Childhood emotional abuse and neglect as predictors of psychological and physical symptoms in women presenting to a primary care practice

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect Vol. 27; no. 11; pp. 1247 - 1258
• Main Authors: Spertus, Ilyse L, Yehuda, Rachel, Wong, Cheryl M, Halligan, Sarah, Seremetis, Stephanie V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2003; New York, NY Elsevier; Elsevier Science; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anxiety; Anxiety - epidemiology; Anxiety - etiology; At Risk Persons; Behavior disorders; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Abuse; Child abuse & neglect; Child Abuse - psychology; Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data; Child Abuse, Sexual - psychology; Child Abuse, Sexual - statistics & numerical data; Child Neglect; Childhood Factors; Childhood maltreatment; Correlation; Crime Victims - psychology; Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data; Depression (Psychology); Depression - epidemiology; Depression - etiology; Emotional Abuse; Emotional Disturbances; Female; Females; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Multiple Regression Analysis; Neglect; New York City - epidemiology; Patients; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Predictor Variables; Primary care; Primary Health Care; Psychological Patterns; Psychological problems; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Questionnaires; Sexual Abuse; Sleep; Somatic; Somatic symptoms; Somatoform Disorders - epidemiology; Somatoform Disorders - etiology; Somatoform Disorders - psychology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - etiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Trauma; Victimology; Women; Women's Health; New York City; Somatic; Anxiety; Emotional abuse; Primary care; Neglect; Human; Posttraumatic syndrome; Anxiety disorder; Victimology; Stress; Child abuse; Somatoform disorder; Risk factor; Early traumatism; Somatic conversion; Female; Sexual abuse; Antecedent
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2003.05.001

Objective: There were two aims to this study: first to examine whether emotional abuse and neglect are significant predictors of psychological and somatic symptoms, and lifetime trauma exposure in women presenting to a primary care practice, and second to examine the strength of these relationships after controlling for the effects of other types of childhood abuse and trauma. Method: Two-hundred and five women completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein et al., 1994), Trauma History Questionnaire (Green, 1996), the Symptom Checklist-revised (Derogatis, 1997), and the Revised Civilian Mississippi Scale for posttraumatic stress disorder (Norris & Perilla, 1996) when presenting to their primary care physician for a visit. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine unique contributions of emotional abuse and neglect variables on symptom measures while controlling for childhood sexual and physical abuse and lifetime trauma exposure. Results: A history of emotional abuse and neglect was associated with increased anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress and physical symptoms, as well as lifetime trauma exposure. Physical and sexual abuse and lifetime trauma were also significant predictors of physical and psychological symptoms. Hierarchical multiple regressions demonstrated that emotional abuse and neglect predicted symptomatology in these women even when controlling for other types of abuse and lifetime trauma exposure. Conclusions: Long-standing behavioral consequences may arise as a result of childhood emotional abuse and neglect, specifically, poorer emotional and physical functioning, and vulnerability to further trauma exposure. French- and Spanish-language abstracts not available at time of publication. French- and Spanish-language abstracts not available at time of publication.