Psychosocial Factors Associated With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Clusters in a Sample of Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

The DSM-5 classifies posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology into four distinct clusters and numerous studies have examined the psychosocial risk factors predicting these clusters across various types of trauma. However, no research has specifically explored the unique predictors of PTSD clusters in women survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) This retrospective study analysed the DSM-5-proposed psychosocial predictors of PTSD symptom clusters (severity of violence, previous trauma, social support, emotional regulation, coping strategies and blame) in 333 women who had filed a police report for IPV. Through linear step regression analysis, five models were estimated for the four clusters and the PTSD diagnosis dissociation specifier. The findings showed both common and specific factors associated with the different PTSD clusters. Unsatisfactory emotional processing and negative self-focussing emerged as the predominant factors common to PTSD clusters and, to a lesser extent, emotional impoverishment and emotions of guilt. Childhood trauma was identified as a risk factor in all clusters, although its influence was attenuated when emotional regulation was considered. The severity of violence was a specific predictor for the intrusion cluster, and emotional avoidance predicted the PTSD cluster of avoidance symptoms. Social support acted as a protective factor for the cluster of mood disorders. The adjusted R² for the models ranged from 0.23 to 0.45. Taken together, the results highlight the need to distinguish specific symptom categories within the overall diagnosis of PTSD and offer an empirical perspective for better understanding and more accurate treatment for women survivors of IPV with PTSD.