Abstract
The intent of this study was to examine the relationship between exposure to abortion clinic violence, either as a victim or witness, and the reporting of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among clinic employees. Semi-structured interviews with 71 clinic workers from eight abortion clinics in a Southeastern state were used for analyses. Findings showed that as victims, clinic workers experienced moderate forms of violence and witnessed greater variety and numbers of violent acts. Twenty-one percent of the sampled workers reported symptoms similar to the syndrome described in the DSM-IIIR/DSM-IV classification for PTSD. A multivariate analysis showed that even when controlling for significant life circumstances and stressors outside the clinic setting, witnessing violence was a significant predictor of PTSD symptomatology.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed. revised). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
American Psychiatric Association (1992). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
Baker, S. P., Samkoff, J. S., Fisher, R., & Van Buren, C. B. (1982). Fatal occupational injuries. Journal of the American Medical Association, 248, 692–697.
Bell, C. C., & Jenkins E. J. (1990). Preventing black homicide. In J. Dewart (Ed.), The state of Black America (pp. 143–155). New York: National Urban League.
Blanchard, D. (1996). The anti-abortion movement: References and resources. New York: Prentice-Hall.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (1994). Criminal victimization in the United States, 1993. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.
Davidson, J. R., & Fairbank, J. A. (1993). Posttraumatic stress disorder: DSM-I and beyond. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
Davis, G. C., & Breslau, N. (1994). Posttraumatic stress disorder in victims of civilian trauma and criminal violence. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 17, 289–299.
Ensel, W., & Lin, N. (1991). The life stress paradigm and psychological distress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 32, 321–341.
Falsetti, S. A., & Resnick, H. S. (1995). Helping the victims of violent crime. In J. R. Freedy & S. E. Hobfoll (Eds.), Traumatic stress: From theory to practice (pp. 263–285). New York: Plenum Publishing.
Feminist Majority Foundation (1994). 1994 Clinic violence survey report. Arlington, VA: The Feminist Majority Foundation.
Feminist Majority Foundation (1995). 1995 Clinic violence survey report. Arlington, VA: The Feminist Majority Foundation.
Figley, R. C. (1989). Helping traumatized families. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Fitzpatrick, K. M., & Boldizar, J. P. (1993). The prevalence and consequences of exposure to violence among African-American youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 424–430.
Fitzpatrick, K. M., & LaGory, M. (1998). Dangerous places: Exposure to violence and its mental health consequences for the homeless. Unpublished manuscript, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Flannery, R. B. (1995). Violence in the workplace. New York: Crossroad.
Freedy, J. R., & Donkervoet, J. C. (1995). Traumatic stress: An overview of the field. In J. R. Freedy & S. E. Hobfoll (Eds.), Traumatic stress: From theory to practice (pp. 1–28). New York: Plenum.
Garbarino, J., Dubrow, N., Kostelny, K., & Pardo, C. (1992). Children in danger: Coping with the consequences of community violence. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Grimes, D. A., Forrest, J. D., Kirkman, A. L., & Radford, B. (1991). An epidemic of antiabortion violence in the United States. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 165, 1263–1268.
Hales, T., Seligman, P. J., Newman, S. C., & Timbrook, C. L. (1988). Occupational injuries due to violence. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 30, 483–487.
Hanson, R. F., Kilpatrick, D. G., Falsetti, S. A., & Resnick, H. S. (1995). Violent crime and mental health. In J. R. Freedy & S. E. Hobfoll (Eds.), Traumatic stress: From theory to practice (pp. 129–161). New York: Plenum.
Holmes, T., & Rahe, R. (1967). The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 11, 213–218.
Johnson, P. R., & Indvik, J. (1994). Workplace violence: An issue of the nineties. Public Personnel Management, 23, 515–523.
Kessler, R., Sonnega, A., Bromet, E., Hughes, M., & Nelson, C. B. (1995). Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry 42, 1048–1060.
Levine, F. J., & Rosich, K. J. (1996). Social causes of violence: Crafting a science agenda. Washington, D.C.: American Sociological Association.
Lin, N., Dean, A., & Ensel, W. M. (1979). Development of social support scales. Proceedings of the Third Biennial Conference on Health Survey Methods, Washington, DC: National Center for Health Services Research.
Lin, N., Dean, A., & Ensel, W. M. (1986). Social support, life events, and depression. Orlando, FL: Academic Press
Reiss, A. J., & Roth, J. A. (1993). Understanding and preventing violence. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Richters, J. E. (1990). Screening survey of exposure to violence: Self-report version. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Mental Health.
U. S. Bureau of Census (1994). Statistical abstract of the United States, 1994. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Wilson, M., & Lynxwiler, J. (1988). Abortion clinic violence as terrorism. Terrorism, 11, 263–273.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Fitzpatrick, K.M., Wilson, M. Exposure to Violence and Posttraumatic Stress Symptomatology Among Abortion Clinic Workers. J Trauma Stress 12, 227–242 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024768207850
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024768207850