Mental Disorders Associated With Subpopulations of Women Affected by Violence and Abuse

Abstract

Violence against women is a major public health problem associated with mental disorders. Few studies have examined the heterogeneity of interpersonal violence and abuse (IVA) among women and associated mental health problems. Latent class analysis was used to identify subpopulations of women with similar lifetime histories of IVA victimization and to examine 10 associated past-year mental disorders. Participants were 19,816 adult women who participated in Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). The 3-class model was best supported by the data. Class 1 (6.7%) had a high probability of witnessing domestic violence as a child. Class 2 (21.8%) had a low probability of all events except lifetime sexual assault. Class 3 (71.5%) had a low probability for all events. Mental disorders were more common among members of Classes 1 and 2 than Class 3. For example, members in Class 1 were approximately 8 and 9 times more likely than members in Class 3 to have had posttraumatic stress disorder or a drug use disorder, respectively, during the past year. Of the 10 mental disorders, 5 were more common among members of Class 1 than of Class 2. Findings suggest the mental health consequences of IVA among women are extensive and interventions should be tailored for distinct subpopulations affected by IVA.

Empirically derived lifespan polytraumatization typologies: A systematic review

“…Seven studies included participants from the United States, one study included participants from Ireland (Armour & Sleath, ), and one study included participants from Australia (McCutcheon et al., ). Most studies had female‐only samples (Cavanaugh, Martins, Petras, & Campbell, ; Cavanaugh et al., ; Golder, Connell, & Sullivan, ; Walsh, Senn, & Carey, ; Young‐Wolff et al., ), or mostly female participants (Armour & Sleath, ; Holt et al., ). One study included only males (Burns, Lagdon, Boyda, & Armour, ), and one study had a relatively balanced gender distribution, and was distinct in that it was conducted with twins (McCutcheon et al., ).…”

“…Two studies used epidemiological data, specifically the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) dataset; Cavanaugh et al. () used a sample size of 19,816 participants; and Burns et al. () used a sample size of 14,564 participants.…”

Clusters of abusive parenting: A latent class analysis of families referred to Child Protective Services in Portugal

“…The main idea underlying latent class analysis is that groups exist in the population with distinct patterns of parenting abuse, and that those groups can be un-mixed into clusters or groups known as latent classes based on their specific profile. This technique has been considered useful in risk behavior research in the identification of specific segments at risk (e.g., Petrenko et al, 2012;Cavanaugh et al, 2013;El-Gabalawy et al, 2013;Esmaillzadeh et al, 2013;Lawson et al, 2013;Small & Weller, 2013). This technique identifies the size of the groups and its profiles in the population.…”

Broad Clinical Phenotype and Facets of Emotion Regulation in Interpersonal Trauma Survivors

“…Recently, research has begun to explore the profiles of women exposed to interpersonal trauma (IPT) in relation to these negative consequences (Cavanaugh, Martins, Petras, & Campbell, ). Person‐oriented approaches, such as those used to classify these women into various clusters and profiles, identify patterns among victims’ trauma exposure history and subsequent outcomes (Nurius & Macy, ).…”

“…Person‐oriented approaches, such as those used to classify these women into various clusters and profiles, identify patterns among victims’ trauma exposure history and subsequent outcomes (Nurius & Macy, ). Research using this approach with female IPT survivors has identified subgroups characterized by the type and extent of IPT exposure,; namely, research has shown differences among women exposed to childhood physical assault only versus women exposed to adult sexual assault (Campbell, Greeson, Bybee, & Raja, ; Carbone‐Lopez, Kruttschnitt, & Macmillan, ; Cavanaugh et al., ; Cavanaugh et al., ; Dutton, Kaltman, Goodman, Weinfurt, & Vankos, ). In general, results have shown that women with higher levels of lifetime exposure to interpersonal violence exhibit more mental health problems, though this partially depends on the types of IPT experienced and the developmental period in which exposure occurred (Carbone‐Lopez et al., ; Cavanaugh et al., ).…”