Assessing PTSD and resilience for females who during childhood were exposed to domestic violence

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examined 68 females, who as children were exposed to domestic violence, to explore childhood risk and protective factors and their relationship to adult levels of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and resilience. Independent sample t ‐tests indicated significant differences in PTSD levels between participants with and without police involvement during childhood. There were also significant differences in PTSD levels between participants who reported their mothers had mental‐health problems with those who did not. Additionally, participants whose mothers had full‐time steady employment had significantly higher resilience than those with mothers who did not work or worked inconsistently. Implications include advancing ecological theory and conceptual insights regarding childhood risk and protective factors and their association to adult psychological distress and hardiness for daughters exposed to their mothers' intimate partner violence.