Commentary on Augsburger and Maercker: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Aggression: What the Data Tells Us and Where We Go from Here

Abstract

**Please note that the full text is embargoed** ABSTRACT: This study by Augsburger and Maercker examined an important correlation that has been an area of increased focus in recent years: the association between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and aggression. Findings were generally consistent with a prior meta-analysis published by our research group (Taft et al, 2011) nearly 10 years ago. It established this association across gender, but included only intimate partner violence (IPV) as the outcome. The current findings similarly demonstrate the link between PTSD and aggression more broadly, though the relationship was somewhat smaller in the more recent study. It is likely that differences may be due to the nature of the trauma (e.g. military versus civilian) or the specific outcome variables (e.g. general aggression versus IPV) in studies included within the two meta-analyses. [This is a post-print of an article published by Wiley in Journal of Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice on February 10, 2020, available online: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cpsp.12327?af=R.]