NCJ Number
223755
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 23 Issue: 6 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 473-481
Date Published
August 2008
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether or not intimate partner violence (IPV) and suicidal ideation are correlated in urban African-American women, as well as whether any IPV-suicidal ideation link can be explained by symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Abstract
Study findings confirmed the prediction that there would be a statistically significant link between IPV and suicidal ideation in African-American women seeking services in an inner-city hospital. This confirms the fact that abused African-American women are at increased risk for a range of suicidal behaviors, including ideation and attempts. The findings confirm the proposed model in which IPV impacts subsequent psychological symptoms (depression and PTSD), which in turn were linked with suicidal ideation. Abused women with elevated depressive symptoms showed higher levels of suicidal thinking. The fact that PTSD was not directly related to suicidal ideation in this sample confirms data in which IPV, but not PTSD symptoms, has been found to be a risk factor for suicide attempts (Seedat et al., 2005). In psychological evaluations of abused African-American women, health-care and social-service professionals should be attentive to symptoms of PTSD, depression, and suicidal ideation. Data were collected at the emergency department of a large public hospital and level-one trauma center in a major southeastern city. The 323 African-American women included in the study reported a history of IPV on a 5-item screening tool. The Beck Depression Inventory II measured the severity of depressive symptoms, and the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale provided an index of symptom severity on three PTSD clusters. The Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation measured the outcome variable of suicidal ideation. 3 tables, 2 figures, and 84 references