THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIOLENCE DIMENSIONS AND SYMPTOM SEVERITY AMONG HOMELESS, MENTALLY-ILL WOMEN

Little is known about the relationship between violence and symptomato logy in the lives of homeless, mentally ill women. This study investig ates the possibility that specific dimensions of violence-frequency, r ecentness and type-may be associated with severity of psychiatric symp tomatology in this population. Results indicate that each of the abuse dimensions is associated with a broad range of psychiatric symptoms a nd in combination with substance abuse, account for almost one third o f the variance in overall distress. These findings suggest the possibi lity that intensity of exposure to violence contributes to the severit y of psychiatric symptoms even in women who already suffer an overwhel ming number of intrapsychic and social difficulties; and that multiply traumatized women do not become desensitized to the impact of new vio lence. This article discusses the clinical and policy implications of these conclusions.