The relationship between childhood trauma and medically self-sabotaging behaviors among psychiatric inpatients.
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to explore the relationship between five forms of childhood trauma and medically self-sabotaging behaviors (i.e., the intentional induction, exaggeration, and/or exacerbation of medical symptoms).


METHODS
Using a cross-sectional sample of convenience, 120 psychiatric inpatients were surveyed about childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuses, the witnessing of violence, and physical neglect, as well as 19 medically self-sabotaging behaviors (i.e., intentional behaviors that represent attempts to sabotage medical care).


RESULTS
As expected, in this sample there were high prevalence rates of trauma (62.5% emotional abuse, 58.3% witnessing of violence, 46.7% physical abuse, 37.5% sexual abuse, 28.3% physical neglect). Simple correlations demonstrated statistically significant relationships between sexual abuse and physical neglect and medically self-sabotaging behaviors. Using multiple regression analysis, only physical neglect remained a unique predictor of medically self-sabotaging behaviors.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that among psychiatric inpatients there appears to be a relationship between physical neglect in childhood and the generation of medically self-sabotaging behaviors in adulthood. Perhaps physical neglect in childhood contributes to the generation of somatic behaviors in adulthood for the purpose of eliciting caring responses from others.
Sansone
Randy A
RA
Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA. Randy.sansone@khnetwork.org
Wiederman
Michael W
MW
McLean
Jamie S
JS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*