Abstract
This correlational cross-sectional study was designed to investigate whether the intimate partner violence (IPV) suffered by mothers (physical and psychological maltreatment), child eyewitness of psychological and physical maltreatment suffered by the mother, the neglect suffered by children, and the maltreatment (physical and psychological) directly suffered by children are statistically associated to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms exhibited by the child. In addition, the prevalence of child PTSD was estimated, as well as the concordance between the PTSD symptoms assessed by the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria for child PTSD. The sample consisted of 152 Spanish children aged 8 to 17 and their mothers, who were recruited from Centers of Specialized Assistance for Women Victims of IPV. PTSD prevalence was 20.4%. The results of a canonical correlation analysis showed that the two types of maltreatment with the largest contribution to the canonical variable were physical maltreatment directly suffered by the child, and child eyewitness of physical maltreatment suffered by the mother. The potential developmental pathway of PTSD when both children and mothers suffer severe maltreatment needs to be examined, and this will contribute to the choice of the most effective type of specialized intervention.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) [1] states that violence against women is a public health problem
We have found only the investigation by Sullivan and colleagues [51] that studies the relation between different forms of child maltreatment and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity, in regards to the total number and type of each of their symptoms according to DSM-IV [31], in a sample of 89 adolescents who had been admitted to hospital for serious psychological problems
The diagnosis of complete PTSD was studied according to the clinical criteria of the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic manual [40], which requires persistent symptomatology of at least one symptom of re-experiencing, three of avoidance, and two of hyperarousal, given that for criteria compliance a score of two or higher was needed on the scale
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) [1] states that violence against women is a public health problem. One of the most common forms of violence is intimate partner violence (IPV), which includes “physical violence, sexual violence, stalking and psychological aggression (including coercive tactics) by a current or former intimate partner (i.e., spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, dating partner, or ongoing sexual partner)” [2] (p.11). According to the WHO [1], almost 30% of women worldwide who have had an intimate relationship during their lives, have at some point suffered physical and/or sexual violence by their partner. IPV towards women is suffered by sons and daughters, and is recognized as a form of child abuse [3,4,5]. The latest macro-survey on gender violence in Spain [8] indicates that 63.6%
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