Associations between exposure to intimate partner violence, armed conflict, and probable PTSD among women in rural Côte d'Ivoire.
BACKGROUND
Objectives were to assess associations between intimate partner violence (IPV), violence during armed conflict (i.e. crisis violence), and probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).


METHODS
Using a sample of 950 women in rural Côte d'Ivoire, logistic generalized estimating equations assessed associations between IPV and crisis violence exposures with past-week probable PTSD.


RESULTS
Over one in 5 (23.4%) women reported past-year IPV, and over one in 4 women (26.5%) reported experiencing IPV prior to the past year (i.e. remote IPV). Crisis violence was experienced by 72.6% of women. In adjusted models including demographics, crisis violence (overall and specific forms), and IPV (remote and past-year), women who reported past-year IPV had 3.1 times the odds of reporting probable past-week PTSD (95%CI: 1.8-5.3) and those who reported remote IPV had 1.6 times the odds (95%CI: 0.9-2.7). Violent exposures during the crisis were not significantly associated with probable PTSD (any crisis violence: aOR: 1.04 (0.7-1.5); displacement: aOR: 0.9 (95%CI: 0.5-1.7); family victimization during crisis: aOR: 1.1 (95%CI: 0.8-1.7); personal victimization during crisis: aOR: 1.7 (95%CI: 0.7-3.7)).


CONCLUSIONS
Past-year IPV was more strongly associated with past-week probable PTSD than remote IPV and violence directly related to the crisis. IPV must be considered within humanitarian mental health and psychosocial programming.
Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America; Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America; Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
Jhumka
J
Gupta
Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America; Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
Kathryn L
KL
Falb
Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Hannah
H
Carliner
Gender Violence and Health Centre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England.
Mazeda
M
Hossain
Innovations for Poverty Action, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
Denise
D
Kpebo
International Rescue Committee, New York, New York, United States of America.
Jeannie
J
Annan
D000328:Adult; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population; D012747:Sexual Partners; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D014930:Women; D016387:Women's Health