Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress symptoms among men and women in a substance use and mental health treatment court sample

This study examines (1) traumatic incident exposure (TIE) and PTSD prevalence among treatment court clients (N = 294), (2) the relationship between TIE and PTSD symptomatology, (3) the psychometric properties of employed instruments. The study employed latent class analysis and bivariable analyses. TIE presented latent class patterns based on gender, and these latent classes varied in PTSD symptomatology. Having recent or childhood TIE was associated with higher levels of PTSD symptomatology. The PCL-C has good internal consistency and concurrent validity with another PTSD screener. Recommendations for future research and implications are discussed.