Mediators of Suicidal Ideation Within a Sheltered Sample of Raped and Battered Women

• Published in: Health care for women international Vol. 28; no. 5; pp. 478 - 489
• Main Authors: Weaver, Terri L., Allen, Janice A., Hopper, Elizabeth, Maglione, Melissa L., McLaughlin, Dorcas, McCullough, Mary Ann, Jackson, Mary K., Brewer, Teresa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis Group 01.05.2007
• Subjects: Adult; Anxiety - psychology; Battered Women - psychology; Crime Victims - psychology; Female; Focus Groups; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Midwestern United States; Nursing; Rape - psychology; Severity of Illness Index; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Suicide, Attempted - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Women's Health; Midwestern United States
• ISSN: 0739-9332; 1096-4665
• DOI: 10.1080/07399330701226453

The relationship between suicide attempts and the experience of intimate partner physical violence has been examined in recent literature. The present study extended this literature by examining the relationship between intimate partner rape and suicidal ideation in a sheltered sample of battered women. Fifty women were recruited from a regional shelter setting for battered women in a Midwestern city in the United States. Fifty-eight percent had experienced intimate partner rape. Morethan one-third of the sample confirmed experiencing suicidal ideation at least "some of the time" within the past week. Experiencing intimate partner rape was significantly associated with suicidal ideation and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Tests of mediation revealed that both PTSD and depressive symptoms mediated the relationship between intimate partner rape and suicidal ideation.