After the Escape: Physical Abuse of Offspring, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and the Legacy of Political Violence in the DPRK

Violence Against Women. 2018 Jul;24(9):999-1022. doi: 10.1177/1077801217731540. Epub 2017 Oct 30.

Abstract

What is the relationship between victimization by political violence against women in North Korea and later physical abuse of offspring? This article examines the relationships between victimization by political violence, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol abuse/dependence, and abuse of offspring after arrival in South Korea. A random sample of 204 female North Korean defectors was used to test hypotheses. An oral history conducted with a survivor of North Korean political violence is provided in an appendix to contextualize the results. Analyses established a significant link between previous victimization by political violence and abuse of offspring but not mediation by either PTSD or alcohol abuse/dependence.

Keywords: PTSD; alcohol abuse/dependence; child abuse; political violence; torture.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Alcoholism / complications
  • Alcoholism / etiology
  • Alcoholism / psychology
  • Child
  • Child Abuse / psychology*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Crime Victims / psychology*
  • Crime Victims / rehabilitation
  • Democratic People's Republic of Korea / epidemiology
  • Democratic People's Republic of Korea / ethnology
  • Exposure to Violence / psychology*
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Parents / psychology*
  • Politics
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Psychometrics / instrumentation
  • Psychometrics / methods
  • Republic of Korea
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / complications
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / epidemiology
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / etiology*
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology