In an effort to supplement the literature review findings which suggested an association between battering and PTSD, 30 women were interviewed; all of them were currently involved in support groups for battered women. In addition to a number of informal questions, each of these women were asked a series of questions as to how often (never, occasionally, often, very often) they experienced a number of symptoms which DSM-III-R (1987) listed as diagnostic criteria for PTSD (These criteria are listed in the first chapter of this study). The percentages of women responding to the four frequency categories (never, occasionally, often, very often) for each of the symptoms that was assessed is presented in Table 1.
As can be seen from inspection of Table 1, a substantial percentage of the battered women either "often" or "very often" experienced each of the listed symptoms. Among the most frequently experienced symptoms were:
(1) Trouble concentrating (experience often or very often by 100 percent of sample women).
(2) Easy startle response (experienced often or very often by 85 percent of sample women).
(3) Avoidance of stimuli provoking memories (experienced often or very often by 78 percent of sample women).
(4) Feelings of numbness or detachment (experienced often or very often by 73 percent of sample women).
The least frequently experienced symptoms were flashbacks
Interview Data: Percentage of Women Experiencing
PTSD Symptoms at Different Levels of Symptom Frequency
SYMPTOMS PERCENT FREQUENCY
Never Occasionally Often Very Often
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and feelings of isolation which can probably be explained as...