The Relationship of Two Types of Trauma Exposure to Current Physical and Psychological Symptom Distress in a Community Sample of Colombian Women: Why Interpersonal Violence Deserves More Attention

• Published in: Health care for women international Vol. 31; no. 10; pp. 946 - 961
• Main Authors: Schumacher, Ashley Marie, Jaramillo, Diva, Uribe, Tulia, De Pheils, Pilar Bernal, Holzemer, William, Taylor, Diana, Tiwari, Agnes, Canaval, Gladys Eugenia, Flores, Maria Eugenia Mendoza, Belknap, Ruth Ann, Humphreys, Janice Carrol
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis Group 01.10.2010
• Subjects: Adolescent; Aged; Battered Women - psychology; Colombia; Cross-Sectional Studies; Domestic Violence - ethnology; Domestic Violence - psychology; Female; Health Status; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Life Change Events; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Nursing; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Residence Characteristics; Socioeconomic Factors; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Women's Health; Young Adult; Colombia
• ISSN: 0739-9332; 1096-4665
• DOI: 10.1080/07399332.2010.503290

Our purpose in this study was to examine the relationship between interpersonal violence and background traumas and symptom distress in a community sample of Colombian women (N = 217). We utilized the Life Stressor Checklist-Revised (LSC-R) to measure lifetime interpersonal violence (IPV) and background trauma exposure and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) to measure current symptom distress. Although both exposures were common in this sample, IPV was strongly correlated with current symptom distress; background traumas made no unique contribution to the variance in current symptom distress. Based on our findings, it is suggested that interpersonal events may be particularly distressing.