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Cited by 35Intimate Partner and Family ViolencePosttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchChild Abuse and Trauma

The complex trauma of psychological violence: cross-sectional findings from a Cohort of four Danish Women Shelters

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Dokkedahl, Sarah, Kristensen, Trine Rønde, Murphy, Siobhan, Elklit, Ask·2021·European Journal of Psychotraumatology
DOI 10.1080/20008198.2020.1863580PMC PMC8725710
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Abstract

Background: Psychological trauma has only recently been considered a traumatic event. Therefore, research on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex-PTSD following exposure to psychological violence, is less studied compared with physical and sexual violence.Objectives: This study aimed to establish the prevalence of PTSD and C-PTSD of among female victims of partner violence (IPV) and examine the unique association between different subtypes of IPV (i.e. physical, psychological and sexual IPV) and the traumatic response.Methods: The study includes a shelter-based sample of female victims of IPV (N = 147). Validated measures were used to estimate IPV exposure and mental health outcomes. Partial Correlation and Hierarchical Regression was used to examine the association between IPV and PTSD and C-PTSD, respectively.Results: The study found a high prevalence of both PTSD (56.5%) and C-PTSD (21.1%) in the sample. Overall, when controlling for the other types of violence, psychological violence correlated with PTSD, C-PTSD, negative affect and somatization. When controlling for psychological violence, neither physical nor sexual violence correlated with any of the mental health outcomes. Hierarchical regression models helped explain 23.5% and 29.7% of the variance in symptoms of PTSD and C-PTSD, respectively.Conclusion: A relatively large subgroup of the women had symptoms of C-PTSD, which demonstrate a potentially unmet need for trauma-informed treatment services in Danish Women Shelters. Psychological violence was found to be the strongest risk factor for all mental health outcomes and thus, it is important to acknowledge the severity of this IPV subtype.

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  • It was not possible to investigate whether coercive control was associated with CPTSD symptom severity, as only one eligible study measured CPTSD.

    “It was not possible to investigate whether coercive control was associated with CPTSD symptom severity, as only one eligible study measured CPTSD (Dokkedahl et al., 2021).”

    From The Trauma and Mental Health Impacts of Coercive Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2024) · cites this paper as Dokkedahl et al., 2021

  • Dokkedahl et al. (2021) reported a small positive correlation (r = .23) between coercive control and CPTSD, with stronger links between broader psychological IPV and CPTSD compared to physical IPV in a shelter sample of 147 women.

    “This study reported a small positive correlation (r = .23) between coercive control and CPTSD, with stronger links also observed between broader psychological IPV and CPTSD when compared to physical IPV in a shelter sample of 147 women.”

    From The Trauma and Mental Health Impacts of Coercive Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2024) · cites this paper as Dokkedahl et al., 2021

  • Only one study measured CPTSD, using the International Trauma Questionnaire.

    “Notably, only one study (Dokkedahl et al., 2021) measured CPTSD by using the International Trauma Questionnaire (Cloitre et al., 2018).”

    From The Trauma and Mental Health Impacts of Coercive Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2024) · cites this paper as Dokkedahl et al., 2021

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Authors
Dokkedahl, S., Kristensen, T. R., Murphy, S., & Elklit, A.
Affiliations
  • University of Southern Denmark (DK)
  • Frederiksberg Hospital (DK)
  • Danish National Center of Psychotraumatology, Odense, Denmark
Corresponding author
Dokkedahl, Sarah
ORCID
Venue
European Journal of Psychotraumatology
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2021-01
Volume
12
Issue
1
Pages
1863580-1863580
ISSN
2000-8066 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1080/20008198.2020.1863580
PMC
PMC8725710
OpenAlex
W3128344731
Cited by
35
References
9
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 2
FWCI
3.59
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • European Journal of Psychotraumatology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
The Victim Foundation (18-610-00026)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
Keywords
complex PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychological violence, intimate partner violence, women's shelters, women victims, physical violence, sexual violence, negative affect, somatization, trauma-informed care, PTSD prevalence
MeSH terms
Intimate Partner Violence, Psychological Trauma, Exposure to Violence, Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Denmark, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Young Adult

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