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Cited by 263Child Abuse and TraumaPsychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsIntimate Partner and Family Violence

Childhood Abuse and Later Medical Disorders in Women

Romans, Sarah, Belaise, Carlotta, Martin, Judy, Morris, Eleanor, Raffi, Annarita·2002·Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
DOI 10.1159/000056281
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Abstract

Background: There have been many studies documenting adverse psychiatric consequences for people who have experienced childhood and adult sexual and physical abuse. These include posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders and probably some personality disorders or trait abnormalities. Much less is known about the links between abuse and physical/psychosomatic conditions in adult life. Hints of causal links are evident in the literature discussing headache, lower back pain, pelvic pain and irritable bowel syndrome. These studies are not definitive as they use clinic-based samples. Methods: This study used interview data with a random community sample of New Zealand women, half of whom reported childhood sexual abuse and half who did not. Details about childhood physical abuse and adult abuse were also collected in a two-phase study. Results: Complex relationships were found, as abuses tended to co-occur. Seven of 18 potentially relevant medical conditions emerged as significantly increased in women with one or more types of abuse. These were chronic fatigue, bladder problems, headache including migraine, asthma, diabetes and heart problems. Several of these associations with abuse are previously unreported. Conclusions: In this random community sample, a number of chronic physical conditions were found more often in women who reported different types of sexual and physical abuse, both in childhood and in adult life. The causal relationships cannot be studied in a cross-sectional retrospective design, but immature coping strategies and increased rates of dissociation appeared important only in chronic fatigue and headache, suggesting that these are not part of the causal pathway between abuse experiences and the other later physical health problems. This finding and the low co-occurrence of the identified physical conditions suggest relative specificity rather than a general vulnerability to psychosomatic conditions in women who have suffered abuses. Each condition may require separate further study.

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  • Changes in catastrophizing and negative affect precede changes in clinical pain.

    “A number of studies using longitudinal process analyses demonstrate that changes in catastrophizing and negative affect precede changes in clinical pain 30, 318–321.”

    From Evaluating psychosocial contributions to chronic pain outcomes (2018) · cites this paper as [318]

  • The benefits of analgesic therapies may be partly explained by their effects on cognitive-emotional processes such as catastrophizing.

    “many studies have demonstrated that the benefits of analgesic therapies may be explained, in part, by their effects on cognitive emotional processes such as catastrophizing.”

    From Evaluating psychosocial contributions to chronic pain outcomes (2018) · cites this paper as [318]

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Authors
Romans, S., Belaise, C., Martin, J., Morris, E., & Raffi, A.
Affiliations
  • University of Otago (NZ)
  • University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT)
  • University of Bologna (IT)
ORCID
Venue
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
Publisher
S. Karger AG
Published
2002
Volume
71
Issue
3
Pages
141-150
ISSN
  • 0033-3190 (ISSN-L)
  • 1423-0348
DOI
10.1159/000056281
OpenAlex
W2056885628
Cited by
263
References
61
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 21
FWCI
14.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Health Research Council of New Zealand
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
  • Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
Keywords
childhood abuse, child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, adult sexual abuse, women's health, chronic fatigue, headache, migraine, asthma, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, psychosomatic disorders, coping strategies, dissociation, community sample
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Aged, Child, Child Abuse, Female, Humans, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Psychophysiologic Disorders, Women, Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic, Domestic Violence

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