Childhood sexual abuse in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
The aims of this pilot study were to determine the feasibility and scientific merit of coordinating a large-scale investigation of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in outpatient-eating disordered women and to evaluate the usefulness and potential adverse effects of a semistructured trauma interview.


METHODS
The sample was randomly selected from subjects participating in a naturalistic longitudinal study of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). The refusal rate was 26%. Twenty women with DSM-III-R AN/BN were assessed with the traumatic antecedents interview (TAI); a brief semistructured follow-up interview was administered over the telephone 3 to 8 weeks after the first interview. Subjects also completed the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES).


RESULTS
Thirteen subjects (65%) reported CSA, and those with more comorbidity reported CSA more frequently. Subjects with a history of CSA had significantly higher scores on the DES. Minimal adverse consequences to the TAI were noted.


CONCLUSIONS
The high compliance rate, high prevalence of CSA, and high DES scores among our pilot sample support the merit of studying CSA in a larger sample.
Herzog
D B
DB
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Staley
J E
JE
Carmody
S
S
Robbins
W M
WM
van der Kolk
B A
BA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology*; D002032:Bulimia / Q000523:psychology*; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010553:Personality Development; D010865:Pilot Projects