Gender differences in trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder

Abstract

Background: Research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has focused primarily on Vietnam War veterans. A handful of recent studies have been conducted on samples of the general population.

Objective: We sought to examine gender differences in exposure to traumatic events and in the emergence of PTSD following exposure in the general population.

Subjects: A representative sample of 2181 persons in the Detroit metropolitan area, ages 18-45 years.

Methods: Subjects were interviewed to assess history of traumatic events and PTSD using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) criteria. The risk of PTSD was assessed in relation to a representative sample of traumas experienced in the population.

Results: Lifetime prevalence of traumatic events was slightly higher in men than in women. The risk for PTSD following traumatic experiences was twofold higher in women than in men. This gender difference was primarily due to women's greater risk of PTSD following events that involved assaultive violence. The probability of PTSD in women versus men exposed to assaultive violence was 36% versus 6%. Prior exposure to assaultive violence was associated with an increased risk of PTSD from a subsequent trauma; the gender difference in the vulnerability for PTSD is not explained by prior exposure. Duration of PTSD was longer in women than in men.

Conclusion: The burden of PTSD in U.S. communities is greater in women than in men, chiefly due to the greater effect of assaultive violence on women.