Everyday Sexism and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Women

This study examined the correlations between everyday (nonviolent) sexism and the development of trauma symptoms in women. A total of 382 women completed a sub-jective measurement of the experience of sexism, a checklist of gender-based stressors (including acts of violence), a measurement of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a demographic questionnaire. Results indicated a moderately strong relationship between the experience of everyday sexism and PTSD. A stepwise multiple regression revealed that when all variables (test scores, subscale scores, and demographic charac-teristics) were entered, the most predictive variable for trauma was recent sexist degra-dation, accounting for 20 % of the variance in PTSD scores