Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol 2007; 57 - A067
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-970686

Sexual Abuse in Childhood and Youth as Psychopathologically Relevant Life Occurrence: Cross-sectional Survey

M Nickel 1, C Egger 2, M Mühlbacher 2, W Buschmann 2, C Nickel 3, F Mitterlehner 3, W Rother 3, P Forthuber 3, K Tritt 4, P Leiberich 4, C Lahmann 4, T Loew 4
  • 1Universitätsklinik für Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie, Med uni Graz, Bad Aussee, Österreich
  • 2Universitätsklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Salzburg, Österreich
  • 3Klinik für psychosomatische Medizin, Inntalklinik, Simbach/Inn
  • 4Abteilung für psychosomatische Medizin, Universitätsklinik Regensburg, Regensburg

Aim. To assess the perpetrators of sexual abuse in childhood, forms of simultaneous abuse, and characteristics of the families of origin, and the possible effects of abuse on health in adult life.

Methods. A cross sectional study conducted between 1998 and 2002 included a random group of 936 inpatients (723 women) aged (mean±standard deviation) 41.0±2.5 years at the psychosomatic clinic in Simbach,Germany. The following questionnaires, previously validated in German, were used to assess the patients: Questionnaire for Life Story and Partnership, Scale for Survey of Quality of Life, ExistentialOrientation Scale, Leipzig Incidence and Psychological Stress Questionnaire, Questionnaire for Assessment ofOne’sOwnBody, Survey of Life Satisfaction, Frankfurt Physical Concept Scale, Giessen Complaint Survey, and the Survey for Collection of Health Behavior Data.We compared the inpatients who had been sexually abused in their childhood (n=250) with other psychiatric inpatients in the control group (n=486).

Results. Out of 250 sexually abused patients, 25.7% were victimized by fathers/stepfathers,4%by mothers/stepmothers, 12.4% by aunts or uncles, 10% by brothers or sisters, 7.6% by grandmothers/grandfathers, 30.1% by family acquaintances,and 29.3% by strangers. The parents of sexually abused patients had more conflicts, especially over alcohol consumption (p<0.001) and extramarital affairs (p<0.001), and had more underlying emotional (p<0.001) and physical illnesses (p=0.006). Significantly more sexually abused patients reported having poor concentration and sexual handicaps, tended to hide their body ,abused illicit drugs, had borderline personality disorder, and suicidal ideation

Conclusion. The patientswho were sexually abused in childhood had significantly less satisfactory lives andmore frequent psychiatric illnesses, suicidal ideation, disturbed social functioning and perception of the body, and psychosomatic diseases.

borderline personality disorder - child abuse - sexual - eating disorders - stress disorders - traumatic