Incidence and Correlates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Battered Women Shelter and Community Samples

Battered women have been identified as being at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study further articulated the nature of the relationship between the trauma of battery and PTSD. One hundred seventy-nine battered women and 48 nonbattered but verbally abused women were recruited from several sources (shelters, support groups, therapist referrals, community). Battered women with and without PTSD were compared with the finding that battered women with PTSD had experienced more physical abuse, more verbal abuse, more injuries, a greater sense of threat, and more forced sex than battered women without PTSD. Eighty-one percent of the physically abused group met the criteria for the PTSD diagnosis, although 63% of the verbally abused group met the criteria. In multiple regression analyses in the battered sample, the strongest predictors of extent of PTSD were (in order of variance explained) the use of disengagement coping strategies to handle the battery, experiencing of negative life events, ...