Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in men who sustain intimate partner violence: A study of helpseeking and community samples.

Abstract

Extensive work has documented an association between sustaining intimate partner violence (IPV) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among women, yet little research has documented the same association in men, even though men comprise 25–50% of all IPV victims in a given year. Previous studies also show that women who sustain intimate terrorism (IT), a form of IPV that is characterized by much violence and controlling behavior, are at even greater risk for PTSD than women who sustain common couple violence (CCV), a lower level of more minor, reciprocal IPV. However, no research has documented this trend in men who sustain IT versus CCV. The present study investigates the associations among sustaining IPV and PTSD among both a clinical and community sample of men. The clinical sample is comprised of 302 men who sustained IT from their female partners and sought help. The community sample is comprised of 520 men, 16% of whom sustained CCV. Analyses showed that in both samples, the associations between sustaining several types of IPV and PTSD were significant, and that men who sustained IT were at exponentially increased risk of exceeding the clinical cut-off on the PTSD measure than men who sustained CCV or no violence. The path models predicting PTSD symptoms differed for both samples, indicating that perhaps treatment implications differ by group as well.

Sexual Aggression Experiences Among Male Victims of Physical Partner Violence: Prevalence, Severity, and Health Correlates for Male Victims and Their Children

“…In fact, the frequency with which men sustained violence in the previous year (46.7 acts) was comparable to the frequency of violence sustained in samples of battered women (between 15 and 68 acts per year; Giles-Sims, 1983;Johnson, 2006;Okun, 1986;Straus, 1990). In addition, their rates of PTSD (Hines & Douglas, 2011) were also similar to samples of battered women (Golding, 1999).…”

“…Participants indicate on a 5-point scale (1 = not at all, 5 = extremely) the extent to which they were bothered by each symptom in the previous month. The PCL has been used to evaluate PTSD symptomatology in a variety of populations, including female sexual assault victims (Blanchard, Jones-Alexander, Buckley, & Forneris, 1996) and male victims of IPV (Hines & Douglas, 2011). The PCL has demonstrated excellent reliability, with alpha coefficients above .90 (Blanchard et al, 1996;Lang, Laffaye, Satz, Dresselhaus, & Stein, 2003;Weathers et al, 1993) and test-retest reliability of .96 (Weathers et al, 1993).…”

Relationship of Physical Intimate Partner Violence with Mental Health Diagnoses in the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample

“…104 Although the majority of PIPV research has focused primarily on women, 105 it was found that men also experience mental health problems associated with PIPV. 103,106 It is estimated that more than half of PIPV events are not reported to the police, 107 suggesting the need for intervention efforts aimed outside the realm of law enforcement. Healthcare providers, particularly those working within ED settings, can serve as an important point of contact for victims of PIPV.…”

Is the Presence of Control Related to Help-Seeking Behavior? A Test of Johnson’s Assumptions Regarding Sex Differences and the Role of Control in Intimate Partner Violence

“…Contrary to this, Brownridge (2010) found that both types of IPV were found equally within both types of relationship and actually cohabiting couples had higher odds of experiencing both. Furthermore, Anderson (2008) These studies have included those comparing prevalence of both types of effects amongst men and women (e.g., Hines & Saudino, 2003); associations with binge drinking (Hines & Straus, 2007); qualitative analysis of callers to a domestic abuse help line for men ; associations with personality and personality disorders (e.g., Hines, 2008;Hines & Saudino, 2008) and with posttraumatic stress disorder (e.g., Hines & Douglas, 2011). All of these studies have suggested that men suffer psychological and physical effects of IPV victimization.…”