These findings, taken together, tend to support three conclusions
about women’s risk of PTSD following exposure. First, relative to
other trauma types to which women are exposed, the risk of PTSD
is markedly higher following assaultive violence. Second, when
assaultive violence precedes a later nonassaultive trauma in
women, there is an increased risk of PTSD following the nonassaultive
trauma, which may reflect a process of sensitization induced
by the earlier assaultive violence trauma. Third, the hypothesized
sensitization suggested by the heightened PTSD risk
following nonassaultive trauma in victims who experienced prior
assault does not seem to occur following violent assault.