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Vulnerability to assaultive violence: further specification of the sex difference in post-traumatic stress disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 1999

N. BRESLAU ,
H. D. CHILCOAT ,
R. C. KESSLER ,
E. L. PETERSON  and
V. C. LUCIA
N. BRESLAU
Affiliation:
From the Departments of Psychiatry and Biostatistics/Research Epidemiology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI; and Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
H. D. CHILCOAT
Affiliation:
From the Departments of Psychiatry and Biostatistics/Research Epidemiology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI; and Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
R. C. KESSLER
Affiliation:
From the Departments of Psychiatry and Biostatistics/Research Epidemiology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI; and Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
E. L. PETERSON
Affiliation:
From the Departments of Psychiatry and Biostatistics/Research Epidemiology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI; and Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
V. C. LUCIA
Affiliation:
From the Departments of Psychiatry and Biostatistics/Research Epidemiology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI; and Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Abstract

Background. We examine potential sources of the sex differences in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the community.

Methods. Data were obtained from a representative sample of 2181 persons aged 18–45 years in the Detroit primary metropolitan statistical area, which is a six-county area containing more than four million residents. A random digit dialling method was used to select the sample and a computer-assisted telephone interview was used to obtain the data. DSM-IV PTSD was assessed with respect to a randomly selected trauma from the list of qualifying traumas reported by each respondent.

Results. The lifetime prevalence of exposure and the mean number of traumas were lower in females than males. The overall conditional risk of PTSD (i.e. the probability of PTSD among those exposed to a trauma) was approximately twofold higher in females than males, adjusting for the sex difference in the distribution of trauma types. The sex difference was due primarily to females' greater risk following assaultive violence. The sex difference in the avoidance and numbing symptom group following assaultive violence exceeded the sex differences in other symptom groups.

Conclusions. Future research should focus on sex differences in the response to assaultive violence, including potential explanations for females' greater probability to experience avoidance and numbing.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 29 , Issue 4 , July 1999 , pp. 813 - 821
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

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