Examining associations between posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters and intimate partner violence use

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have consistently been linked with risk for engaging in aggressive behavior. When PTSD symptom clusters have been examined separately, those reflecting heightened "hyperarousal" symptoms exhibit the strongest relationships with aggression, though this work has been conducted mostly with outdated measures of PTSD. The present study examined associations between PTSD symptom clusters based on a more contemporary PTSD measure and the use of intimate partner violence (IPV).

The sample included 247 men and women court-mandated to receive IPV intervention. It was expected that PTSD symptom clusters reflecting Criterion D and Criterion E symptoms would evidence the strongest bivariate and unique associations with IPV.

Findings were generally consistent with hypotheses such that these two symptom clusters were the strongest bivariate correlates of both IPV outcomes. Only Criterion D symptoms were uniquely associated with physical IPV, and only Criterion E symptoms were uniquely associated with psychological IPV in regression analyses.

Study results enhance our understanding of the complex relationship between PTSD and IPV based on current conceptualizations of these constructs, highlighting the salience of heightened physiological arousal/reactivity and perceptions of threat, as well as symptoms reflecting negative affect and negative thoughts/assumptions about oneself and the world. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).