Sexual Abuse, Disordered Personality and Eating Disorders

Abstract

Standardised personality assessments were administered to 50 consecutive referrals to an Eating Disorders Clinic. A history of childhood sexual abuse was identified in 30% of patients using a modified version of the SLEI. This rate is comparable with those from other studies. Overall, 52% of the patients were rated as having a personality disorder but a significantly higher proportion of women with a personality disorder had a history of childhood sexual abuse compared with those without a personality disorder (13/26 v. 2/24, Fisher P less than 0.001). Although in patients with eating disorders no clear causal link between CSA and personality disorder was demonstrated, our findings emphasise the need to inquire sensitively into the sexual history of such patients.