SEXUAL AND PHYSICAL ABUSE - DO THEY COMPROMISE DRUG-TREATMENT OUTCOMES

Histories of sexual and physical abuse are frequently reported by indi viduals participating in substance abuse treatment, these experiences may be associated with psychopathology and poor drug treatment outcome s. This paper presents the findings from a longitudinal study of 330 s ubjects participating in 26 outpatient treatment programs. Sexual abus e among women was associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety , suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and PTSD, while physical abuse was associated with fewer psychological disturbances. For men, sexual abuse was associated only with anxiety Physical abuse was associated w ith depression anxiety, suicidal ideation, and PTSD. However, no signi ficant association was found between sexual and physical abuse, and lo wer levels of treatment participation or drug use at follow-up. These findings indicate that there is a complex connection between abuse, ps ychopathology, treatment participation, and relapse. Clinical and rese arch implications of these findings are discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier S cience Inc.