The Relative Effects of Intimate Partner Physical and Sexual Violence on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptomatology

Abstract

This study examined the relative effects of intimate partner physical and sexual violence on PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. Severity of physical and sexual violence as well as PTSD severity were assessed in a sample of 62 help-seeking battered women. The results of this study were consistent with prior research, finding significant and positive relationships between physical and sexual violence as well as sexual violence and PTSD symptoms. In order to further clarify these relationships, the unique effects of sexual violence on PTSD were examined after controlling for physical violence severity. Results indicated that sexual violence severity explained a significant proportion of the variance in PTSD severity beyond that which was already accounted for by physical violence severity. These findings have important implications for mental health and social service professionals who work with battered women.

Psychometric Characteristics of an Intimate Partner Violence Screening Tool in Women With Mental Disorders

“…CTS-2 yield the highest rates of IPV compared with most of other commonly used scales (25). In most studies, only physical (26) or sexual assault (27) have been considered as violence but in our study even any minor psychological aggression has been considered as violence.…”

Effects of Intimate Partner Violence on Low-Income Women's Health and Employment

“…All types of intimate partner violence are harmful to women's health, but the effects of abuse on health vary as a function of the type of abuse women experience (Bennice, Resick, Mechanic, & Astin, 2003;Golding, 1999;Sutherland et al, 1998). Battering may directly affect health by causing injuries; noninjurious violence may affect health indirectly, primarily by increasing stress and depression (Campbell, 2002;Sutherland, Bybee, & Sullivan, 2002).…”

Understanding the intergenerational transmission of violence

“…Those who are consistently exposed to violence are likely to suffer from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). [11,12] The concepts of re-enactment or repetition compulsion are implicated in the intergenerational transmission of trauma, which is the consequence of violence. Trauma tends to be repeated on behavioural, emotional, physiological and neuro-endocrinological levels and many traumatised people expose themselves, seemingly compulsively, to situations reminiscent of the original trauma.…”