Relationship of childhood sexual abuse and eating disturbance in children

Objective: To test the hypothesis that childhood sexual abuse increases the risk of eating disturbance in children. Method: Data obtained from 20 sexu ally abused children were compared with data obtained from 20 nonabused con trol children. All subjects were female and between the;ages of 10 and 15 y ears. Subjects completed a battery of tests assessing eating disorder behav iors, body image concern. and childhood trauma history. Results: Comparison of the 2 groups revealed that the abused children had higher levels of wei ght dissatisfaction and purging and dieting behavior. Furthermore, abused c hildren reported eating less than control children when they felt emotional ly upset. Abused children were less likely than control children to exhibit perfectionistic tendencies, but more likely to desire thinner body types. Conclusions: This is the first controlled study to examine the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and eating disturbance which relied on chil dren as subjects. The results support previous findings with adult subjects which indicate that a history of childhood sexual abuse is associated with weight and body dissatisfaction, along with purging and dietary restrictio n.