TRAUMA AND POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER IN SEVERE MENTAL-ILLNESS

This research assessed the lifetime prevalence of traumatic events and current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 275 patients with sev ere mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) receivin g public mental health services in Concord and Manchester, New Hampshi re, and Baltimore, Maryland. Lifetime exposure to traumatic events was high, with 98% of the sample reporting exposure to at least 1 traumat ic event. The rate of PTSD in our sample was 43%, but only 3 of 119 pa tients with PTSD (2%) had this diagnosis in their charts. PTSD was pre dicted most strongly by the number of different types of trauma, follo wed by childhood sexual abuse. The findings suggest that PTSD is a com mon comorbid disorder in severe mental illness that is frequently over looked in mental health settings.