Reported Histories of Abuse and Psychiatric Symptomatology in Women Psychiatric Outpatients

Kim, Jong Won

Abstract

OBJECTS: This study was designed to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of abuse and the effect of physical and sexual abuse on the psychiatric symptomatology.
METHODS
The subjects were 74 female patients who visited the psychiatric outpatient clinic. The author interviewed them, using self-report questionaires composed of the life experiences questionaire, the symptom checklist 90-R.
RESULTS
1) Forty-seven point three percent of the total reported a history of physical abuse(20.3%), sexual abuse(13.5%), or both(13.5%). 2) Symptom checklist scores for obsessive-compulsive, depression, anxiety, hostility and psychoticism were very significantly higher(p<.01), and score for phobic anxiety was significantly higher(p<.05) among those reporting a history of sexual abuse than among those reporting no abuse. As for those reporting a history of physical abuse the scores for obsessive-compulsive and depression were very significantly higher than among those reporting no abuse(p<.01). 3) Symptom checklist scores for depression, anxiety, hostility and psychoticism were very significantly higher(p<.01), and score for obsessive-compulsive was significantly higher(p<.05) among those reporting a history of abuse before 16 years old than among those reporting no abuse. As for those reporting a history of abuse after 16 years old the scores for depression and hostility were very significantly higher than among those reporting no abuse(p<.01), and as for those reporting a history of abuse before and after 16 years old the score for psychoticism was very significantly higher than among those reporting no abuse(p<.01).
CONCLUSION
Severity of overall symptomatology is related to a reported history of abuse, since those who reported a history of sexual abuse especially before 16 years old has more psychiatric symptomatology. Further research is necessary to understand in depth the impact of abuse on psychiatric symptoms.