Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Domestic Violence David S. Riggs, Ph.D. Center for Deployment Psychology

Domestic Violence in the Military Rates of domestic violence within the military are difficult to establish (also true in civilian settings) Rates of reported cases % % % Counts only cases of violence against a legal spouse reported to military authorities or Family Advocacy Programs

Domestic Violence in the Military Rates obtained from anonymous surveys are larger Sample SizeDV Rates Pan et al., (1994)15,02330% Heyman & Neidig (1999)27, % 17.5% Rosen et al., (2002)71632% Bohannon et al., (1995)9447%

Links Between PTSD and Domestic Violence National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Survey –About 1/3 of veterans with PTSDS perpetrated violence in the prior year (Jordan et al., 1990) –PTSD veterans were 2-3 times more likely to perpetrate than those without PTSD –More severe PTSD symptoms were associated with more severe DV (Orcutt et al., 2003)

Links Between PTSD and Domestic Violence Other Studies of Vietnam Veterans –Veterans with PTSD were more likely to perpetrate violence (Beckham et al., 1997) –More severe PTSD is associated with more severe DV (Byrne & Riggs, 1996; Beckham et al., 1997) –Over ½ of a group of veterans being treated for PTSD reported DV (Hiley-Young et al., 1995)

Links Between PTSD and Domestic Violence Studies of Other Samples –In a civilian sample seeking treatment for PTSD or for substance abuse, those with PTSD were more likely to perpetrate DV (Parrott et al., 2003) –In adolescents, More severe trauma-related symptoms are associated with more severe violence in dating relationships (Wolfe et al., 2004) –In a sample of WW II and Korean War POW’s, more severe PTSD was related to more severe DV

PTSD: Definition and Description

Lifetime Prevalence Of Trauma Kessler 2000 Percent

Combat Exposure in Iraq Hoge, et al, 2004, NEJM

Common Reactions to Trauma  Fear and anxiety  Intrusive thoughts about the trauma  Nightmares of the trauma  Sleep disturbance  Feeling jumpy and on guard  Concentration difficulties

Common Reactions to Trauma  Avoiding trauma reminders  Feeling numb or detached  Feeling angry, guilty, or ashamed  Grief and depression  Negative image of self and world –The world is dangerous –I am incompetent –People can not be trusted

PTSD: Diagnostic Criteria Reexperiencing (1 of 5) –Thoughts, nightmares, flashbacks, emotional reactions, physiological reactions Avoidance (3 of 7) –Avoid thoughts, avoid reminders, amnesia,detachment, numbing, anhedonia, forshortened future Arousal (2 of 5) –Sleep disturbance, concentration problems, anger, hypervigilance, startle

BattleMind Training Battlemind skills helped you survive in combat, but may cause you problems if not adapted when you get home. B uddies (cohesion) vs. Withdrawal A ccountability vs. Controlling T argeted Aggression vs. Inappropriate Aggression T actical Awareness vs. Hypervigilance L ethally Armed vs. “Locked and Loaded” at Home E motional Control vs. Anger/Detachment M ission OPSECvs. Secretiveness I ndividual Responsibility vs. Guilt N on-Defensive Driving vs. Aggressive Driving D iscipline and Ordering vs. Conflict

Diagnosis of PTSD: Associated Symptoms Guilt, shame, despair Hostility, aggression Social isolation, loss of beliefs Feeling constantly threatened Poor health

PTSD and Domestic Violence: Potential Links

Risk Factors For DV (From Riggs et al., 2000 and Stith et al., 2004) Depression Substance use Marital distress and conflict Life Stress Anger and hostility Intense emotional reactions to threat Poor problem solving skills Violence in the family of origin

Risk Factors For DV (From Riggs et al., 2000 and Stith et al., 2004) Depression Substance use Marital distress and conflict Life Stress Anger and hostility Intense emotional reactions to threat Poor problem solving skills Violence in the family of origin

Increased Morbidity With PTSD Davidson 1991 Percent

PTSD comorbidity Lifetime PTSD and… 1 or more psychiatric disorder: 79-88% 3 or more psychiatric disorders: 44-59% PTSD typically precedes the onset of comorbid psychiatric disorders Kessler et al, 1995

Anxiety Disorders: Impact of Trauma and PTSD Suicide attempts (%)6 1630* Hospitalization (%)303848† Alcohol abuse/ dependence (%)213438‡ Warshaw et al Am J Psychiatry 1993;150:1514 Anxiety Disorder Patients No TraumaTraumaPTSD PTSD vs other groups: * p<0.001; † p<0.01 PTSD and trauma vs control: ‡ p<0.001

Substance Use Disorders and Trauma/PTSD Estimates of trauma exposure: In general population:40% - 70% In SUD population:35% - 90% Estimates of PTSD In general population:5% % In SUD population:30% - 50% Estimates of Alcohol Dependence In general population:7% - 9% In PTSD population:30% - 68%

PTSD and Substance Use  In PTSD Patients, substance abuse is associated with:  more severe PTSD  dissociative symptoms  borderline personality characteristics  In Substance Abusers, trauma is associated with:  more severe substance use  higher rates of depression  more anxiety  antisocial personality  suicide attempts

Risk Factors For DV (From Riggs et al., 2000 and Stith et al., 2004) Depression Substance use Marital distress and conflict Life Stress Anger and hostility Intense emotional reactions to threat Poor problem solving skills Violence in the family of origin

PTSD and Marital Distress Vietnam Veterans with PTSD experience more marital distress than those without PTSD (Carroll et al., 1985; Jordan et al., 1992; Riggs et al., 1998) More severe PTSD symptoms are associated with greater distress and relationship conflict (Riggs et al., 1998) In WW II and Korean War POWs, more severe PTSD related to greater relationship distress (Cook et al., 2004)

Risk Factors For DV (From Riggs et al., 2000 and Stith et al., 2004) Depression Substance use Marital distress and conflict Life Stress Anger and hostility Intense emotional reactions to threat Poor problem solving skills Violence in the family of origin

Increased Medical Problems in PTSD GW1 Veterans Barrett et al., 2002 Percent

Decreased Quality of Life with PTSD GW1 Veterans Barrett et al., 2002 Score

Decreased Quality of Life with PTSD Vietnam Veterans Zatzick et al., 1997 Percent

Impaired Quality of Life in PTSD Malik et al. J Trauma Stress. 1999;12:387. SF-36 Score

Risk Factors For DV (From Riggs et al., 2000 and Stith et al., 2004) Depression Substance use Marital distress and conflict Life Stress Anger and hostility Intense emotional reactions to threat Poor problem solving skills Violence in the family of origin

PTSD and Anger PTSD has been repeatedly associated with higher levels of anger and hostility Veterans with PTSD respond with more hostility in non-provoking interpersonal interactions (Beckham et al., 1996) Veterans with PTSD experience an increase in anger following trauma primes (Pitman et al., 1997; Taft et al., 2005)

Cued Traumatic Responses External Trauma Cues Sights Sounds Smells Situations Internal Trauma Cues Emotional State Physical State Thoughts Traumatic Reactions Emotions Thoughts Arousal

Risk Factors For DV (From Riggs et al., 2000 and Stith et al., 2004) Depression Substance use Marital distress and conflict Life Stress Anger and hostility Intense emotional reactions to threat Poor problem solving skills Violence in the family of origin

PTSD and Problem-Solving Deficits PTSD Positive ScalesNegative Scales Overall PS-.64 Positive Orientation-.44Negative Orientation.68 Rational PS-.44Impulsive Style.53 Problem Definition-.44Avoidant Syyle.56 Generation of Alternatives -.45 Decision Making-.37 Implementation-.36

Emotions Memories Experience Attention 1 Cue Interpretation 2 Response Generation Response Selection Enactment Skills Social Information Processing

Activated Trauma Memory and Emotion Attentional Bias 1 lnterpretational Bias 2 Limited Response Generation Biased Response Selection Impaired Enactment Skills Impact of Trauma Memory on Social Information Processing

Risk Factors For DV (From Riggs et al., 2000 and Stith et al., 2004) Depression Substance use Marital distress and conflict Life Stress Anger and hostility Intense emotional reactions to threat Poor problem solving skills Violence in the family of origin

Pre-Trauma Characteristics That Contribute to Persistent PTSD Personal History Characteristics –Psychiatric History –Prior Trauma –Child Abuse –Other adverse childhood events –Family Psychiatric History

PTSD DV Trauma severity Low Social support Trauma processing Accept violence Traditional sex roles Jealousy Depression Anger Substance use Poor problem solving Marital distress Marital conflict Stress