Defining and documenting threats in the context of ill-treatment and torture
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/torture.v31i1.125777Keywords:
torture, threatsAbstract
Threats are a common feature of detention and interrogation settings and have long been regarded as a routine procedure. Despite their prevalence and propensity to amount to ill-treatment and torture, threats have not been systematically and thoroughly analysed in case documentation processes. Given a lack of understanding, threats have unduly been considered a form of “torture-lite” at best by some juridical actors. However, its effect as an instrument of coercion can be devastating – engendering states of fear and anxiety and forcing its subject to act against their will.
There is an important lack of theoretical reflection on what threats are, what types exist and how they impact the survivor. In this editorial, we aim to partly fill this gap from a medical and psychological perspective, providing a framework of understanding that will hopefully improve conceptual and practical assessment, documentation and qualification.
References
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Basoglu, M. (2017). Torture and its definition in international law. Oxford University Press.
Ben Farhat, J., Blanchet, K., Juul Bjertrup, P., Veizis, A., Perrin, C., Coulborn, R. M., Mayaud, P., & Cohuet, S. (2018). Syrian refugees in Greece: Experience with violence, mental health status, and access to information during the journey and while in Greece. BMC Medicine, 16(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-018-1028-4
Benight, C. C., & Bandura, A. (2004). Social cognitive theory of posttraumatic recovery: the role of perceived self-efficacy. Behav Res Ther, 42(10), 1129–1148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2003.08.008 S0005796703002304 [pii]
Cakal, E. (2021). Perception, practice and proximity. Qualifying threats as psychological torture in international law. Torture Journal, 1.
Carleton, R. N. (2012). The intolerance of uncertainty construct in the context of anxiety disorders: Theoretical and practical perspectives. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 12(8), 937–947. https://doi.org/10.1586/ern.12.82
Carleton, R. N. (2016). Fear of the unknown: One fear to rule them all? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 41, 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2016.03.011
Choi, J. S., Bang, J. W., Heo, H., & Park, K. R. (2015). Evaluation of fear using non-intrusive measurement of multimodal sensors. Sensors (Switzerland), 15(7), 17507–17533. https://doi.org/10.3390/s150717507
Christopoulos, G. I., Uy, M. A., & Yap, W. J. (2019). The Body and the Brain: Measuring Skin Conductance Responses to Understand the Emotional Experience. Organizational Research Methods, 22(1), 394–420. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428116681073
Cowan, C. S. M., Wong, S. F., & Le, L. (2017). Rethinking the role of thought suppression in psychological models and treatment. Journal of Neuroscience, 37(47), 11293–11295. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2511-17.2017
Donthula, D., Kortlever, J. T. P., Ring, D., Donovan, E., Reichel, L. M., & Vagner, G. A. (2020). Does Intolerance of Uncertainty Affect the Magnitude of Limitations or Pain Intensity? Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 478(2), 381–388. https://doi.org/10.1097/CORR.0000000000001042
Dugas, M., Gosselin, P., & Ladouceur, R. (2001). Intolerance to uncertainity and worry. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 25(5), 551–558. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005553414688
Feng, P., Becker, B., Zheng, Y., & Feng, T. (2018). Sleep deprivation affects fear memory consolidation: Bi-stable amygdala connectivity with insula and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 13(2), 145–155. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsx148
Gilinskiy, Y. (2011). Torture by the Russian police: an empirical study. In Police Practice and Research (Vol. 12, pp. 163–171). https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2010.512138
Glenn, D. E., Risbrough, V. B., Simmons, A. N., Acheson, D. T., & Stout, D. M. (2017). The Future of Contextual Fear Learning for PTSD Research: A Methodological Review of Neuroimaging Studies. In Brain Imaging in Behavioral Neuroscience (Issue November 2011, pp. 207–228). https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2017_30
Grenier, S., Barrette, A. M., & Ladouceur, R. (2005). Intolerance of uncertainty and intolerance of ambiguity: Similarities and differences. Personality and Individual Differences, 39(3), 593–600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.02.014
Gullone, E., King, N. J., & Ollendick, T. H. (2000). The Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Fear Experiences Questionnaire: An Attempt to Disentangle the Fear and Anxiety Constructs. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 7(1), 61–75. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0879(200002)7:1<61::AID-CPP227>3.0.CO;2-P
Hiroto, D. S., & Seligman, M. E. (1975). Generality of learned helplessness in man. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31(2), 311–327. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076270
Hyde, J., Ryan, K. M., & Waters, A. M. (2019). Psychophysiological Markers of Fear and Anxiety. Current Psychiatry Reports, 21(7). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1036-x
Jacoby, R. J., Reuman, L., Blakey, S. M., Hartsock, J., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2019). “What if I make a mistake?”: Examining uncertainty-related distress when decisions may harm oneself vs. others. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 20, 50–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2017.11.003
Jovic, V., & Opacic, G. (2008). Types of Torture. In Torture in war: consequences and rehabilitation of victims. (Issue September). IAN International Aid Network.
Kotabe, H. P., & Hofmann, W. (2015). On Integrating the Components of Self-Control. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(5), 618–638. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615593382
LeDoux, J. (2020). The anxious mind and brain: challenging current approaches in understanding anxiety. Research Features, 7–8.
LeDoux, J. E. (2014). Coming to terms with fear. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(8), 2871–2878. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1400335111
LeDoux, J. E. (2020). How does the non-conscious become conscious? Current Biology, 30(5), R196–R199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.01.033
LeDoux, J. E., & Pine, D. S. (2016). Using neuroscience to help understand fear and anxiety: A two-system framework. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(11), 1083–1093. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16030353
Lira, E. (1991). Psicología de la amenaza política y el miedo. LOM Editores.
Lonsdorf, T. B., & Merz, C. J. (2017). More than just noise: Inter-individual differences in fear acquisition, extinction and return of fear in humans - Biological, experiential, temperamental factors, and methodological pitfalls. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 80, 703–728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.07.007
Maffei, A., & Angrilli, A. (2019). Spontaneous blink rate as an index of attention and emotion during film clips viewing. Physiology and Behavior, 204(October 2018), 256–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.02.037
Mertens, G., & Engelhard, I. M. (2020). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence for unaware fear conditioning. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 108, 254–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.11.012
Milburn, T. W. (1977). The Nature of Threat. Journal of Social Issues, 33(1), 126–139. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1977.tb01872.x
Moreno, A., Crosby, S., Xenakis, S., & Iacopino, V. (2015). Implementing Istanbul Protocol standards for forensic evidence of torture in Kyrgyzstan. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 30, 39–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2014.12.009
Morina, N., Bryant, R. A., Doolan, E. L., Martin-Sölch, C., Plichta, M. M., Pfaltz, M. C., Schnyder, U., Schick, M., & Nickerson, A. (2018). The impact of enhancing perceived self-efficacy in torture survivors. Depression and Anxiety, 35(1), 58–64. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22684
Morriss, J., Saldarini, F., Chapman, C., Pollard, M., & van Reekum, C. M. (2019). Out with the old and in with the new: The role of intolerance of uncertainty in reversal of threat and safety. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2043808719834451
Morriss, J., Saldarini, F., & van Reekum, C. M. (2019). The role of threat level and intolerance of uncertainty in extinction. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 142(February), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.05.013
Opačić, G., Jović, V., & Knežević, G. (2005). Torture or training? - Types of torture in a group of refugees forcibly conscripted in Serbia in 1995. REDRESS IN ACTION Consequences of Forcible Mobilisation of Refugees in 1995, June 2005, 61–78.
Pérez-Sales, P. (2017). Psychological Torture: Definition, evaluation and measurement. Routledge Books.
Pinkney, V., Wickens, R., Bamford, S., Baldwin, D. S., & Garner, M. (2014). Defensive eye-blink startle responses in a human experimental model of anxiety. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 28(9), 874–880. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881114532858
Pryce, C. R., Azzinnari, D., Spinelli, S., Seifritz, E., Tegethoff, M., & Meinlschmidt, G. (2011). Helplessness: A systematic translational review of theory and evidence for its relevance to understanding and treating depression. Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 132(3), 242–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2011.06.006
Seligman, M. (1972). Learned Helplessness. Annual Review Medicine, 23, 407–412.
Sonkusare, S., Ahmedt-Aristizabal, D., Aburn, M. J., Nguyen, V. T., Pang, T., Frydman, S., Denman, S., Fookes, C., Breakspear, M., & Guo, C. C. (2019). Detecting changes in facial temperature induced by a sudden auditory stimulus based on deep learning-assisted face tracking. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-41172-7
Taylor, S. E. (1983). Adjustment to threatening events: A theory of cognitive adaptation. American Psychologist, 38, 1161–1171.
Tempesta, D., Salfi, F., De Gennaro, L., & Ferrara, M. (2020). The impact of five nights of sleep restriction on emotional reactivity. Journal of Sleep Research, January, e13022. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13022
Valadao Dias, F., & V Oliveira, R. (2016). The Hierarchic Structure of Fears: A Cross-Cultural Replication with the Fear Survey Schedule in a Portuguese Sample. Clinical and Experimental Psychology, 2(3), 7–12. https://doi.org/10.4172/2471-2701.1000133
Wenzlaff, R. M., & Wegner, D. M. (2000). Thought Suppression. Annual Review of Psychology, 51(1), 59–91. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.59
Wieser, M. J., Reicherts, P., Juravle, G., & von Leupoldt, A. (2016). Attention mechanisms during predictable and unpredictable threat — A steady-state visual evoked potential approach. NeuroImage, 139, 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.06.026
Wolfson, Y. (2010). Kept in the dark. Treatment of Palestinian detaineed in the Petah Tikva interrogation facility of the Israel Security Agency. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0961-1290(06)71719-7
Young, L. E. (2019). The Psychology of State Repression: Fear and Dissent Decisions in Zimbabwe. American Political Science Review, 113(1), 140–155. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541800076X
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
Basoglu, M. (2017). Torture and its definition in international law. Oxford University Press.
Ben Farhat, J., Blanchet, K., Juul Bjertrup, P., Veizis, A., Perrin, C., Coulborn, R. M., Mayaud, P., & Cohuet, S. (2018). Syrian refugees in Greece: Experience with violence, mental health status, and access to information during the journey and while in Greece. BMC Medicine, 16(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-018-1028-4
Benight, C. C., & Bandura, A. (2004). Social cognitive theory of posttraumatic recovery: the role of perceived self-efficacy. Behav Res Ther, 42(10), 1129–1148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2003.08.008 S0005796703002304 [pii]
Cakal, E. (2021). Perception, practice and proximity. Qualifying threats as psychological torture in international law. Torture Journal, 1.
Carleton, R. N. (2012). The intolerance of uncertainty construct in the context of anxiety disorders: Theoretical and practical perspectives. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 12(8), 937–947. https://doi.org/10.1586/ern.12.82
Carleton, R. N. (2016). Fear of the unknown: One fear to rule them all? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 41, 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2016.03.011
Choi, J. S., Bang, J. W., Heo, H., & Park, K. R. (2015). Evaluation of fear using non-intrusive measurement of multimodal sensors. Sensors (Switzerland), 15(7), 17507–17533. https://doi.org/10.3390/s150717507
Christopoulos, G. I., Uy, M. A., & Yap, W. J. (2019). The Body and the Brain: Measuring Skin Conductance Responses to Understand the Emotional Experience. Organizational Research Methods, 22(1), 394–420. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428116681073
Cowan, C. S. M., Wong, S. F., & Le, L. (2017). Rethinking the role of thought suppression in psychological models and treatment. Journal of Neuroscience, 37(47), 11293–11295. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2511-17.2017
Donthula, D., Kortlever, J. T. P., Ring, D., Donovan, E., Reichel, L. M., & Vagner, G. A. (2020). Does Intolerance of Uncertainty Affect the Magnitude of Limitations or Pain Intensity? Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 478(2), 381–388. https://doi.org/10.1097/CORR.0000000000001042
Dugas, M., Gosselin, P., & Ladouceur, R. (2001). Intolerance to uncertainity and worry. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 25(5), 551–558. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005553414688
Feng, P., Becker, B., Zheng, Y., & Feng, T. (2018). Sleep deprivation affects fear memory consolidation: Bi-stable amygdala connectivity with insula and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 13(2), 145–155. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsx148
Gilinskiy, Y. (2011). Torture by the Russian police: an empirical study. In Police Practice and Research (Vol. 12, pp. 163–171). https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2010.512138
Glenn, D. E., Risbrough, V. B., Simmons, A. N., Acheson, D. T., & Stout, D. M. (2017). The Future of Contextual Fear Learning for PTSD Research: A Methodological Review of Neuroimaging Studies. In Brain Imaging in Behavioral Neuroscience (Issue November 2011, pp. 207–228). https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2017_30
Grenier, S., Barrette, A. M., & Ladouceur, R. (2005). Intolerance of uncertainty and intolerance of ambiguity: Similarities and differences. Personality and Individual Differences, 39(3), 593–600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.02.014
Gullone, E., King, N. J., & Ollendick, T. H. (2000). The Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Fear Experiences Questionnaire: An Attempt to Disentangle the Fear and Anxiety Constructs. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 7(1), 61–75. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0879(200002)7:1<61::AID-CPP227>3.0.CO;2-P
Hiroto, D. S., & Seligman, M. E. (1975). Generality of learned helplessness in man. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31(2), 311–327. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076270
Hyde, J., Ryan, K. M., & Waters, A. M. (2019). Psychophysiological Markers of Fear and Anxiety. Current Psychiatry Reports, 21(7). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1036-x
Jacoby, R. J., Reuman, L., Blakey, S. M., Hartsock, J., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2019). “What if I make a mistake?”: Examining uncertainty-related distress when decisions may harm oneself vs. others. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 20, 50–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2017.11.003
Jovic, V., & Opacic, G. (2008). Types of Torture. In Torture in war: consequences and rehabilitation of victims. (Issue September). IAN International Aid Network.
Kotabe, H. P., & Hofmann, W. (2015). On Integrating the Components of Self-Control. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(5), 618–638. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615593382
LeDoux, J. (2020). The anxious mind and brain: challenging current approaches in understanding anxiety. Research Features, 7–8.
LeDoux, J. E. (2014). Coming to terms with fear. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(8), 2871–2878. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1400335111
LeDoux, J. E. (2020). How does the non-conscious become conscious? Current Biology, 30(5), R196–R199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.01.033
LeDoux, J. E., & Pine, D. S. (2016). Using neuroscience to help understand fear and anxiety: A two-system framework. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(11), 1083–1093. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16030353
Lira, E. (1991). Psicología de la amenaza política y el miedo. LOM Editores.
Lonsdorf, T. B., & Merz, C. J. (2017). More than just noise: Inter-individual differences in fear acquisition, extinction and return of fear in humans - Biological, experiential, temperamental factors, and methodological pitfalls. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 80, 703–728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.07.007
Maffei, A., & Angrilli, A. (2019). Spontaneous blink rate as an index of attention and emotion during film clips viewing. Physiology and Behavior, 204(October 2018), 256–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.02.037
Mertens, G., & Engelhard, I. M. (2020). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence for unaware fear conditioning. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 108, 254–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.11.012
Milburn, T. W. (1977). The Nature of Threat. Journal of Social Issues, 33(1), 126–139. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1977.tb01872.x
Moreno, A., Crosby, S., Xenakis, S., & Iacopino, V. (2015). Implementing Istanbul Protocol standards for forensic evidence of torture in Kyrgyzstan. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 30, 39–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2014.12.009
Morina, N., Bryant, R. A., Doolan, E. L., Martin-Sölch, C., Plichta, M. M., Pfaltz, M. C., Schnyder, U., Schick, M., & Nickerson, A. (2018). The impact of enhancing perceived self-efficacy in torture survivors. Depression and Anxiety, 35(1), 58–64. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22684
Morriss, J., Saldarini, F., Chapman, C., Pollard, M., & van Reekum, C. M. (2019). Out with the old and in with the new: The role of intolerance of uncertainty in reversal of threat and safety. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2043808719834451
Morriss, J., Saldarini, F., & van Reekum, C. M. (2019). The role of threat level and intolerance of uncertainty in extinction. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 142(February), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.05.013
Opačić, G., Jović, V., & Knežević, G. (2005). Torture or training? - Types of torture in a group of refugees forcibly conscripted in Serbia in 1995. REDRESS IN ACTION Consequences of Forcible Mobilisation of Refugees in 1995, June 2005, 61–78.
Pérez-Sales, P. (2017). Psychological Torture: Definition, evaluation and measurement. Routledge Books.
Pinkney, V., Wickens, R., Bamford, S., Baldwin, D. S., & Garner, M. (2014). Defensive eye-blink startle responses in a human experimental model of anxiety. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 28(9), 874–880. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881114532858
Pryce, C. R., Azzinnari, D., Spinelli, S., Seifritz, E., Tegethoff, M., & Meinlschmidt, G. (2011). Helplessness: A systematic translational review of theory and evidence for its relevance to understanding and treating depression. Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 132(3), 242–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2011.06.006
Seligman, M. (1972). Learned Helplessness. Annual Review Medicine, 23, 407–412.
Sonkusare, S., Ahmedt-Aristizabal, D., Aburn, M. J., Nguyen, V. T., Pang, T., Frydman, S., Denman, S., Fookes, C., Breakspear, M., & Guo, C. C. (2019). Detecting changes in facial temperature induced by a sudden auditory stimulus based on deep learning-assisted face tracking. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-41172-7
Taylor, S. E. (1983). Adjustment to threatening events: A theory of cognitive adaptation. American Psychologist, 38, 1161–1171.
Tempesta, D., Salfi, F., De Gennaro, L., & Ferrara, M. (2020). The impact of five nights of sleep restriction on emotional reactivity. Journal of Sleep Research, January, e13022. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13022
Valadao Dias, F., & V Oliveira, R. (2016). The Hierarchic Structure of Fears: A Cross-Cultural Replication with the Fear Survey Schedule in a Portuguese Sample. Clinical and Experimental Psychology, 2(3), 7–12. https://doi.org/10.4172/2471-2701.1000133
Wenzlaff, R. M., & Wegner, D. M. (2000). Thought Suppression. Annual Review of Psychology, 51(1), 59–91. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.59
Wieser, M. J., Reicherts, P., Juravle, G., & von Leupoldt, A. (2016). Attention mechanisms during predictable and unpredictable threat — A steady-state visual evoked potential approach. NeuroImage, 139, 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.06.026
Wolfson, Y. (2010). Kept in the dark. Treatment of Palestinian detaineed in the Petah Tikva interrogation facility of the Israel Security Agency. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0961-1290(06)71719-7
Young, L. E. (2019). The Psychology of State Repression: Fear and Dissent Decisions in Zimbabwe. American Political Science Review, 113(1), 140–155. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541800076X
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2021-05-11
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Pérez-Sales, P. (2021). Defining and documenting threats in the context of ill-treatment and torture. Torture Journal, 31(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.7146/torture.v31i1.125777
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