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Exposure to Interpersonal Violence as a Predictor of PTSD Symptomatology in Domestic Violence Survivors

Urban Resource Institute

Carla S. Lewis

Project Hospitality

Melissa Chu

Robert E. Sage

Lorraine Madry

Beny J. Primm

Urban Resource Institute

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.

Key Words: interpersonal violence • PTSD • childhood abuse • trauma

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