Childhood psychological, physical, and sexual maltreatment in outpatients with binge eating disorder: Frequency and associations with gender, obesity, and eating-related psychopathology

Objective: To examine rates of reported childhood maltreatment in binge eat ing disorder (BED), and to explore associations with obesity, gender, eatin g disorder features, and associated functioning. Research Methods and Procedures: Subjects were 145 consecutive outpatients with BED as defined in the Diagnostic ann Statistical Manual of Mental Diso rders, 4(th) edition. Subjects were interviewed and they completed question naires to assess eating disorder features and functioning. The Childhood Tr auma Questionnaire was given to assess childhood maltreatment in five domai ns (emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, and p hysical neglect). Results: A total of 83% of BED patients reported some form of childhood mal treatment. A total of 59% of BED patients reported emotional abuse, 36% rep orted physical abuse, 30% reported sexual abuse, 69% reported emotional neg lect, and 49% reported physical neglect. There were no differences in the d istribution of any form of childhood maltreatment by gender or by obesity s tatus. The different forms of maltreatment were not associated with variabi lity in current body mass index, binge eating, or in the attitudinal featur es of eating disorders. Only one of the five forms of maltreatment (physica l neglect) was associated with dietary restraint in women. Emotional abuse was significantly associated with greater body dissatisfaction, higher depr ession, and lower self-esteem in men and women and sexual abuse was associa ted with greater body dissatisfaction in men. The different forms of maltre atment were unrelated to the age at onset of overweight, dieting, or binge eating. Discussion: BED outpatients reported a wide range of childhood experiences of maltreatment that do not differ by gender or obesity status. Different f orms of maltreatment were not associated with the onset of overweight, diet ing, or binge eating, or with variability in current body mass index or eat ing disorder features (except for one association between physical neglect and dietary restraint). Reports of emotional abuse were: associated with gr eater body dissatisfaction and depression and lower self-esteem in men and women and sexual abuse with greater. body dissatisfaction in men.