Characteristics of Child Maltreatment and Their Relation to Dissociation, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, and Depression in Adult Psychiatric Patients

Abstract

Little is known about the influence of particular characteristics of childhood maltreatment, such as developmental stage, relationship to the perpetrator, and nature of the trauma, on adult psychopathology. The effects of childhood maltreatment were assessed in adult psychiatric patients (N = 287) using self-rating scales and diagnostic checklists. Maltreatment was strongly associated with dissociation. This relationship was observed for all childhood developmental stages and was strongest when the perpetrator was outside the family. Dissociation was more strongly correlated with childhood emotional abuse and sexual harassment than with sexual or physical abuse. Childhood sexual abuse was found to be associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress. The findings suggest that dissociation is a relatively specific consequence of childhood maltreatment that is largely independent of the familial relationship to the perpetrator or the child's developmental stage.