Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Clusters and Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings From a U.S. Nationally Representative Sample |
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| Authors: | Kathryn Z. Smith Philip H. Smith John M. Violanti Paul T. Bartone Gregory G. Homish |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA;2. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA;3. Epidemiology and Environmental Health, SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA;4. Center for Technology & National Security Policy, National Defense University, Washington, DC, USA;5. Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA |
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| Abstract: | Associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) have not been extensively studied in nonveteran samples. Secondary analysis was conducted using a nationally representative U.S. sample and limited to those who reported being in a relationship in the past year (N = 25,652). This sample was mostly White (72.0%), the majority had completed high school/ general educational development (GED; 87.8%), about half were female (49.2%), and the mean age was 46.44 years (SD = 15.92). We hypothesized that a diagnosis of PTSD in the past year would be associated with greater perpetration of IPV and that the arousal/reactivity and intrusion symptom clusters would evidence the strongest associations with IPV. Consistent with expectations, a PTSD diagnosis in the past year was associated with greater perpetration of IPV, OR = 2.07, 95% CI [1.89, 2.26]. Among those with a PTSD diagnosis in the past year (n = 1,742), arousal/reactivity symptom cluster scores were associated with greater perpetration of IPV for both men and women, AOR = 1.27, 95% CI [1.11, 1.44]; intrusion symptom cluster scores were associated with perpetration of IPV for men only, AOR = 1.56, 95% CI [1.20, 2.04]; whereas negative cognitions/mood symptom cluster scores were only significant among women, AOR = 1.12, 95% CI [1.01, 1.24]. Results suggested that theoretical and empirical work linking PTSD and perpetration of IPV in military samples extends to the general population. |
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