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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Relationship Adjustment, and Relationship Aggression in a Sample of Female Flood Victims

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Abstract

This study tested a model examining the interrelationships among posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, intimate relationship adjustment, and intimate relationship aggression in a sample of 205 adult female flood victims. At the bivariate level, higher PTSD symptoms were associated with higher physical and psychological aggression victimization, poorer relationship adjustment, and higher physical and psychological aggression perpetration. Results from structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses indicated that relationship aggression victimization influenced aggression perpetration directly, and in the case of physical aggression, indirectly through its relationship with PTSD symptoms and relationship adjustment. The influence of PTSD symptoms on physical aggression perpetration was fully explained by poorer relationship adjustment. These findings extend prior work from other traumatized populations documenting associations between variables reflecting PTSD symptomatology and indices of relationship functioning, and indicate a need for further investigation in this area of inquiry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System (116B-2), 150 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02130, USA

    Casey T. Taft, Candice M. Monson, Laura E. Watkins, Jillian Panuzio & Patricia A. Resick

  2. Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Casey T. Taft, Candice M. Monson & Patricia A. Resick

  3. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Jeremiah A. Schumm

  4. VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton, MA, USA

    Jeremiah A. Schumm

  5. Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Patricia A. Resick

Authors
  1. Casey T. Taft
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  2. Candice M. Monson
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  3. Jeremiah A. Schumm
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  4. Laura E. Watkins
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  5. Jillian Panuzio
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  6. Patricia A. Resick
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Casey T. Taft.

Additional information

This research was supported in part by a grant to Patricia A. Resick from the National Institute of Mental Health (1-R01-MH55542).

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Taft, C.T., Monson, C.M., Schumm, J.A. et al. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Relationship Adjustment, and Relationship Aggression in a Sample of Female Flood Victims. J Fam Viol 24, 389–396 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9241-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9241-8

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