Complex posttraumatic stress disorder: evidence from the primary care setting
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UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Family Medicine and Community HealthDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
1998-07-01Keywords
AdultAnalysis of Variance
Chi-Square Distribution
Child
Child Abuse, Sexual
Cluster Analysis
Depression
Dissociative Disorders
Family Health
Female
Humans
Middle Aged
Primary Health Care
Retrospective Studies
Somatoform Disorders
*Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Survivors
Syndrome
Women's Health
Mental and Social Health
Primary Care
Psychiatry
Psychiatry and Psychology
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Show full item recordAbstract
Sexual abuse is a common problem among female primary care medical patients. There is a wide spectrum of long-term sequelae, ranging from mild to the complex symptom profiles consistent with the theories of a posttraumatic sense of identity. Generally, the latter occurs in the context of severe, chronic abuse, beginning in childhood and often compounded by the presence of violence, criminal behavior, and substance abuse in the family of origin. In this study we search for empirical evidence for the existence of a complex posttraumatic stress syndrome in 99 women patients at 3 family practice outpatient clinics who report a history of sexual abuse. A structured interview was administered by trained female interviewers to gather data on family history and psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses. Empirical evidence from cluster analysis of the data supports the theory of a complex posttraumatic syndrome. The severity gradient based on symptoms roughly parallels the severity gradient based on childhood abuse and sociopathic behavior and violence in the family of origin, with the most severely abused subjects characterized by symptom patterns that fit the description of a complex posttraumatic stress syndrome.Source
Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 1998 Jul;20(4):214-24. Link to article on publisher's websiteDOI
10.1016/S0163-8343(98)00021-8Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/31009PubMed ID
9719900Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/S0163-8343(98)00021-8