Trauma Exposure Among Women in the Pacific Rim

Purpose Healthcare professionals who provide services in the immediate or long‐term aftermath of traumatic events need to understand the nature and frequency of traumatic events in the lives of women. However, research on trauma exposure in women has only recently begun to assess events other than intimate partner and sexual violence and has not supported direct statistical comparison of cross‐national and cross‐cultural data. The purpose of this descriptive, correlational study was to describe and compare trauma exposure prevalence and type in community‐based samples of women in the United States, Colombia, and Hong Kong. Design Women were recruited through posted notices at community health sites, snowball sampling, and online advertisements (N = 576). The Life Stressor Checklist‐Revised (total score range 0 to 30) was used to determine the type and prevalence of trauma exposure. Data were collected by native language members of the research team. Methods Descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic characteristics and trauma exposure for the total sample and each community‐based sample (location). Between‐location differences were tested using Fisher\u27s exact tests for categorical measures and general linear models with pairwise a posteriori least squares t‐test for continuous measures. Responses to open‐ended questions were translated and categorized. Findings Over 99% of women in the total sample reported at least one traumatic life event. The mean number of traumatic life events per participant was 7, ranging from 0 to 24. Although there was consistency in the most commonly reported trauma exposures across locations, the rates of specific events often differed. Conclusions Historical, political, geographic, and cultural factors may explain differences in trauma exposure among women in the four locations studied. Clinical Relevance This study offers relevant knowledge for providers in diverse locations who provide services to women who have experienced traumatic events and provides evidence for the need for future research to further enhance knowledge of trauma exposure among women, and on the effects of trauma in women\u27s lives

Contribution of intimate partner violence exposure, other traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder to chronic pain and depressive symptoms Contribución de la exposición a violencia de pareja, otros eventos traumáticos en la vida y síndrome de estrés postraumático sobre el dolor crónico y los síntomas depresivos Contribuição da exposição à violência contra a mulher, outros eventos traumáticos na vida e síndrome de estresse pós-traumático sobre a dor crônica e os sintomas depressivos

Objective. To assess the contribution of intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure, other traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder to chronic pain and depressive symptoms. Methodology. Cross sectional descriptive study. 150 women with a past history of IPV who lived in the metropolitan area of the city of Cali (Colombia), and were over 18 years old participated in the study. Data were collected between June of 2009 and March of 2010. IPV, trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress, depressive symptoms and pain were measured with standard scales. Information was analyzed using regression and multiple-scale analysis. Results. More than 50% of the women from the sample were exposed to the typical types of violence: threatening, physical and sexual violence. Usually a type of violence coexists with the other types. Depressive symptoms and chronic pain were present in 72% and 74% of the patients respectively. Conclusion. Physical manifestations were not the ones that caused most of the effects over women’s health with IPV, but psychological manifestations as depressive symptoms and stress did. Women exposed to IPV health approach should be conducted from a multidimensional view.Objetivo. Examinar la contribución de la exposición a Violencia de Pareja (VP), otros eventos traumáticos en la vida y síndrome de estrés postraumático sobre el dolor crónico y los síntomas depresivos. Metodología. Diseño descriptivo de corte transversal con la participación de 150 mujeres mayores de 18 años con historia de VP y residentes en el área metropolitana de la ciudad de Cali (Colombia). La recolección de la muestra se hizo de junio de 2009 a marzo de 2010. La VP, la exposición a trauma en la vida, el estrés postraumático, la sintomatología depresiva y el dolor, se midieron con escalas estandarizadas. Para el tratamiento de la información se hicieron análisis de regresión y de escalonamiento múltiple. Resultados. Más del 50% de la muestra sufrió los cuatro tipos de violencia: simbólica, amenaza, física y sexual; un tipo de violencia coexiste con la aplicación de los otros tipos de violencia. Los síntomas depresivos y el dolor crónico estuvieron presentes en el 74% y 42% de las participantes. Conclusión. Las manifestaciones físicas no fueron las que produjeron los mayores efectos sobre la salud de la mujer con VP, sino las manifestaciones psicológicas, como los síntomas depresivos y el estrés. El abordaje de la salud de la mujer expuesta a VP debe hacerse desde la mirada multidimensional.Objetivo. Examinar a contribuição da exposição à Violência Contra a Mulher (VCM), outros eventos traumáticos na vida e síndrome de estresse pós-traumático sobre a dor crônica e os sintomas depressivos. Metodologia. Desenho descritivo de corte transversal com a participação de 150 mulheres maiores de 18 anos com história de VCM e residentes na área metropolitana da cidade de Cali (Colômbia). O recolhimento da mostra se fez de junho de 2009 a março de 2010. A VCM, a exposição a trauma na vida, o estresse pós-traumático, a sintomatologia depressiva e a dor, mediram-se com escalas estandardizadas. Para o tratamento da informação se fizeram análise de regressão e de escalonamento múltipla. Resultados. Mais de 50% da mostra sofreu os quatro tipos de violência: simbólica, ameaça, física e sexual; um tipo de violência coexiste com a aplicação dos outros tipos de violência. Os sintomas depressivos e a dor crônica estiveram presentes em 74% e 42% das participantes. Conclusão. As manifestações físicas não foram as que produziram os maiores efeitos sobre a saúde da mulher com exposição à violência, senão as manifestações psicológicas, como os sintomas depressivos e o estresse. A abordagem da saúde da mulher exposta a violência, deve fazer-se desde uma olhada multidimensional

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

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