Childhood Maltreatment, PTSD, and Suicidal Behavior Among African American Females

Abstract

The independent and combined roles of childhood maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect) and current post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were examined in predicting nonfatal suicide attempts among 335 African American women. It was hypothesized that suicide attempters (n = 157) would evidence higher rates of all forms of childhood maltreatment and higher rates of current PTSD than controls (n = 178). The authors predicted that women with both current PTSD and a lifetime history of child maltreatment would be at greatest risk for making a nonfatal suicide attempt. Results revealed that current PTSD and all five forms of childhood maltreatment were independently related to risk for suicide attempts. PTSD in combination with any of the five forms of childhood maltreatment increased a woman's risk for making a nonfatal suicide attempt. This suggests interventions designed to reduce suicidal behavior should focus on women with PTSD and a history of child maltreatment.