Examining trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in court-mandated intimate partner violence perpetrators

Abstract

There is a dearth of empirical literature characterizing the various forms of trauma experienced by men court mandated to intervention for intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. We investigated the potentially traumatic events (PTEs) experienced by men (N = 217) court mandated to enroll in a 41-week group IPV perpetrator program, as well as the relationships between PTEs, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and IPV. Findings indicated that 94% of participants reported experiencing at least 1 PTE in their lifetime, and participants experienced an average of over 6 out of 14 types of PTEs. A significant association was found between the number of PTEs experienced and frequency of self-reported perpetration of physical and psychological IPV. PTSD symptoms were also related to both forms of IPV perpetration and mediated the relationship between experiencing PTEs and psychological IPV perpetration. Our findings have implications for understanding how trauma and PTSD symptoms may increase risk for IPV and for developing trauma-informed interventions for this population.