Trauma Exposure, DSM-5 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Sexual Risk Outcomes

The current study examined associations between DSM-5 post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and three sexual risk outcomes: presence of a sexually transmitted disease/infection, frequency of condom use, and sex with a known user of injection drugs.

Data were from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (2012-2013, analyzed 2017), a nationally representative survey of non-institutionalized U.S. adults aged ≥18 years. Sexual outcomes and trauma exposure were assessed via self-report, and PTSD was assessed using a validated structured interview. Logistic and multinomial regression analyses examined associations between PTSD, PTSD symptom clusters, trauma type, and each sexual outcome.

Lifetime PTSD was associated with increased odds of having a past-year sexually transmitted disease/infection and sex with a known injection drug user (AOR=1.54 and 1.74, respectively); fewer intrusion symptoms were associated with sometimes/fairly often condom use relative to very often. Reporting of adult sexual assault, assaultive violence, and other trauma as one's worst event was associated with increased odds of a past-year sexually transmitted disease/infection (AOR range, 1.69-4.56), whereas child maltreatment was associated with using condoms never/almost never in the past 12 months (AOR=1.40). No other significant findings emerged.

The current study demonstrates an association between certain trauma exposures, PTSD symptoms, and an increased likelihood of sexual risk outcomes. Clinicians working with individuals with PTSD symptoms, particularly those who have been exposed to interpersonal trauma, should screen for the presence of these sequelae.