The prevalence of trauma and its relationship to borderline personality symptoms and self-destructive behaviors in a primary care setting.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of five types of trauma and their relationship to borderline personality symptoms and self-destructive behaviors in female subjects recruited from a primary care setting.


METHODS
Consecutive sample.


METHODS
Subjects completed a lengthy research booklet.


METHODS
Primary care, outpatient, health maintenance organization setting.


METHODS
One hundred fifty-two consecutive women, aged 18 to 45 years, who were scheduled for routine gynecological care by a female family physician.


METHODS
Measures included a demographic questionnaire, a trauma questionnaire (ie, sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, physical neglect, and witnessing of violence), the Borderline Personality Scale of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised; and the Self-Harm Inventory.


RESULTS
Traumatic experiences were reported by 70.7% of the subjects (25.8%, sexual abuse; 36.4%, physical abuse; 43.7%, emotional abuse; 9.3%, physical neglect; and 43.0%, witnessing of violence). There was a significant correlation between the acknowledged number of abuse categories and borderline personality symptoms (r = .36, P = .01) as well as self-destructive behaviors (r = .43, P = .01). Sexual abuse and witnessing of violence were most associated with borderline personality symptoms; sexual abuse, physical abuse, and witnessing of violence were most associated with self-destructive behaviors.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides further evidence that abuse is a nonspecific but contributory factor to psychopathologic processes, in particular borderline personality symptoms and self-destructive behaviors.
Sansone
R A
RA
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Tulsa, USA.
Sansone
L A
LA
Wiederman
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology*; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000209:etiology*; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations; D006801:Humans; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010555:Personality Inventory; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000209:etiology*