Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Introduction: Intimate Partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health problem associated with numerous short- and long-term mental health consequences, most commonly, PTSD and depression. Aims: The principal aims of our research are to assess the incidence of depression and PTSD in a sample of women exposed to IPV and to analyze the correlation between the main socio-demographic characteristics of affected women and the typology of domestic violence. Materials and Methods: A sample of 31 women exposed to IPV, recruited by an anti-violence centre, has been examined with a clinical interview and assessment tools (Davidson Trauma Scale, Hamilton Depression Scale, Conflict Tate Scale- 2). Results: Depression is present in 83, 87% of affected woman, while PTSD in 77.42% of cases. A higher social status correlates with a lower prevalence of sexual coercion (r = 0.45 p <0.05). The number of children correlates positively with physical violence (r = 0.43 p <0.05) and negatively with psychological violence (r =- 0.39 p <0.05). A relevant result of the correlation analysis was the strong, positive association between depression and psychological violence (r = 0.36 p <0.05). The analysis of our data has found significant associations between IPV during pregnancy and scale scores of psychological violence (p = 0.03) and physical violence (p = 0.01) on the CTS-2. Conclusions: Intimate partner violence (IPV) significantly impacts women mental and physical wellbeing and it represents a public health problem.