Raija-Leena Punamäki
Biographic Data
| ID | 88351 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Raija-Leena Punamäki |
| GIVEN NAMES | Raija-Leena |
| FAMILY NAME | Punamäki |
| SIGNATURE | PUNAMÄKI R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Tampere University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4385-3073 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 65 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 195 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 64 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1988 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
The impact of mother's mental health, infant characteristics and war trauma on the acoustic features of infant‐directed singing
Infant‐directed singing (IDSi) is a natural means of dyadic communication that contributes to children's mental health by enhancing emotion expression, close relationships, exploration and learning. Therefore, it is important to learn about factors that impact the IDSi. This study modeled the mother‐ (mental health), infant‐ (emotional responses and health status) and environment (war trauma)‐related factors influencing acoustic IDSi features, su…
Psychosocial school-based intervention among adolescents with migrant and native backgrounds
Positive social relationships are essential for supporting adolescents in multicultural schools. This preregistered study quantitatively examined the effectiveness of the Peer Integration and Enhancement Resource (PIER), a school-based psychosocial intervention, in increasing adolescents' social capital; it also qualitatively analyzed teachers' experiences of the PIER. Adolescents with migrant backgrounds and those with native backgrounds were ra…
How is mental health associated with adolescent alpha-amylase and cortisol reactivity and coordination
To better understand the role of neuroendocrinological regulation in adolescent mental health, stress reactivity needs to be analyzed through both the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. Accordingly, this study examined how adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing mental health symptoms are associated with their salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol levels, responses, and coordination (symmetry vers…
Do family members sleep alike? Sleep features among mothers, fathers, and adolescents
Effectiveness of Promotive and Preventive Psychosocial Interventions on Improving the Mental Health of Finnish-Born and Immigrant Adolescents
Interventions enhancing teacher awareness and peer relationships at school should be carefully tailored according to the strengths and vulnerabilities of participating students, especially their daily stress exposure, but also age and gender
The content and meaning of war experiences
Abundant research has shown that traumatic war experiences can interfere with the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents, but less is known about the subjective experiences and views of war survivors. The present study identified and described the different types of war experiences of young refugees in an African context and analyzed how they perceived the meanings and impact of war on their lives. The participants were 13 Liberi…
It Takes Time to Unravel the Ecology of War in Gaza, Palestine
Toxicant, teratogen and carcinogen metal war remnants negatively affect human health. The current study analyzes, first, the persistence of heavy metal contamination in newborn hair in four cohorts across time in Gaza Palestine; second, the change in mothers' and infants' heavy metal contamination from birth to toddlerhood; and third, the impact of heavy metal contamination on infants' and toddlers' growth and development. The hair of newborns wa…
Caregiving representations in war conditions
Risk features in mothers’ caregiving representations remain understudied in dangerous environments where infants most urgently need protective parenting. This pilot study examines the feasibility of a novel coding system for the Parent Development Interview (PDI) interview (ARR, Assessment of Representational Risk) in assessing 50 war‐exposed Palestinian mothers’ caregiving representations. First, we explored the content and structure of risks in…
The impact of Theraplay(R) therapy on parent-child interaction and child psychiatric symptoms
Theraplay® is a short-term parent–child interaction therapy combining structured, attachment-based, joyful and adult-led playful sessions with reflective guidance work with the parents. This pilot study evaluates the impact of Theraplay® therapy in improving the quality of parent–child interaction and decreasing the internalizing and externalizing symptoms of children diagnosed with emotional and/or behavioral disorders. Participants were eightee…
Future orientation of youth with a history of war trauma
Adolescence is an important developmental period for social relationships, identity formation and future planning. Traumatic experiences, such as war and persecution, may interfere with optimal development, including the future orientation of adolescents. The present study examines how young adult war survivors construct, make sense of, and narrate their future goals, plans, and expectations. The participants were 13 Liberian 25-35-year old male …
The Economic Stress Model in Emerging Adulthood
Families mobilize psychosocial resources to attune negative consequences of economic hardship, but research is lacking among youth. We propose an Economic Stress Model in Emerging Adulthood ( ESM-EA) conceptualizing age-salient social relationships and financial capability as mediators between economic hardship and well-being. The ESM-EA was tested in a three-wave prospective study following the 2008 economic recession, as part of the Finnish Edu…
Maternal experience of their infants’ crying in the context of war trauma
We examined, first, how prenatal maternal mental health and war trauma predicted mothers’ experience of their infant crying, indicated by emotions, cognitions, and behavior; and second, how these experiences influenced the mother–infant interaction and infant development. Participants were 511 Palestinian mothers from the Gaza Strip, reporting their war trauma, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and perceived stress dur…
Is silence about trauma harmful for children? Transgenerational communication in Palestinian families
Style of family communication is considered important in the transgenerational transmission of trauma. This study had three aims: first, to identify the contents of family communication about past national trauma; second, to examine how parents' current war trauma is associated with transgenerational communication; and third, to analyze the associations between transgenerational communication and children's mental health, measured as posttraumati…
Maternal pre- and postnatal mental health and infant development in war conditions
Interventions to protect early child development in war conditions should be tailored to support maternal mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record
Usage of healthcare services and preference for mental healthcare among older Somali immigrants in Finland
Objectives: The aims of the study were, first, to describe and analyze healthcare services utilization patterns of older immigrants in Finland, and particularly to compare the availability and accessibility of health services between older Somalis and Finns. The second aim was to examine the preferences for mental healthcare within the group of Somalis. The third aim was to test the existence of a service usage gap expected to be characteristic o…
Meanings and preconditions of forgiveness among young adult war survivors in African context
Maternal Trauma Affects Prenatal Mental Health and Infant Stress Regulation Among Palestinian Dyads
We examined how diverse and cumulated traumatic experiences predicted maternal prenatal mental health and infant stress regulation in war conditions and whether maternal mental health mediated the association between trauma and infant stress regulation. Participants were 511 Palestinian mothers from the Gaza Strip who reported exposure to current war trauma (WT), past childhood emotional (CEA) and physical abuse, socioeconomic status (SES), prena…
Causal attributions of mental health problems and depressive symptoms among older Somali refugees in Finland
Causal attributions of mental health problems play a crucial role in shaping and differentiating illness experience in different sociocultural and ethnic groups. The aims of this study were (a) to analyze older Somali refugees' causal attributions of mental health problems; (b) to examine the associations between demographic and diagnostic characteristics, proxy indicators of acculturation, and causal attributions; and (c) to analyze the connecti…
Stigma, marginalization and psychosocial well-being of orphans in Rwanda
Stigma and marginalization are one of the major challenges orphans face in their daily lives, particularly in developing countries, but little is known about their impacts on mental health. This study examines how orphan-related characteristics, stigma and marginalization are associated with psychosocial well-being. It further analyses the role of social support in mediating between stigma and marginalization and mental health, indicated by emoti…
Short-term effects of the “Together at School” intervention program on children’s socio-emotional skills
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02178332 ; Date of registration: 03-April-2014
The Role of Attachment and Emotion Regulation in the Psychosocial Intervention Among War-Affected Children
Construct validity of the HSCL-25 and SCL-90-Somatization scales among Russian, Somali and Kurdish origin migrants in Finland
One of the most fundamental issues in psychiatric assessment across different sociocultural and linguistic groups is assuring test reliability and validity. We analyze the construct validity of the HSCL-25 depression and anxiety scales and the SCL-90-Somatization scale in a population-based study (Finnish Migrant Health and Wellbeing Study) among 1356 Russian, Somali and Kurdish origin migrants (aged 18–64 years old) in Finland using an Explorato…
The Buffering Role of Social Support on the Psychosocial Wellbeing of Orphans in Rwanda
Little is known about the buffering role of social support among orphans living in Africa. This study examined (1) how perceived social support (PSS) varied across orphan‐related characteristics (e.g., orphan status, such as single, maternal or paternal, and their living environments, such as in child‐headed households, on the street, in an orphanage or in a foster home) and (2) the relative importance of sources of PSS (relatives/community/adult…
The association between psychosocial well‐being and living environments
This study examined how various living environments (child‐headed households, orphanages, street children and foster homes), quality of care and demographic factors were associated with the psychosocial well‐being of orphans in Rwanda by using a sample of 430 participants. Results indicated that children in orphanages exhibited higher levels of emotional well‐being and lower levels of mental distress and risk‐taking behaviour than others. Decisio…
Posttraumatic nightmares of traumatized refugees
Children's Mental Health in Times of Economic Recession
This study evaluated the applicability of the family economic stress model (FESM) in understanding the influences of economic hardship on child mental health during a nationwide economic recession in Finland. The information was gathered from 527 triads of 12-year-olds and their mothers and fathers from a population sample. The structural equation models showed that the FESM fit the data well, indicating its generalizability in Finnish society. T…
Substance‐abusing mothers in residential treatment with their babies
A residential treatment program has been developed specifically for substance‐abusing pregnant and parenting women in Finland, focusing on simultaneously supporting maternal abstinence from substances and the mother–baby relationship. The aims of the study are to explore maternal pre‐ and postnatal reflective functioning and its association with background factors, maternal exposure to trauma, and psychiatric symptoms, postnatal interaction, chil…
Who are the resilient children in conditions of military violence? Family- and child-related factors in a Palestinian community sample
The prevalence of resilience in the presence of military violence and the role of child and family characteristics fostering that resilience were analyzed in a Palestinian community sample using a person-based approach. The participants consisted of a random sample of 640 Palestinian children and adolescents, their parents, and their teachers, all living on the Gaza Strip. A medical examination of the children and adolescents was conducted to ass…
Determinants and mental health effects of dream recall among children living in traumatic conditions
Does war beget child aggression? Military violence, gender, age and aggressive behavior in two Palestinian samples
We examined, first, the relations between children's exposure to military violence and their aggressive behavior and the role of age and gender in that relation in two Palestinian samples. Second, we tested parenting practices as a moderator of the relation between exposure to military violence and aggressive behavior, and third, whether exposure to military violence of different nature (direct victimization versus witnessing) has specific associ…
Maternal representations and emotional availability among drug‐abusing and nonusing mothers and their infants
Both negative and idealized maternal prenatal representations may constitute a risk for mother–infant interaction. This study analyzed the role of maternal prenatal representations and pre‐ to postnatal representational change in predicting mother–infant emotional availability (EA) among 51 drug‐abusing mothers and their infants who participated in either psychodynamic group therapy (PGT) or received psychosocial support (PSS) and among 50 nonusi…
Mental and somatic health and pre- and post-migration factors among older Somali refugees in Finland
Mental and somatic health was compared between older Somali refugees and their pair-matched Finnish natives, and the role of pre-migration trauma and post-migration stressors among the refugees. One hundred and twenty-eight Somalis between 50-80 years of age were selected from the Somali older adult population living in the Helsinki area ( N = 307). Participants were matched with native Finns by gender, age, education, and civic status. The BDI-2…
The effect of trauma on dream content--A field study of Palestinian children
In the present study, we compared the frequency and intensity of threatening events in the dreams of traumatized and nontraumatized Palestinian children. The aim of the study was to test some of the predictions and hypotheses derived from the Threat Simulation Theory proposing an evolutionary function for dreaming. Most, but not all, of our hypotheses were supported by the findings. We discuss the results in the light of the Threat Simulation The…
Experiences of Torture, Means of Coping, and Level of Symptoms among Palestinian Political Prisoners
(1988). Experiences of Torture, Means of Coping, and Level of Symptoms among Palestinian Political Prisoners. Journal of Palestine Studies: Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 81-96
Trauma, dreaming, and psychological distress among Kurdish children
Usage of healthcare services and preference for mental healthcare among older Somali immigrants in Finland
Objectives: The aims of the study were, first, to describe and analyze healthcare services utilization patterns of older immigrants in Finland, and particularly to compare the availability and accessibility of health services between older Somalis and Finns. The second aim was to examine the preferences for mental healthcare within the group of Somalis. The third aim was to test the existence of a service usage gap expected to be characteristic o…
Relationships Between Political Violence and Psychological Responses Among Palestinian Women
The article discusses the impact of political violence and personal factors on psychological stress responses. The sample consists of three groups of Palestinian women: (1) a West Bank/Gaza group of 174 women from the Israeli-occupied areas; (2) a Beirut group of 30 women from the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila; and (3) a comparison group of 35 Palestinian women living in Israel proper who were not exposed to direct political violence. As the…
Personality and Trauma
Attachment patterns are especially salient in facing danger and threats to one's life. Earlier research has suggested that secure persons are protected and insecure persons vulnerable in conditions of traumatic stress. We argued that the general view may not apply to the complex person-trauma interaction that is characteristic to torture and ill-treatment. Rather, as Crittenden maintains, each attachment pattern involves a unique strategy that is…
The relationship of dream content and changes in daytime mood in traumatized vs. non-traumatized children
The study examined how the mood changes from night to morning, and how dysphoric dream contents associate with this change among children who live in traumatic environment and their controls from peaceful area. The sample consisted of 413 Palestinian boys and girls of 6–15 years of age, the mean age being 11.22 ± 2.64. The participants filled in a seven-day dream diary in which they recorded their recalled dreams every morning. First, the results…
Caregiving representations in war conditions
Risk features in mothers’ caregiving representations remain understudied in dangerous environments where infants most urgently need protective parenting. This pilot study examines the feasibility of a novel coding system for the Parent Development Interview (PDI) interview (ARR, Assessment of Representational Risk) in assessing 50 war‐exposed Palestinian mothers’ caregiving representations. First, we explored the content and structure of risks in…
The Buffering Role of Social Support on the Psychosocial Wellbeing of Orphans in Rwanda
Little is known about the buffering role of social support among orphans living in Africa. This study examined (1) how perceived social support (PSS) varied across orphan‐related characteristics (e.g., orphan status, such as single, maternal or paternal, and their living environments, such as in child‐headed households, on the street, in an orphanage or in a foster home) and (2) the relative importance of sources of PSS (relatives/community/adult…
The Role of Culture, Violence, and Personal Factors Affecting Dream Content
The impact of culture, violent environment, gender, and age on dream content was studied among 205 children in three groups: a Palestinian group living in a violent environment (n = 80), and Palestinian (n = 45) and Finnish (n = 80) groups living in peaceful areas. They were matched for age (7-12) and gender. The method used was a 7-day dream diary in which the participants recorded the dreams they recalled every morning. Results showed that livi…
Prison experiences and coping styles among Palestinian men
Our aim was to describe different types of prison experience and to analyze their relations with background and psychological variables. Seventy-nine male Palestinian ex-prisoners were interviewed about their prison experiences, ways of coping, personality, and psychological well-being. The results of qualitative analysis revealed 7 different types of prison experience. Only one of these reflected exclusively negative feelings, characterized by s…
The content and meaning of war experiences
Abundant research has shown that traumatic war experiences can interfere with the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents, but less is known about the subjective experiences and views of war survivors. The present study identified and described the different types of war experiences of young refugees in an African context and analyzed how they perceived the meanings and impact of war on their lives. The participants were 13 Liberi…
Causal attributions of mental health problems and depressive symptoms among older Somali refugees in Finland
Causal attributions of mental health problems play a crucial role in shaping and differentiating illness experience in different sociocultural and ethnic groups. The aims of this study were (a) to analyze older Somali refugees' causal attributions of mental health problems; (b) to examine the associations between demographic and diagnostic characteristics, proxy indicators of acculturation, and causal attributions; and (c) to analyze the connecti…
Construct validity of the HSCL-25 and SCL-90-Somatization scales among Russian, Somali and Kurdish origin migrants in Finland
One of the most fundamental issues in psychiatric assessment across different sociocultural and linguistic groups is assuring test reliability and validity. We analyze the construct validity of the HSCL-25 depression and anxiety scales and the SCL-90-Somatization scale in a population-based study (Finnish Migrant Health and Wellbeing Study) among 1356 Russian, Somali and Kurdish origin migrants (aged 18–64 years old) in Finland using an Explorato…
Depressive Symptoms and Their Psychosocial Correlates Among Older Somali Refugees and Native Finns
In this study, we analyzed the manifestation of somatic-affective and cognitive depressive symptoms among older Somali refugees and native Finns. Second, we explored how depressive symptoms, alexithymia, and somatization are associated in the two groups. Finally, we analyzed how two psychosocial factors, sense of coherence (SOC) and social support, are connected to depressive symptoms among Somalis and Finns. The participants were examined with t…
Dynamic Family System Trajectories From Pregnancy to Child's First Year
Family systems reorganize during transitional periods, such as the birth of a new child. Longitudinal research, however, on family dynamics during the transition to parenthood is lacking. Accordingly, the authors aimed to identify family system trajectories from pregnancy to the child's first birthday and to examine their contextual predictors. Both parents (N = 702) reported autonomy and intimacy in marital (wife-to-husband, husband-to-wife) and…
Can Psychosocial Intervention Improve Peer and Sibling Relations Among War‐affected Children? Impact and Mediating Analyses in a Randomized Controlled Trial
Social resources are considered important protectors in traumatic conditions, but few studies have analyzed their role in psychosocial interventions among war‐affected children. We examined (1) whether a psychosocial intervention (teaching recovery techniques, TRT ) is effective in improving peer and sibling relations, and (2) whether these potentially improved relations mediate the intervention's impacts on children's mental health. Participants…
Post-disaster psychosocial services across Europe
Experiences of Torture, Means of Coping, and Level of Symptoms among Palestinian Political Prisoners
(1988). Experiences of Torture, Means of Coping, and Level of Symptoms among Palestinian Political Prisoners. Journal of Palestine Studies: Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 81-96
Experiences of Torture, Means of Coping, and Level of Symptoms among Palestinian Political Prisoners
Relationships Between Political Violence and Psychological Responses Among Palestinian Women
The article discusses the impact of political violence and personal factors on psychological stress responses. The sample consists of three groups of Palestinian women: (1) a West Bank/Gaza group of 174 women from the Israeli-occupied areas; (2) a Beirut group of 30 women from the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila; and (3) a comparison group of 35 Palestinian women living in Israel proper who were not exposed to direct political violence. As the…
Self-care and mastery among primary health care patients
Content and predictors of consultation experiences among finnish primary care patients
Reasons for consultation and explanations of illness among Finnish primary-care patients
The aim of this study is to describe triggers to consultation, and to further understanding of how patients construct explanations for what is wrong with them. Patients consulting a general practitioner were interviewed about the process that had led to their consultation and explanations for the causes of their illness. The results show that the factors which trigger professional consultation are related to the everyday demands of work, home and…
Can Ideological Commitment Protect Children's Psychosocial Well-Being in Situations of Political Violence?
The practice of health services research
House Demolition and Mental Health
The research examines the immediate effects of losing one’s home and witnessing the demolition of others houses on the mental health of Palestinian adults and children. The loss group consisted of 47 adults whose homes were demolished, the witness group of 24 adults who witnessed the house demolition, and the control group of 33 adults. The groups were compared for their anxiety, depression, and paranoiac symptoms. In addition, 38 children in the…
Prison experiences and coping styles among Palestinian men
Our aim was to describe different types of prison experience and to analyze their relations with background and psychological variables. Seventy-nine male Palestinian ex-prisoners were interviewed about their prison experiences, ways of coping, personality, and psychological well-being. The results of qualitative analysis revealed 7 different types of prison experience. Only one of these reflected exclusively negative feelings, characterized by s…
The visible invisible
Determinants and mental health effects of dream recall among children living in traumatic conditions
The Role of Culture, Violence, and Personal Factors Affecting Dream Content
The impact of culture, violent environment, gender, and age on dream content was studied among 205 children in three groups: a Palestinian group living in a violent environment (n = 80), and Palestinian (n = 45) and Finnish (n = 80) groups living in peaceful areas. They were matched for age (7-12) and gender. The method used was a 7-day dream diary in which the participants recorded the dreams they recalled every morning. Results showed that livi…
Perspectives on Activity Theory
The relationship of dream content and changes in daytime mood in traumatized vs. non-traumatized children
The study examined how the mood changes from night to morning, and how dysphoric dream contents associate with this change among children who live in traumatic environment and their controls from peaceful area. The sample consisted of 413 Palestinian boys and girls of 6–15 years of age, the mean age being 11.22 ± 2.64. The participants filled in a seven-day dream diary in which they recorded their recalled dreams every morning. First, the results…
Resiliency factors predicting psychological adjustment after political violence among Palestinian children
The effects of cognitive capacity, perceived parenting, traumatic events, and activity, which were ” rst measured in the midst of the political violence of the Intifada in 1993, were examined on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), emotional disorders, school performance, and neuroticism three years later in more peaceful conditions among 86 Palestinian children of 14.04 ± 0.79 years of age. The results showed, ” rst, that PTSD was high among t…
From childhood trauma to adult well‐being through psychosocial assistance of Chilean families
From childhood trauma to adult well‐being through psychosocial assistance of Chilean families
This study examined whether psychosocial assistance in childhood predicted coping strategies, family atmosphere, learning experiences and mental health in adulthood. Participants were 153 Chileans (14–30 years old) who, as children, had lost a family member through political imprisonment, execution, disappearance, or expulsion from the country. SEM‐modeling revealed that early timing and substantial duration of psychosocial assistance in childhoo…
Personality and Trauma
Attachment patterns are especially salient in facing danger and threats to one's life. Earlier research has suggested that secure persons are protected and insecure persons vulnerable in conditions of traumatic stress. We argued that the general view may not apply to the complex person-trauma interaction that is characteristic to torture and ill-treatment. Rather, as Crittenden maintains, each attachment pattern involves a unique strategy that is…
Children's Mental Health in Times of Economic Recession
This study evaluated the applicability of the family economic stress model (FESM) in understanding the influences of economic hardship on child mental health during a nationwide economic recession in Finland. The information was gathered from 527 triads of 12-year-olds and their mothers and fathers from a population sample. The structural equation models showed that the FESM fit the data well, indicating its generalizability in Finnish society. T…
The threat simulation theory of the evolutionary function of dreaming
Trauma, dreaming, and psychological distress among Kurdish children
The effect of trauma on dream content--A field study of Palestinian children
In the present study, we compared the frequency and intensity of threatening events in the dreams of traumatized and nontraumatized Palestinian children. The aim of the study was to test some of the predictions and hypotheses derived from the Threat Simulation Theory proposing an evolutionary function for dreaming. Most, but not all, of our hypotheses were supported by the findings. We discuss the results in the light of the Threat Simulation The…
Digital Game Playing and Direct and Indirect Aggression in Early Adolescence
Does war beget child aggression? Military violence, gender, age and aggressive behavior in two Palestinian samples
We examined, first, the relations between children's exposure to military violence and their aggressive behavior and the role of age and gender in that relation in two Palestinian samples. Second, we tested parenting practices as a moderator of the relation between exposure to military violence and aggressive behavior, and third, whether exposure to military violence of different nature (direct victimization versus witnessing) has specific associ…
Psychology (61 works) · Psychiatry (43 works) · Clinical Psychology (34 works) · Developmental psychology (32 works) · Medicine (32 works) · Mental health (28 works) · Migration, Health and Trauma (25 works) · Social Psychology (24 works) · Psychosocial (21 works) · Clinical Psychology (20 works)