History of Child Maltreatment and Suicide Risk Among Individuals Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence: Examining the Role of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

Survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) experience significant psychological consequences including high rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. A history of child maltreatment (CM) is also prevalent among IPV survivors and has been identified as a significant risk factor for suicide. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms have been proposed as a mechanism by which CM leads to suicide risk; however, this association has yet to be evaluated in IPV survivors. In the current study, we tested whether CM was associated with suicide risk among IPV survivors and whether this association was statistically explained by PTSD symptoms. A total of 122 adult survivors of IPV completed a survey containing measures of CM, IPV victimization experiences, PTSD symptoms, and suicide risk. Five mediation analyses examined direct and indirect effects of each type of CM (i.e., physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect) on suicide risk. Across all models, IPV victimization was associated with greater PTSD symptoms. All abuse subtypes of CM were associated with greater PTSD symptoms while the neglect subtypes of CM were not associated with PTSD symptoms. There was no direct effect of any type of CM on suicide risk; however, we found that greater experiences of childhood emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse were associated with greater suicide risk via greater PTSD symptoms. These findings can be used to better understand responses to CM and IPV and identify pathways leading to suicide, which is essential for developing targeted interventions that correspond with risk profiles.