Mental health and brain injury-related symptom overlap among women who have experienced intimate partner violence: a network analysis.

Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) repetitively experience multiple trauma types, leading to comorbidities such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and brain injury-related symptoms. The overlapping symptoms across these conditions make accurate diagnosis and effective treatment challenging. We explored the relationships between PTSD, depression, anxiety, and brain injury-related symptoms among women with histories of IPV using a network analysis. Using a multi-site sample (Australia and the United States) of 300 community-dwelling women with IPV experiences aged 18-75 years, we employed a network approach (Gaussian) to assess the connectivity, the influence, and the bridging ability of mental health and brain injury-related symptoms. The network revealed modest connectivity between these symptoms. Among IPV victim-survivors, symptoms of worthlessness, jumpiness, and intrusive memories were identified as the most influential symptoms within the network. An inability to experience positive feelings, breathing difficulties, and initiative issues served as bridging symptoms closely connected across conditions, which can help explain comorbidities. Mental health symptoms seen in IPV victim-survivors are highly influential and connected, reinforcing the need for interventions to take symptom approaches as opposed to treating overall conditions. Our findings highlight key symptom treatment targets warranting further investigation. Specifically, treating depression and PTSD-related symptoms is crucial as these symptoms are highly influential in activating the broader symptom network.