Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-9pm4c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T04:19:06.716Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Cognitive Difficulties and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Abstract

Subjective cognitive complaints of women exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) and nonabused women were examined using the Cognitive Difficulties Scale (CDS). Cognitive complaints were compared among victims of IPV with a lifetime diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (PTSD+; n=20), victims of IPV without lifetime PTSD (PTSD-; n=21), and a nonabused comparison group (n=22). The results indicated that both the PTSD+ and PTSD- groups had significantly higher levels of self-perceived cognitive difficulties than nonabused women. Furthermore, PTSD symptom severity was found to be positively correlated with self-perceived cognitive difficulties (r=.47). Further research is needed to determine whether cognitive complaints are associated with exposure to IPV, with the subsequent development of PTSD, or with other not yet understood factors. Furthermore, additional work is needed to resolve whether cognitive complaints are accompanied by objective evidence of cognitive dysfunction in victims of IPV.

Type
Original Research
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Greenfeld, LA, Rand, MR, Craven, D et al. , Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and Girlfriends. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice; 1998.Google Scholar
2. Rand, MR. Violence-related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice; 1997.Google ScholarPubMed
3. Janoff-Bulman, R. Victims of violence. In: Fisher, S, Reason, J, eds. Handbook of Life Stress, Cognition and Health. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons; 1998:101113.Google Scholar
4. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.Google Scholar
5. Astin, MC, Lawrence, KJ, Foy, DW. Posttraumatic stress disorder among nattered women: risk and resiliency factors. Violence Vict. 1993;8:1729.Google ScholarPubMed
6. Cascardi, M, O'Leary, KD, Schlee, KA. Co-occurrence and correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression in physically abused women. J Fam Viol. 1999;14:227249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7. Houskamp, BM, Foy, DW. The assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder in battered women. J Interpers Viol. 1991;6:367375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8. Kemp, A, Rawlings, EI, Green, BL. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in battered women: a shelter sample. J Trauma Stress. 1991;4:137148.Google Scholar
9. Goldstein, G, van Kammen, W, Shelly, C, Miller, DJ, van Kammen, DP. Survivors of imprisonment in the Pacific theater during world war II. Am J Psychiatry. 1987;144:12101213.Google ScholarPubMed
10. Sutker, PB, Vasterling, JJ, Brailey, K, Allain, AN. Memory, attention, and executive deficits in POW survivors: contributing biological and psychological factors. Neuropsychology. 1995;9:118125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11. Branca, B, Giordani, B, Lutz, T, Saper, JR. Self-report of cognition and objective test performance in posttraumatic headache. Headache. 1996;36:300306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12. Gass, CS, Apple, C. Cognitive complaints in closed-head injury: relationship to memory test performance and emotional disturbance. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 1997;19:290299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13. Santos, ME, Castro-Caldas, A, De Sousa, L. Spontaneous complaints of long-term traumatic brain injured subjects and their close relatives. Brain Inj. 1998;12:759767.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14. Sbordone, RJ, Seyranian, GD, Ruff, RM. Are the subjective complaints of traumatically brain injured patients reliable? Brain Inj. 1998;12:505515.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15. Schmand, B, Jonker, C, Geerlings, MI, Lindeboom, J. Subjective memory complaints in the elderly: depressive symptoms and future dementia. Br J Psychiatry. 1997;171:373376.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16. Schofield, PW, Jacobs, D, Marder, K, Sano, M, Stern, Y. The validity of new memory complaints in the elderly. Arch Neurol. 1997;54:756759.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17. Schofield, PW, Marder, K, Dooneief, G, Jacobs, DM, Sano, M, Stern, Y. Association of subjective memory complaints with subsequent cognitive decline in community-dwelling elderly individuals with baseline cognitive impairment. Am J Psychiatry. 1997;154:609615.Google ScholarPubMed
18. McNair, DM, Kahn, RJ. Self-assessment of cognitive deficits. In: Crook, T, Ferris, S, Bartus, R, eds. Assessment in Geriatric Psychopharmacology. New Canaan, Conn: Mark Powley; 1983:137143.Google Scholar
19. Derouesne, C, Dealberto, MJ, Boyer, P et al. , Empirical evaluation of the Cognitive Difficulties Scale for assessment of memory complaints in general practice: a study of 1628 cognitively normal subjects aged 45–75 years. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 1993;8:599607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20. Bremner, JD, Scott, TM, Delaney, RC et al. , Deficits in short-term memory in posttraumatic stress disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1993;150:10151019.Google ScholarPubMed
21. Gilbertson, MW, Gurvits, TV, Lasko, NB, Pitman, RK. Neuropsychological assessment of Vietnam combat veterans with and without PTSD. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1997;821:476479.Google Scholar
22. Gurvits, TG, Gilbertson, MW, Lasko, NB et al. , Neurologic soft signs in chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000;57:181186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23. Jenkins, MA, Langlais, PJ, Delis, D, Cohen, R. Learning and memory in rape victims with posttraumatic stress disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1998;155:278279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24. Jenkins, MA, Langlais, PJ, Delis, D, Cohen, RA. Attentional dysfunction associated with posttraumatic stress disorder among rape survivors. Clin Neuropsychol. 2000;14:712.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25. Uddo, MM, Vasterling, JJ, Brailey, K, Sutker, PB. Memory and attention in posttraumatic stress disorder. J Psychopathol Behav Assess. 1993;15:4352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26. Vasterling, JJ, Brailey, K, Constans, JI, Sutker, PB. Attention and memory dysfunction in posttraumatic stress disorder. Neuropsychology. 1998;12:125133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27. McLellan, AT, Kushner, H, Metzger, D et al. , The fifth edition of the Addiction Severity Index. J Subst Abuse Treat. 1992;9:199213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28. Hollingshead, AB. Four factor index of social status. Paper presented at: Yale University;1975;New Haven, Conn.Google Scholar
29. Blake, DD, Weathers, FW, Nagy, LM et al. , The development of a clinician-administered PTSD scale. J Trauma Stress. 1995;8:7590.Google ScholarPubMed
30. First, MB, Spitzer, RL, Gibbon, M, Williams, JBW. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders—Clinician Version (SCID-1). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1997.Google Scholar
31. Weiss, DS, Marmar, CR. The Impact of Events Scale—Revised. In: Wilson, JP, Keane, TM, eds. Assessing Psychological Trauma and PTSD. New York, NY: Guilford Press; 1997:577591.Google Scholar
32. King, LA, King, DW, Leskin, G, Foy, DW. The Los Angeles Symptom Checklist: a self-report measure of posttraumatic stress disorder. Assessment. 1995;2:117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
33. Southwick, SM, Yehuda, R, Giller, ELJ. Characterization of depression in war-related postttraumatic stress disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1991;148:179183.Google Scholar
34. Radloff, LS. The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Psychol Meas. 1977;1:385401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
35. Straus, M, Hamby, SL, Boney-McCoy, SB, Sugarman, DB. The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-2): development and preliminary psychometric data. J Fam Issues. 1996;17:283316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
36. Shalev, AY, Freedman, S, Peri, T et al. , Prospective study of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression following trauma. Am J Psychiatry. 1998;155:630637.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37. Golding, JM. Intimate partner violence as a risk factor for mental disorders: a meta-analysis. J Fam Viol. 1999;14:99132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38. Saigh, PA, Mroweh, M, Bremner, JD. Scholastic impairment among traumatized adolescents. Behav Res Ther. 1997;35:429436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed