Trauma, PTSD, and partner violence in military families

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health problem in the United States that may be particularly elevated among military populations exposed to trauma who evidence symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As this chapter illustrates, evidence indicates that the development of posttraumatic psychopathology, and particularly PTSD, is strongly associated with the development of violence and abusive behavior in relationships. In addition to the review of research on the association between PTSD and IPV in military populations, in this chapter we discuss information processing models explaining the link between PTSD and IPV and potential moderators of this association, as well as strategies to prevent and treat IPV in this population. Recommendations for future work in this area of investigation and program development are also provided. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.