Intimate Partner Violence Survivorship, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Disaster: Implications for Future Disasters

Clare E B Cannon; Regardt Ferreira; Fred Buttell; Allyson O'Connor

doi:10.1177/10778012231176205

Intimate Partner Violence Survivorship, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Disaster: Implications for Future Disasters

Violence Against Women. 2023 May 24:10778012231176205. doi: 10.1177/10778012231176205. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Clare E B Cannon^{1

2}, Regardt Ferreira^{3

4}, Fred Buttell^{2

3}, Allyson O'Connor³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
² Department of Social Work, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
³ School of Social Work, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA.
⁴ Department of Social Work, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

PMID: 37226434
DOI: 10.1177/10778012231176205

Abstract

This study investigated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence among a sample of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors (n = 77) who filed for restraining orders in rural Louisiana during the COVID-19 pandemic. IPV survivors were individually interviewed to assess their self-reported levels of perceived stress, resilience, potential PTSD, COVID-19-related experiences, and sociodemographic characteristics. Data were analyzed to differentiate group membership between two groups; non-PTSD and probable PTSD. Results suggest the probable PTSD group had lower levels of resilience and higher levels of perceived stress compared to the non-PTSD group. Findings suggest the importance of providing services during disaster to reduce PTSD for IPV survivors.

Keywords: COVID-19; disasters; intimate partner violence; posttraumatic stress disorder; resilience.