Self-reported medical problems of adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Michael E. Lechner · Mark E. Vogel · Linda M. Garcia-Shelton · Jeffrey L. Leichter · Kenneth R. Steibel

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Child Abuse and Trauma Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies Military, Security, and Education Studies

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Childhood sexual abuse has been established as an antecedent to specific psychological disorders in adulthood. Only recently have researchers begun to consider the effects of this early trauma on subsequent physical health status. The current study sought to explore the relationship between a history of childhood sexual abuse in female adults and subsequent self-reported medical complaints. METHODS: This consecutive sample study used a questionnaire to distinguish subjects with a sexual abuse history and those without such a history. Subjects were female patients over 18 years of age at a primary care health center. RESULTS: Twenty-six percent of the 523 subjects who completed the entire questionnaire acknowledged a history of sexual abuse in childhood. This percentage is consistent with estimates for the population at large. The abused group reported more problems in respiratory, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, neurological, and gynecological functions. Statistically significant discriminating variables for those who had been abused were (1) total medical complaints reported, (2) previous mental health treatment, and (3) age of first sexual intercourse. Among the abused group, only 5.1% had ever disclosed information about their sexual abuse experiences to a physician. CONCLUSIONS: At least one in four women are survivors of childhood sexual abuse. These women rarely spontaneously reveal this history to a physician, yet they are more likely than nonabused patients to report multisystemic medical complaints. To avoid misdiagnosis and misuse of medical services, physicians should routinely obtain a thorough sexual history, particularly when the patient has multisystem complaints.

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References

2013A First Course in Factor Analysis 1905Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality 1983The incidence and prevalence of intrafamilial and extrafamilial sexual abuse of female children 1987Childhood sexual and physical abuse as factors in adult psychiatric illness 1988Symptomatology associated with childhood sexual victimization in a nonclinical adult sample 2010Healing the incest wound adult survivors in therapy 1989Therapy for Adults Molested As Children: Beyond Survival

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1997Impact of Sexual and Physical Abuse Dimensions on Health Status 2000Symptomatology and health care utilization of women primary care patients who experienced childhood sexual abuse 2006Associations between psychological trauma and physical illness in primary care 2000The relationship of childhood sexual abuse and depression with somatic symptoms and medical utilization 2000Prevalence of sexual abuse history in a sample of women seeking treatment for premenstrual syndrome 2002The Association Between Childhood Physical and Sexual Victimization and Health Problems in Adulthood in a Nationally Representative Sample of Women

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