Identifying Risk Factors for PTSD in Women Seeking Medical Help after Rape

Rape has been found to be the trauma most commonly associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among women. It is therefore important to be able to identify those women at greatest risk of developing PTSD. The aims of the present study were to analyze the PTSD prevalence six months after se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one Vol. 9; no. 10; p. e111136
Main Authors: Moller, AT, Backstrom, T, Sondergaard, HP, Helstrom, L
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Public Library of Science 23.10.2014
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Behavior disorders
Biology and Life Sciences
Crime Victims - psychology
Education
Emergency medical services
Female
Gynecology
Health aspects
Humans
Identification methods
Incidence
Medicine and Health Sciences
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental health
Middle Aged
Morbidity
Obstetrics
Post traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumatic stress disorder
Psychiatry
Psychiatry - methods
Questionnaires
Rape
Rape - psychology
Regression Analysis
Risk analysis
Risk Factors
Sex crimes
Sexual abuse
Sexual assault
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology
Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires
Sweden
Trauma
Victimization
Victims of crime
Violence
Young Adult
Sweden
ISSN:1932-6203, 1932-6203
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Rape has been found to be the trauma most commonly associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among women. It is therefore important to be able to identify those women at greatest risk of developing PTSD. The aims of the present study were to analyze the PTSD prevalence six months after sexual assaults and identify the major risk factors for developing PTSD. Participants were 317 female victims of rape who sought help at the Emergency Clinic for Raped Women at Stockholm South Hospital, Sweden. Baseline assessments of mental health were carried out and followed up after six months. Thirty-nine percent of the women had developed PTSD at the six month assessment, and 47% suffered from moderate or severe depression. The major risk factors for PTSD were having been sexually assaulted by more than one person, suffering from acute stress disorder (ASD) shortly after the assault, having been exposed to several acts during the assault, having been injured, having co-morbid depression, and having a history of more than two earlier traumas. Further, ASD on its own was found to be a poor predictor of PTSD because of the substantial ceiling effect after sexual assaults. Development of PTSD is common in the aftermath of sexual assaults. Increased risk of developing PTSD is caused by a combination of victim vulnerability and the extent of the dramatic nature of the current assault. By identifying those women at greatest risk of developing PTSD appropriate therapeutic resources can be directed.
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Conceived and designed the experiments: ATM TB HPS LH. Performed the experiments: ATM LH. Analyzed the data: ATM TB HPS LH. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: ATM TB HPS LH. Contributed to the writing of the manuscript: ATM TB HPS LH.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0111136