Intimate Violence and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Individuals with Cocaine Dependence

Abstract

Intimate physical assault and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were assessed in a sample of 91 adults seeking treatment for cocaine dependence. Physical assault included self-report of aggravated assault with a weapon, aggravated assault without a weapon, and simple assault. PTSD was assessed with a structured interview. Overall, 85.7% of the participants reported having been physically assaulted at least once during their lifetime. Slightly less than half of these individuals (46.2%) reported physical assault by an intimate partner. Close to half also met criteria for PTSD at some point in their lives. Women were more likely than men to be physically assaulted by an intimate partner and to report PTSD. Men who experienced physical assault by an intimate were more likely to report PTSD than men assaulted by others. Male victims of intimate violence had higher scores on certain subscales measuring addiction severity than male victims assaulted by others. Findings suggest careful assessment of intimate violence is essential given its high prevalence among cocaine-dependent women and men and its association with PTSD.

Psychological Distress and Intimate Physical and Sexual Abuse among Women in Methadone Maintenance Treatment Programs

“…Posttraumatic stress disorder is a significant problem for women in substance abuse treatment who have been abused by an intimate partner. Dansky, Byrne, and Brady (1999) find that about one-fourth of the women in their sample met the criteria for PTSD. This rate is much higher than the prevalence of PTSD in the general population (Cottler et al 1992;Dansky et al 1996).…”

“…Bonnie Dansky, Christina Byrne, and Kathleen Brady (1999) find that almost 90 percent of men and women receiving inpatient treatment for substance abuse report that they experienced sexual and or physical assault during their lifetimes. Louisa Gilbert and colleagues (1997) report that nearly two-thirds (64.9 percent, ) of the women parn p 98 ticipating in an MMTP said that they have been either physically or sexually abused or have had their lives threatened by a spouse or boyfriend.…”

“…Several studies find a high prevalence of lifetime and current depressive disorders and PTSD among such women (Brown and Wolfe 1994;Hien and Levin 1994;Brienza et al 2000). Additionally, a significant number of women in drug treatment (60-75 percent) report a history of assault by an intimate partner (Dunn, Ryan, and Dunn 1994;Dansky, Byrne, and Brady 1999;El-Bassel et al 2000). As discussed below, psychiatric disorders, trauma, and intimate partner abuse may be intersecting problems for women in drug treatment.…”

Examining the Role of Antisocial Personality Disorder in Intimate Partner Violence Among Substance Use Disorder Treatment Seekers With Clinically Significant Trauma Histories

“…The version of the NWS-PTSD used in the current study was modified by Dansky, Bryne, and Brady (1999) to include additional items aimed specifically at assessing assaults by an intimate partner (e.g., physical assault/attack using a weapon, physical attack/assault with intent to cause death or serious injury, physical attack/assault without intent to cause death/serious injury). Participants are asked to indicate which event(s) occurred and, for those events that did occur, to report the age/age range at which the event(s) occurred and who the perpetrator was (if applicable).…”

Risk and Protective Factors in Mothers With a History of Incarceration: Do Relationships Buffer the Effects of Trauma Symptoms and Substance Abuse History?

“…Childhood maltreatment in women has been identified as a primary risk factor in the development of both adulthood PTSD and substance abuse (Browne et al, 1999;Dansky et al, 1999;Fullilove et al, 1993;Volpicelli et al, 1999).…”