Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Sansone, R. A. Articles by Barclay, J. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Sansone, R. A. Articles by Barclay, J. Miscellaneous Childhood Disorders

Childhood Trauma and Somatic Preoccupation in Adulthood Among a Sample of Psychiatric Inpatients

Key Words: Childhood Disorders • Conduct Disorders

TO THE EDITOR: Several investigators have studied the relation between childhood abuse and somatic preoccupation in adulthood. Findings have suggested associations between sexual abuse and somatic preoccupation,¹ physical abuse and somatic preoccupation, and combinations of abuse and somatic preoccupation. We recently explored among psychiatric inpatients possible relations between somatic preoccupation in adulthood and four types of childhood abuse, borderline personality disorder (BPD), and self-harm behavior.

Case Report

Participants were both males and females, age 18–65 years, admitted to an urban hospital for acute psychiatric care by one psychiatrist. Cognitive impairment was an exclusion criterion. The sample was one of convenience. Of the 44 candidates approached, 40 agreed to participate, and 33 completed the study measures (response rate of 75%).

Thirteen participants were male and 19 were female (data were missing for 1). The mean age of the sample was 32.82 years (standard deviation 10.34 years, range 18–58 years). The majority were white (72.7%), with 21.2% black and 6% of other races. Seven were married, 1 was separated, 8 were divorced, and 17 had never married. Two did not graduate from high school; 15 graduated from high school, 11 from junior college, 1 from a 4-year college, and 1 achieved a graduate degree or higher (data were missing for 3).

All participants completed a research booklet. Participants were asked about childhood trauma (i.e., sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and witnessing of violence) before the age of 15 via yes/no responses. Participants also completed the Self-Harm Inventory,² a 22-item, yes/no, self-report measure that explores respondents' histories of intentional self-harm; as well as the Bradford Somatic Inventory,³ a 46-item, yes/no questionnaire that measures somatic preoccupation. Finally, each subject participated in a semi-structured interview for BPD, which used a DSM-IV criteria checklist.⁴

Of the 33 participants, 42.4% reported sexual abuse, 45.5% physical abuse, 63.6% emotional abuse, and 75.8% the witnessing of violence. Only 6.1% reported no abuse, whereas 27.3% reported one type, 18.2% two types, 30.3% three types, and 18.2% all four types of abuse. Participants who reported a history of sexual abuse reported significantly higher somatic preoccupation than those without such a history (P < 0.01), whereas no significant differences were found for the other three types of abuse. Somatic preoccupation was not related to the number of childhood abuse subtypes, scores on the Self-Harm Inventory, or BPD.

Discussion

These data indicate that childhood sexual abuse is a significant risk factor for somatic preoccupation in adulthood, whereas self-harm behavior and BPD are not. The findings suggest that among inpatient psychiatric populations, childhood sexual abuse is predictably associated with somatic preoccupation in adulthood, independent of other types of childhood trauma, but neither self-harm behavior nor BPD is predictive. The study sample (i.e., a chaotic inpatient sample) may explain some of these findings.

Potential limitations of this study include the small sample size, simplistic trauma measures, a nonstandardized BPD measure, and recollection difficulties inherent in self-report. However, few studies have examined somatic preoccupation in terms of trauma variables, self-harm behavior, and BPD among psychiatric inpatients.

REFERENCES

1. Sansone RA, Gaither GA, Sansone LA: Childhood trauma and adult somatic preoccupation by body area among women in an internal medicine setting: a pilot study. Int J Psychiatry Med 2001; 31:165-172
2. Sansone RA, Wiederman MW, Sansone LA: The Self-Harm Inventory (SHI): development of a scale for identifying self-destructive behaviors and borderline personality. J Clin Psychol 1998; 54:973-983[CrossRef][Medline]
3. Mumford DB, Bavington JT, Bhatnagar KS, et al: The Bradford Somatic Inventory. A multi-ethnic inventory of somatic symptoms reported by anxious and depressed patients in Britain and the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Br J Psychiatry 1991; 158:379-386[Abstract/Free Full Text]
4. American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 1994

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. D. Klonsky and A. Moyer Childhood sexual abuse and non-suicidal self-injury: meta-analysis The British Journal of Psychiatry, March 1, 2008; 192(3): 166 - 170. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Sansone, R. A. Articles by Barclay, J. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Sansone, R. A. Articles by Barclay, J. Miscellaneous Childhood Disorders

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2002 Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us