsycInfo, PubMed, and CINAHL. Full-text peer-reviewed studies published in English that quantitatively assessed the event-level association between alcohol use and physical, psychological, and/or sexual IPV perpetration ( N = 24) were retained. Results provide support for the event-level association between alcohol use and IPV perpetration across college student, couple, community, clinical, and adjudicated samples. Future research is needed to distinguish whether certain patterns of alcohol use, quantity, or level of intoxication are associated with greater IPV risk. Similarly, future studies should aim to examine psychological, physical, and sexual IPV perpetration separately, and to identify how other known risk factors may interact with alcohol use to predict event-level IPV perpetration. These findings highlight the usefulness of clinical intervention efforts that provide skills to target urges to drink or to aggress in the moment when they are needed, with the ultimate goal of reducing alcohol-related IPV perpetration.
This systematic review aims to explore the mental health of police officers and digital forensic analysts exposed to cases involving minors who are victims of sexual violence. This review places a particular emphasis on secondary traumatic stress experienced by these professionals. For this study, seven databases were consulted: PubMed, PsycINFO/PsycARTICLE, Web of Science, Cairn, Cochrane, Embase, and Biomed, up until February 2025. After preselecting the studies, one reviewer extracted the data and assessed the quality of the studies, followed by a double-check performed by a second reviewer. Twenty-six articles were included in the systematic review. To be included in this review, the articles had to focus on the mental health of police officers working with children who are victims of sexual violence. The analysis revealed that there is a negative impact on police officers, who may develop a form of secondary traumatic stress. This stress affects both their professional and personal lives. Additionally, the lack of support from their superiors, high workload, and insufficient resources in the care systems available contribute to the negative impact on law enforcement. This review sheds light on these factors and underscores the need to focus more on the needs of these professionals by implementing appropriate care measures to preserve psychological well-being and effectiveness.
The COVID-19 pandemic restricted access to intimate partner violence (IPV) support systems, increased the risk of IPV, and worsened already complex social and safety issues for survivors. As shelters were forced by public health mandates to adapt the way services were provided, many implemented innovative approaches to delivering care. The purpose of this unregistered review is to describe some of these adaptations and how they can continue to support survivors in a post-pandemic environment. We reviewed 261 identified reports and articles from 2018 to 2022 that were open access or available as full-text sources and included information on the impacts of COVID-19 on IPV and survivors as well as service adaptation. Inclusion criteria also required peer review and that the focus be on the U.S. population, narrowing the scope to 112 final sources. Search terms captured recommendations for different racial and ethnic groups and thematic coding revealed developments in providing services to different communities, within movement and space restrictions, and via telehealth. Researchers overwhelmingly support universal violence screening and education, especially among healthcare providers, and training in trauma-informed care. Many also endorse a community-based approach to violence prevention and service provision that engages multiple sectors and shifts the role of shelters to emergencies only. Lessons learned during the pandemic and new approaches to providing support to survivors of violence, such as telehealth, community collaboration, housing first models, and mobile advocacy, should continue to be studied to show effective avenues for implementation.
Parents with histories of psychopathology, trauma, and systemic stressors are at elevated risk for emotion dysregulation, a modifiable driver of child maltreatment. Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) offers transdiagnostic skills that may reduce this risk; however, the evidence for DBT-informed parenting interventions has not been synthesized. This Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses-guided systematic review examined how such interventions are designed, implemented, and evaluated. PubMed, PsycINFO, and MEDLINE were searched from inception to February 2026. Eligible studies were empirical evaluations of DBT-informed parenting programmes for caregivers of children, reporting parent, parenting, or child outcomes; case studies and non-empirical reports were excluded. Of 109 full texts screened, 14 studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies were coded for intervention characteristics, DBT module coverage (including the use of behaviour chain analysis [BCA], risk of bias (ROBINS-I), and parent and parenting outcomes. Interventions were typically brief (6–14 weeks), group-based, and clinician-delivered; all included mindfulness, and most included emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. Notably, only one study explicitly reported utilizing BCA. Caregivers showed reductions in emotion dysregulation, depression, anxiety, and parenting stress, alongside decreases in coercive or harsh parenting and gains in validation, effective discipline, and parent–child communication. Evidence was derived primarily from small, uncontrolled pilots; risk of bias was commonly rated as serious, and the overall certainty of evidence was low. Rigorous controlled trials with diverse caregivers are needed. DBT-informed parenting programmes show promise for reducing risk factors associated with maltreatment.
