Posttraumatic Stress Disorder does not Increase Recurrent Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

ABSTRACT To determine whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increases the risk of recurrent intimate partner violence, I conducted a secondary analysis of longitudinal data from 321 women in the Chicago Women's Health Risk Study. PTSD at baseline showed a moderate unadjusted association with recurrent IPV in the 2-year follow-up period. However, when important confounding factors, such as severity of previous abuse and use of control tactics by the partner, were controlled in a logistic regression model, there was no association between PTSD and recurrent victimization.