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Predictors of the impact of the September 11th terrorist attacks on victims of intimate partner violence
Author(s) -
Franz Victoria A.,
Arnkoff Diane B.,
Glass Carol R.,
Mete Mihriye,
Dutton Mary Ann
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20676
Subject(s) - domestic violence , injury prevention , posttraumatic stress , poison control , suicide prevention , psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , human factors and ergonomics , occupational safety and health , terrorism , event (particle physics) , medicine , medical emergency , pathology , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , history
Abstract This study examined the role of several hypothesized predictors of the impact of a potentially traumatic event, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11), on a sample of women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). We found that IPV‐related PTSS mediated the relationship between IPV and 9/11‐related PTSS, confirming the hypothesis that severity of symptoms related to prior trauma plays a role in the development and severity of PTSS related to subsequent potentially traumatic events. Media exposure and threat appraisal were significantly positively associated with 9/11‐related PTSS, whereas social support was significantly negatively associated with 9/11‐related PTSS, with none of these variables serving as moderators of the relationship between IPV‐related and 9/11‐related PTSS. Our results suggest that trauma‐related psychiatric history is an important factor in the development of PTSS subsequent to an additional potentially traumatic event, even after adjusting for relevant variables occurring at the time of that event.