Gender Disparities in the Mental Health of Urban Survivors of Trauma

Abstract

Women who experience traumatic events are at higher risk for mental health problems compared to men; however, gaps remain in our understanding of this disparity. A sample of 170 urban adults completed self-report measures. Women were significantly more likely to experience sexual assault and domestic violence compared to men, and they were significantly less likely to experience a robbery or mugging, being threatened with a weapon, or witnessing a death or assault compared to men. Also, women were more likely than men to meet criteria for probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression after controlling for covariates and trauma level. Our findings suggest a possible differential vulnerability to the development of PTSD and depressive symptoms in women.

Keywords:

• abuse
• depression
• gender disparity
• PTSD
• violence exposure

Acknowledgments

Support was provided by National Institutes of Health Grant 1P20MD003942-01. We acknowledge the assistance of Olga Korosteleva, Dennis Fisher, Kristin Powers, Alina Sgattoni, Lawrence Alexander III, and Chelsea Edgecumbe.