 |
|
Health-Related Quality of Life and Symptom Profiles of Female Survivors of Sexual Abuse
L. Miriam Dickinson, PhD;
Frank Verloin deGruy III, MD;
W. Perry Dickinson, MD;
Lucy M. Candib, MD
Arch Fam Med. 1999;8:35-43.
Objectives To determine the association between severity of sexual abuse and psychiatric or medical problems in a sample of female patients from primary care medical settings and to assess the relationship between sexual abuse severity and health-related quality of life before and after controlling for the effects of a current psychiatric or medical diagnosis.
Design Structured interview and self-report questionnaire.
Setting Three family practice outpatient clinics.
Subjects A total of 252 women selected by somatization status using a screen for unexplained physical symptoms.
Main Outcome Measures Patient assessment after administering the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey and self-report medical problems questionnaire; the quality-of-life scale developed by Andrews and Withey; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised, diagnoses and symptom counts from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule; the Dissociative Experiences Scale; and the modified Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule.
Results A history of sexual abuse is associated with substantial impairment in health-related quality of life and a greater number of somatized symptoms (P<.001), medical problems (P<.01), and psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses (P<.001). In regression analyses, sexual abuse severity was a significant predictor of high scores on 6 of the 8 subscales of the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health Survey (P<.05) and all of the quality-of-life subscales developed by Andrews and Withey (P<.01), with average decrements of up to 0.41 SDs for moderately abused women and 0.56 SDs for severely abused women. Furthermore, sexual abuse severity remained a significant predictor of high scores on the subscales mental health (P<.05), social functioning (P<.05), and quality of life (P<.05), even after adjusting for the presence of several common psychiatric diagnoses.
Conclusions Female primary care patients with a history of sexual abuse have more physical and psychiatric symptoms and lower health-related quality of life than those without previous abuse. In addition, a linear relationship exists between the severity of sexual abuse and impairment in health-related quality of life, both before and after controlling for the effects of a current psychiatric diagnosis.
From the Department of Family Practice and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile (Drs L. Dickinson, deGruy, and W. Dickinson); and the Department of Family Practice, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Worcester (Dr Candib).
RELATED ARTICLE
The Archives of Family Medicine Continuing Medical Education Program
Arch Fam Med. 1999;8(1):23-25.
FULL TEXT
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
|
An Ecological Model of the Impact of Sexual Assault On Women's Mental Health
Campbell et al.
Trauma Violence Abuse 2009;10:225-246.
ABSTRACT
Predictors of antecedent factors in psychogenic nonepileptic attacks: Multivariate analysis
Duncan and Oto
Neurology 2008;71:1000-1005.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Health-Related Quality of Life Among Adults Who Experienced Maltreatment During Childhood
Corso et al.
AJPH 2008;98:1094-1100.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Reported Sexual Abuse Predicts Impaired Functioning but a Good Response to Psychological Treatments in Patients With Severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Creed et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2005;67:490-499.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Women Living With a History of Physical and/or Sexual Abuse, Substance Use, and Mental Health Problems
Nehls and Sallmann
Qual Health Res 2005;15:365-381.
ABSTRACT
Longitudinal study of the inception of perimenopause in relation to lifetime history of sexual or physical violence
Allsworth et al.
J. Epidemiol. Community Health 2004;58:938-943.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Abused Women and Risk for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease1
Champion et al.
West J Nurs Res 2004;26:176-191.
ABSTRACT
Sexual assault among North Carolina women: prevalence and health risk factors
Cloutier et al.
J. Epidemiol. Community Health 2002;56:265-271.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Medical Symptoms without Identified Pathology: Relationship to Psychiatric Disorders, Childhood and Adult Trauma, and Personality Traits
Katon et al.
ANN INTERN MED 2001;134:917-925.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
|
