Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Relationship Abuse, and Physical Health

描述（由申请人提供）：该指导临床科学家发展奖（K08）的目的是使候选人能够获得创伤，创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和亲密关系虐待研究方面的培训。创伤后应激障碍和伴侣暴力犯罪之间的关联在社区样本中很少得到经验性的关注，尽管虐待男性的先前创伤率很高。创伤后应激障碍对身体健康的影响在受虐妇女样本中也很少受到关注。研究计划的总体目标是更好地了解创伤和创伤后应激障碍症状在伴侣暴力和虐待的实施和有害健康后果方面的作用。这一长期目标包含三个子研究。第一个子研究将研究创伤后应激障碍症状和男性伴侣暴力犯罪之间的关系，以及这种关联的潜在介质，包括在冲突讨论期间评估的生理反应和负面影响。第二子研究将涉及身体、心理和性虐待对身体健康结果的直接和间接影响。这些关联的假设介质包括PTSD症状，生理反应和负面影响。第三个子研究将审查性别差异方面的虐待犯罪和受害，重点是创伤后应激障碍症状。参与者将包括报告亲密关系暴力的夫妇和婚姻痛苦的非暴力夫妇。培训计划涉及创伤后应激障碍和伴侣暴力病因学、伴侣虐待对创伤后应激障碍和健康的影响、创伤后应激障碍的心理生理学以及先进的统计方法等领域的教学和辅导。研究和培训计划旨在作为R01应用程序的基础，该应用程序将进一步研究具有较大代表性社区样本的拟议模型。预计该项目将阐明创伤后应激障碍在关系虐待及其有害健康影响方面的作用。这一认识的提高可能反过来导致对虐待行为实施者和受害者的干预措施的有效性提高。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08) is to enable the candidate to acquire training in the study of trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and intimate relationship abuse. The association between PTSD and partner violence perpetration has received scant empirical attention among community samples, despite high rates of prior trauma among abusive men. The effects of PTSD on physical health has also received little attention among samples of battered women. The overarching goal of the research plan is to better understand the roles of trauma and PTSD symptoms with respect to the perpetration and deleterious health consequences of partner violence and abuse. Three sub studies are subsumed by this long-term goal. The first sub study will examine the relationship between PTSD symptoms and male partner violence perpetration and potential mediators of this association, including physiological reactivity and negative affect assessed during a conflict discussion. The second sub study will involve the direct and indirect impact of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse on physical health outcomes. Hypothesized mediators of these associations include PTSD symptoms, physiological reactivity, and negative affect. The third sub study will examine gender differences with respect to aspects of abuse perpetration and victimization, with a focus on PTSD symptoms. Participants will include couples reporting intimate relationship violence and maritally distressed, nonviolent couples. The training plan involves didactics and mentorship in the areas of PTSD and partner violence etiology, the effects of partner abuse on PTSD and health, the psychophysiology of PTSD, and advanced statistical methods. The research and training plans are intended to serve as the basis for an R01 application that further investigates the proposed models with a larger, representative community sample. It is expected that this project will elucidate the role of PTSD with respect to relationship abuse and its deleterious health effects. This enhanced understanding may in turn lead to the improved efficacy of interventions for perpetrators and victims of abuse.