TY - JOUR

T1 - Violence Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress and Subjective Well-being in a Sample of Russian Adults: a Facebook-based Study

AU - Bogolyubova, Olga

AU - Tikhonov, Roman

AU - Ivanov, Victor

AU - Panicheva, Polina

AU - Ledovaya, Yanina

N1 - Funding Information: The authors thank Robert Heimer for his insightful advice during the preparation of this manuscript. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from Saint Petersburg State University research grant 8.38.351.2015 and ?Training and Research in HIV Prevention in Russia? award 5D43TW001028 from National Institutes of Health (NIH)/Fogarty International Center.

PY - 2020/3/1

Y1 - 2020/3/1

N2 - Exposure to violence has been shown to negatively affect mental health and well-being. The goal of this Facebook-based study was to describe the rates of exposure to violence in a sample of Russian adults and to assess the impact of these experiences on subjective well-being and victimization-related psychological distress. Three types of victimization were assessed: physical assault by a stranger, physical assault by someone known to victim, and nonconsensual sexual experiences. The 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) was used to assess subjective well-being, and Primary Care PTSD Screen (PC-PTSD) was employed as an indicator of victimization-related psychological distress. Data were obtained from 6,724 Russian-speaking Facebook users. Significant levels of lifetime victimization were reported by the study participants. Lifetime physical assault by a stranger, physical assault by someone known to victim, and sexual assault were reported by 56.9%, 64.2%, and 54.1% of respondents, respectively. Respondents exposed to violence were more likely to report posttraumatic stress symptoms and lower levels of subjective well-being. Participants who were exposed to at least one type of violence were more likely to experience symptoms of traumatic stress (U = 1,794,250.50, p <.001, d = 0.35). Exposure to multiple forms of violence was associated with more severe traumatic stress symptoms (r s =.257, p <.001). Well-being scores were significantly lower among participants exposed to violence (t = 8.37, p <.001, d = 0.31). The study demonstrated that violence exposure is associated with reduced well-being among Russian adults. Our findings highlight the negative impact of violence exposure on subjective well-being and underscore the necessity to develop programs addressing violence exposure in Russian populations.

AB - Exposure to violence has been shown to negatively affect mental health and well-being. The goal of this Facebook-based study was to describe the rates of exposure to violence in a sample of Russian adults and to assess the impact of these experiences on subjective well-being and victimization-related psychological distress. Three types of victimization were assessed: physical assault by a stranger, physical assault by someone known to victim, and nonconsensual sexual experiences. The 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) was used to assess subjective well-being, and Primary Care PTSD Screen (PC-PTSD) was employed as an indicator of victimization-related psychological distress. Data were obtained from 6,724 Russian-speaking Facebook users. Significant levels of lifetime victimization were reported by the study participants. Lifetime physical assault by a stranger, physical assault by someone known to victim, and sexual assault were reported by 56.9%, 64.2%, and 54.1% of respondents, respectively. Respondents exposed to violence were more likely to report posttraumatic stress symptoms and lower levels of subjective well-being. Participants who were exposed to at least one type of violence were more likely to experience symptoms of traumatic stress (U = 1,794,250.50, p <.001, d = 0.35). Exposure to multiple forms of violence was associated with more severe traumatic stress symptoms (r s =.257, p <.001). Well-being scores were significantly lower among participants exposed to violence (t = 8.37, p <.001, d = 0.31). The study demonstrated that violence exposure is associated with reduced well-being among Russian adults. Our findings highlight the negative impact of violence exposure on subjective well-being and underscore the necessity to develop programs addressing violence exposure in Russian populations.

KW - violence exposure

KW - traumatic stress

KW - PTSD

KW - subjective well-being

KW - Facebook

KW - Russia

KW - CRIME

KW - VICTIMIZATION

KW - DISORDERS

KW - SEXUAL ASSAULT

KW - MENTAL-HEALTH

KW - PREVALENCE

KW - CHALLENGES

KW - GENDER

KW - INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85037536420&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/bdf19866-c540-3caf-a4b0-701092eac075/

U2 - 10.1177/0886260517698279

DO - 10.1177/0886260517698279

M3 - Article

VL - 35

SP - 1476

EP - 1491

JO - Journal of Interpersonal Violence

JF - Journal of Interpersonal Violence

SN - 0886-2605

IS - 5-6

ER -