John Jay College, City University of New York, USA.
The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica.
J Interpers Violence. 2023 Nov;38(21-22):11545-11568. doi: 10.1177/08862605231185300. Epub 2023 Jul 6.
This study examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in relation to physical assaults and weapons-related victimization, as well as the moderating roles of demographic characteristics and the context of victimization. The sample consisted of 910 racially and ethnically diverse adolescents and young adults from an urban commuter college in the Northeast U.S. Findings include significant sex differences and racial differences in reported victimization and symptoms. Men reported significantly more physical assaults, gun victimizations, and knife victimizations than women. Black participants reported significantly more gun victimization than all other groups, and Black, White, and Asian participants reported significantly more physical assault experiences than Latinx participants. Individuals victimized by physical assault or by gun victimization were more than twice as likely to report clinically significant PTSD symptoms than individuals without such experiences, even after adjusting for demographic differences. In addition, for gun victimization in the community, a two-way interaction (gun victimization by race) and a three-way interaction (gun victimization by race by sex) were significantly associated with clinically significant PTSD symptoms. Gun victimization in the community, which disproportionately impacts Black men, was the only context in which PTSD symptoms were highest for men compared to women. The overall finding of lower PTSD symptoms among men suggests that clinical practice must include an intentional focus on violence victimization, including the use of weapons, as well as the various ways that distress might manifest among men. In addition to symptoms of PTSD, other symptoms of distress, including substance use, anger, and retaliatory aggression, should be considered. Public policy and public health must also direct attention to the use of weapons in violence victimization and the proliferation of weapons violence.
本研究探讨了创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）症状与身体攻击和与武器相关的受害之间的关系，以及人口统计学特征和受害背景的调节作用。该样本由来自美国东北部一个城市通勤学院的 910 名种族和族裔多样化的青少年和年轻人组成。研究结果包括报告的受害和症状存在显著的性别差异和种族差异。男性报告的身体攻击、枪支受害和刀伤受害明显多于女性。黑人参与者报告的枪支受害明显多于其他所有群体，而黑人和白人和亚裔参与者报告的身体攻击经历明显多于拉丁裔参与者。与没有此类经历的个体相比，遭受身体攻击或枪支受害的个体报告有临床意义的 PTSD 症状的可能性高出两倍以上，即使在调整了人口统计学差异之后也是如此。此外，对于社区中的枪支受害，存在双向交互作用（种族与枪支受害）和三项交互作用（种族、性别与枪支受害）与有临床意义的 PTSD 症状显著相关。枪支在社区中的受害，对黑人男性的影响不成比例，是男性 PTSD 症状比女性更高的唯一情况。男性 PTSD 症状较低的总体发现表明，临床实践必须包括对暴力受害的有意关注，包括使用武器，以及男性可能出现的各种困扰方式。除了 PTSD 症状外，其他困扰症状，包括物质使用、愤怒和报复性攻击，也应被考虑在内。公共政策和公共卫生也必须关注暴力受害中武器的使用和武器暴力的扩散。
