Intimate violence and post-traumatic stress disorder among individuals with cocaine dependence

Intimate physical assault and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were as sessed in a sample of 91 adults seeking treatment for cocaine dependence. P hysical assault included self-report of aggravated assault with a weapon, a ggravated assault without a weapon, and simple assault. PTSD was assessed w ith a structured interview. Overall, 85.7% of the participants reported hav ing been physically assaulted at least once during their lifetime. Slightly less than half of these individuals (46.2%) reported physical assault by a n intimate partner. Close to half also met criteria for PTSD at some point in their lives. Women were more likely than men to be physically assaulted by an intimate partner and to report PTSD. Men who experienced physical ass ault by an intimate were more likely to report PTSD than men assaulted by o thers. Male victims of intimate violence had higher scores on certain subsc ales measuring addiction severity than male victims assaulted by others. Fi ndings suggest careful assessment of intimate Violence is essential given i ts high prevalence among cocaine-dependent women and men and its associatio n with PTSD.