Citation

Sullivan TP, Holt LJ. J. Trauma. Stress 2008; 21(2): 173-180.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.20318

PMID

18404637

PMCID

PMC2965072

Abstract

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) have higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse compared to women who do not experience IPV. However, the extent to which IPV-related PTSD symptoms are related to women's substance use involvement largely has been unexplored. The current study investigated PTSD symptomatology and substance use in a community sample of 212 IPV-exposed women. Drug-using women reported higher PTSD severity scores compared to women who reported no substance use or alcohol use only. Moreover, the reexperiencing, avoidance and numbing, and arousal clusters demonstrated unique associations with substance use involvement. Findings not only elucidate the associations among IPV-related PTSD symptoms and substance use, but they also can inform community-based preventive interventions.

Language: en