Community Violence and Drug Use-Related Harm Among Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence: The Role of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Intimate partner violence (IPV) poses a significant public health concern for women in the United States. IPV among women is associated with deleterious consequences, such as heightened drug use and susceptibility to increased drug-related harm. Women experiencing IPV are also at increased risk for exposure to other forms of trauma, including community violence. Given that exposure to community violence confers heightened risk for drug use-related harm, it is imperative to identify factors that may help explain this association. The current study extends this line of research by exploring the role of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity in the association between exposure to community violence and drug use-related harm among women experiencing IPV. Participants were 169 women experiencing IPV ( M _age  = 40.42, 31.7% Black/African American) who were recruited from the community and completed validated measures of community violence, PTSD symptom severity, and drug use-related harm. To address the question of whether PTSD symptom severity underlies the association between differential exposure to community violence and drug use-related harm, two indirect effect analyses were conducted. Results provided support for significant indirect effects of witnessing and experiencing community violence, respectively, on drug use-related harm through PTSD symptom severity when accounting for physical, sexual, and psychological IPV; income; and employment status. Study findings align with prior research suggesting a positive association between community violence and PTSD symptom severity and outlining the robust positive relationship between PTSD and substance use. Findings underscore the importance of assessing the role of PTSD symptom severity in drug use-related harm among women experiencing IPV who have been exposed to community violence.