The role of resilience in the relationship between intimate partner violence severity and ICD-11 CPTSD severity

ABSTRACT

Background: Resilience is a modulating factor in the development of PTSD and CPTSD after exposure to traumatic events. However, the relationship between resilience and ICD-11 CPTSD is not adequately understood in survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV).

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine whether resilience has a mediating role in the relationship between severity of violence and severity of CPTSD symptoms.

Method: A sample of 202 women IPV survivors completed self-rated questionnaires to assess CPTSD, severity of violence and resilience.

Results: Mediation analyses indicated that there was a direct relationship between the severity of violence and the severity of CPTSD symptoms (β = .113, p < .001) and that there was a significantly inverse relationship between levels of resilience and the severity of CPTSD symptoms (β = −.248, p < .001). At the same time, there was no significant relationship between the severity of violence and resilience (β = −.061, p = .254).

Conclusions: These findings suggest that resilience does not mediate the relationship between violence severity and CPTSD severity. Directions for future research are discussed.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The severity of intimate partner violence (physical, sexual and/or psychological violence together or in isolation) could lead to symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder in women survivors of IPV in the present sample.

• Lower levels of resilience are associated with higher levels of symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

• Resilience does not mediate the relationship between violence severity and CPTSD severity.

Antecedentes: La resiliencia es un factor modulador en el desarrollo del TEPT y TEPTC después de la exposición a eventos traumáticos. Sin embargo, la relación entre resiliencia y TEPTC del CIE-11 no se comprende adecuadamente en supervivientes de violencia de género (IPV por sus siglas en inglés).

Objetivo: El objetivo de este estudio es determinar si la resiliencia tiene un rol mediador en la relación entre la gravedad de la violencia y la severidad de los síntomas de TEPTC.

Método: Una muestra de 202 mujeres supervivientes de IPV completó cuestionarios de autoinforme para evaluar TEPTC, gravedad de la violencia y resiliencia.

Resultados: Los análisis de mediación indicaron que hubo una relación directa entre la gravedad de la violencia y la severidad de los síntomas de TEPTC (β = .113, p < .001) y que hubo una relación inversa significativa entre los niveles de resiliencia y la severidad de los síntomas de TEPTC (β = −.248, p < .001). Al mismo tiempo, no hubo una relación significativa entre la gravedad de la violencia y la resiliencia (β = −.061, p = .254).

Conclusiones: Estos hallazgos sugieren que la resiliencia no media la relación entre la gravedad de la violencia y la severidad del TEPTC. Se discuten direcciones para futuras investigaciones.

KEYWORDS:

• Resilience
• CPTSD
• intimate partner violence

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Resiliencia
• TEPTC
• violencia doméstica

Acknowledgements

This article is part of the first author's doctoral thesis. The present research group would like to thank the professionals from women's centres and associations for their participation in our study. We are grateful for the collaboration of researchers Julia Daugherty and Charitini Pitsiakou in data collection. We would also like to extend our gratitude to all women who shared their experiences with us in order to improve the care of women survivors of IPV.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data and analyses are available on request due to the privacy and safety of research participants.

Additional information

Funding

This study has been supported by grant PID2022-142536NB funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”; grant PID2019-110041GB by the Spanish Research Agency (AEI); and grant B-CTS493-UGR18 by the FEDER Andalucía funds of the European Commission.