Trauma Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Aggression Among Civilian Females

Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have evinced ties to increased risk for aggressive behavior. However, very little information is known regarding the relations between trauma exposure, PTSD, and aggression among non-veteran women. Furthermore, research has not examined the associations between trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, and aggression using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) PTSD criteria. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate the relationships between trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, and aggression among women. The secondary aim was to examine the specific PTSD symptom clusters in relation to indices of aggression. A total of 217 civilian, trauma-exposed female undergraduate students participated in the study (M = 24.30, SD = 6.83, 63.2% White). Higher levels of trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms corresponded with anger (b = .47, 95% CI = [0.11-0.83]; b = .11, 95% CI = [0.05-0.16], respectively) and verbal aggression (b = .50, 95% CI = [0.21-0.78]; b = .06, 95% CI = [0.01-0.10], respectively). PTSD symptoms, but not cumulative trauma exposure, was associated with hostility (b = .23, 95% CI = [0.14-0.59]), whereas physical aggression was only related to trauma exposure (b = .69, 95% CI = [0.31-1.06]). Furthermore, there was a significant indirect effect of cumulative trauma through PTSD symptoms on anger and verbal aggression (b = .15, 95% CI = [0.05-0.32]; b = .09, 95% CI = [0.02-0.20], respectively). Trauma-exposed civilian females with higher levels of PTSD symptoms may be at increased risk for several indices of aggressive behavior. Furthermore, PTSD symptoms may better account for some, but not all, aspects of aggression in trauma-exposed women.