title: Exposure to interpersonal violence as a predictor of PTSD symptomatology in domestic violence survivors.
abstract: This study examines the interrelationships between childhood abuse, exposure to maternal domestic violence, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in a multiethnic sample of 111 adult female residents of a domestic violence (DV) shelter. Participants completed structured interviews about the DV and their prior violence exposure, as well as the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. As hypothesized, there was high co-occurrence between exposure to maternal DV and childhood physical and sexual abuse, and the frequency of lifetime violence exposure predicted PTSD symptomatology. A series of multiple regressions indicated a more complex pattern of relationships, in which specific forms of prior violence exposure predicted different PTSD symptom dimensions. A history of witnessing maternal DV predicted intrusion symptoms, and a history of childhood sexual abuse predicted hyperarousal symptoms. Ethnicity was not related to levels of violence exposure or to PTSD symptoms. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Urban Resource Institute, USA.
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Griffing
authors.forename: Carla S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Sage
authors.forename: Lorraine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Madry
authors.forename: Beny J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Primm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D016387:Women's Health