NCJ Number
209840
Journal
Family Violence & Sexual Assault Bulletin Volume: 21 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2005 Pages: 5-12
Date Published
2005
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study systematically examined the abuse histories and trauma symptoms of 50 partner-aggressive women who were participating in anger-management treatment.
Abstract
In addition to data from the medical records of the women, the information included questionnaire data from the routine assessment of women in the anger-management program. This data included scores from the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, which measures respondents' recollection of childhood abuse and neglect; the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C), which measures symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale, which assesses the severity and frequency of relationship violence. Ninety-six percent of the women reported they had been psychologically aggressive toward their partner in the past year. All of the women had engaged in mild physical aggression, and almost two-thirds of the women indicated they had physically injured their partner in the past year. Almost all of the women had been victims of their partner's psychological aggression, and just over three-fourths had been victims of mild physical aggression; just over half were victims of severe physical violence. The majority of women had experienced some type of abuse as children. Victimization by male partners in adulthood and histories of childhood abuse were correlated with the women's current PTSD symptoms. The severity of these symptoms was correlated with the frequency of psychological and physical aggression perpetrated by the women. Women above the PTSD cutoff score on the PCL-C engaged in more frequent physical aggression against partners than women below the cutoff. The role of PTSD symptoms within violent relationships and the treatment and research implications of these findings are discussed. 4 tables and 39 references