Posttraumatic stress disorder, hostility, and health in women: a review of current research.

A large body of evidence indicates that hostility is related to increased morbidity and mortality and evidence is growing that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with poorer health outcomes. The majority of this research, however, has been conducted in male samples. As a result, the connections between PTSD and hostility and the ramifications of these variables on health in women are less clear. We review the current literature examining PTSD, hostility, and health in women and discuss possible mechanisms underlying the relationship between PTSD and hostility on health outcomes in the context of a proposed theoretical model. Although the current literature suggests that hostility and PTSD are related to health in women, more rigorous, focused research is lacking. A number of suggestions for future research are provided.