This study examined the impact of police officers' trauma on the psychological adjustment of their partners. One hundred and three Victorian police officers and their spousal partners completed measures assessing trauma exposure, PTSD symptomatology (PCL) and general psychological wellbeing (GHQ-28). Partners were hypothesised to demonstrate patterns of psychological adjustment similar to the officers. Based on PCL scores, nearly one third of the officers and almost 14% of the partners demonstrated PTSD. Consistent with hypotheses, regression analyses identified that, after controlling for partners' prior trauma exposure, characteristics of officer psychological adjustment — particularly avoidance-numbing symptoms — were significant predictors of poorer psychological adjustment in their partners. Theoretical explanations for such associations are discussed, especially with reference to the theories for the systemic effects of trauma, and suggestions for further research are proposed.

We compared MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) profiles of 2 groups of adult biological men requesting sex reassignment surgery; 1 group was diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev. [DSM-III-R]; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) transsexualism and the other with gender identity disorder of adolescence and adulthood, nontranssexual type (GIDAANT). Although the mean profiles for the transsexual group did not demonstrate any psychopathology, the GIDAANT group showed moderate psychopathology. A cluster analysis indicated that 85% of the transsexual group showed low psychopathology and 47% of the GIDAANT group showed severe psychopathology. Neither the MMPI-2 results nor the DSM-III-R clinical evaluation support the conclusion of many authors that transsexualism is associated with severe personality disorder; rather, the data indicate that transsexualism and other gender identity disorders without persistent wish for sex reassignment differ significantly in degree of psychopathology.

This article examines psychometric characteristics of the 100-item Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI) in a sample of 370 psychiatric inpatients and psychotherapy outpatient men and women. The 10 clinical scales of the TSI had a mean α of .87, with αs ranging from .74 for Tension Reduction Behavior to .90 for both Depression and Intrusive Experiences. A self-reported history of interpersonal trauma (in child- or adulthood) was associated with elevations on all TSI scales relative to those not reporting victimization. Post hoc multiple regression analyses indicated that client age, sex, inpatient versus outpatient status, childhood sexual and physical abuse, and adult sexual assault were unique predictors of various TSI raw scale scores. Sex interacted with other predictors in several instances; women with sexual- or physical-assault histories scored higher on Depression and Intrusive Experiences, and men battered in a relationship scored higher on Sexual Concerns and Dysfunctional Sexual Behavior.

Describing traumatic experiences is a routine feature of mental health assessment and treatment it is accepted that in the clinical context this will be distressing to some patients. Research on the experience and sequelae of trauma is also a situation where people may be asked for detailed accounts of traumatic experiences. A common concem voiced by ethics committees is whether the process of reviving memories of past traumas may adversely affect the research participant. The study to be described here attempts to shed some light on this issue. At the conclusion of intensive interviews with 257 mothers and 160 fathers who had a stillborn baby some years earlier, parents were asked about the extent to which they found the interview distressing and the extent to which they found it helpful or unhelpful. We found that of the small proportion of parents who found the interview distressing, nearly all reported that it had also been helpful to them. These data suggest that in evaluating research which involves the evocation of painful memories, ethics committees should not focus on whether participants will become distressed by the research, but rather on whether the study is designed in such a way that the final outcome will be a positive one for participants.

A system of in-service assessment of trainee psychiatrists by their supervisors is reported. It has been used for four years in a large, service delivery organisation. Analysis of the data collected indicates that the supervisors' ratings were significantly related to subsequent trainee examination performance. From the individual scores however, it can be postulated that as a feedback aid to learning, its usefulness may have been limited by the narrow range of ratings given.