The relationship between the experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) and the development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been well-established in the literature (Basile, Arias, Desai, & Thompson, 2004; Coker, Smith, Thompson, McKeown, Bethea, & Davis, 2002). However, researchers have called for more complex statistical models capable of identifying and analyzing the pathways potentially linking IPV and PTSD. Research indicates that IPV victims report lower levels of perceived social support than non-IPV victims (Bengtsson-Tops & Tops, 2007) and that, as a result, victims are at greater risk of developing PTSD (Ozer, Best, Lipsey, & Weiss, 2008). Drawing from the stress buffering hypothesis (Cohen & Willis, 1985), which states that social support acts as a buffer, protecting an individual from the negative effects of a stressful event, the current study analyzed the moderating role of perceived social support in the relationship between IPV and PTSD. It was hypothesized that the positive relationship between IPV and PTSD would be stronger among individuals perceiving lower social support. It was also hypothesized that characterological self-blame and self-esteem would mediate the moderator effect of perceived social support. The hypotheses were tested by distributing questionnaires to 132 adult female participants recruited at a substance abuse treatment facility and a private university. The results indicated that IPV was positively associated with PTSD, and perceived social support negatively predicted PTSD. Further, perceived social support moderated the positive relationship between IPV and PTSD. At the extreme levels of perceived social support, the positive relationship between IPV and PTSD was stronger among individuals perceiving low levels of social support than among those perceiving high levels of social support. However, at the moderate levels of perceived social support, the positive relationship between IPV and PTSD was stronger among individuals perceiving high levels of social support than among those perceiving low levels of social support. Lastly, the results showed that self-esteem mediated the observed moderator effect of perceived social support. Possible explanations for the apparent shift in the direction of the moderation as well as the clinical implications of the findings, limitations of the current study, and directions for future research are discussed.

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Since the 1970s, understanding of the effects of trauma, including flashbacks and withdrawal, has become widespread in the United States. As a result Americans can now claim that the phrase posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is familiar even if the American Psychiatric Association's criteria for diagnosis are not. As embedded as these ideas now are in the American mindset, however, they are more widely applicable, this volume attempts to show, than is generally recognized. The essays in Culture and PTSD trace how trauma and its effects vary across historical and cultural contexts. Culture and PTSD examines the applicability of PTSD to other cultural contexts and details local responses to trauma and the extent they vary from PTSD as defined in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Investigating responses in Peru, Indonesia, Haiti, and Native American communities as well as among combat veterans, domestic abuse victims, and adolescents, contributors attempt to address whether PTSD symptoms are present and, if so, whether they are a salient part of local responses to trauma. Moreover, the authors explore other important aspects of the local presentation and experience of trauma-related disorder, whether the Western concept of PTSD is known to lay members of society, and how the introduction of PTSD shapes local understandings and the course of trauma-related disorders. By attempting to determine whether treatments developed for those suffering PTSD in American and European contexts are effective in global settings of violence or disaster, Culture and PTSD questions the efficacy of international responses that focus on trauma. Contributors: Carmela Alcántara, Tom Ball, James K. Boehnlein, Naomi Breslau, Whitney Duncan, Byron J. Good, Mary-Jo DelVecchio Good, Jesse H. Grayman, Bridget M. Haas, Devon E. Hinton, Erica James, Janis H. Jenkins, Hanna Kienzler, Brandon Kohrt, Roberto Lewis-Fernández, Richard J. McNally, Theresa D. O'Nell, Duncan Pedersen, Nawaraj Upadhaya, Carol M. Worthman, Allan Young.

This book describes the negative physical health effects of psychological trauma and abuse, and provides an explanatory model, suggesting ways in which clinicians with expertise in trauma may partner with primary care professionals to better meet the needs of trauma survivors across the lifespan.

Intimate partner violence is a challenging problem that health professionals encounter on a daily basis. This volume thoroughly compiles the current knowledge and health science and provides a strong foundation for students, educators, clinicians, and researchers on prevention, assessment, and intervention.