Yale University

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters, alcohol misuse, and women's use of intimate partner violence.

TitlePosttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters, alcohol misuse, and women's use of intimate partner violence.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsHellmuth, Julianne C., VĂ©ronique Jaquier, Kelly Young-Wolff, and Tami P. Sullivan
JournalJournal of traumatic stress
Volume26
Issue4
Pagination451-8
Date Published2013 Aug
ISSN1573-6598
KeywordsAdult, Alcoholism, Arousal, Crime Victims, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Income, Mental Recall, Middle Aged, Poverty, Severity of Illness Index, Spouse Abuse, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
AbstractExploring how PTSD and alcohol misuse relate to women's use of intimate partner violence (IPV) is vital to develop our understanding of why some women may engage in IPV, which can serve to maximize intervention efforts for women. This study examined the extent to which posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters are directly and indirectly related to women's use of IPV through pathways involving alcohol misuse while controlling for severity of women's IPV victimization. The sample was comprised of substance-using, low socioeconomic status community women (N = 143) currently experiencing IPV victimization. The majority of the sample was African American (n = 115, 80.42%). This sample had an average annual household income of $14,368.68 (SD = $12,800.68) and the equivalent of a high school education (11.94 years, SD = 1.32). Path analyses indicated that the strongest statistical relationship emerged between women's use of IPV and women's IPV victimization. PTSD reexperiencing and numbing symptom severity was related to women's use of psychological, minor physical, and severe physical IPV; however, these relationships were indirect through alcohol misuse. Findings lend preliminary support for the application of the self-medication hypothesis to the study of PTSD, alcohol misuse, and IPV among women.
DOI10.1002/jts.21829
Alternate JournalJ Trauma Stress

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