THE FREQUENCY AND IMPACT OF VIOLENT TRAUMA AMONG PREGNANT SUBSTANCE-ABUSERS

This research was conducted with 96 low-income pregnant women who enro lled in a residential substance abuse treatment program. The study had three goals: (a) to document the prevalence of exposure to violent tr auma, (b) to examine the prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptomato logy, and (c) to assess if trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress we re related to program completion. Results indicated that the sample ha d high rates of exposure to violent trauma, as 72% had experienced sex ual assault, 67% had experienced physical assault, and 68% had experie nced indirect violent trauma; High rates of traumatic stress were foun d in that 62% displayed symptoms consistent with posttraumatic stress disorder. Finally, logistic regression analyses revealed that traumati c stress, but not trauma exposure, was related to program completion. Findings suggest that treatment providers need to assess trauma histor ies and traumatic stress symptoms. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.