Childhood abuse and lifetime psychopathology in a community sample

Objective: The authors assessed lifetime psychopathology in a general popul ation sample and compared the rates of five psychiatric disorder categories between those who reported a childhood history of either physical or sexua l abuse and those who did not. Method: A modified version of the Composite International Diagnostic interv iew and a self-completed questionnaire on child abuse were administered to a probability sample (N=7,016) of Ontario residents 15 to 64 years of age. Results: Those reporting a history of childhood physical abuse had signific antly higher lifetime rates of anxiety disorders, alcohol abuse/dependence, and antisocial behavior and were more likely to have one or more disorders than were those without such a history. Women, but not men, with a history of physical abuse had significantly higher lifetime rates of major depress ion and illicit drug abuse/dependence than did women with no such history, A history of childhood sexual abuse was also associated with higher rates o f all disorders considered in women. In men, the prevalence of disorders te nded to be higher among those who reported exposure to sexual abuse, but on ly the associations with alcohol abuse/dependence and the category of one o r more disorders reached statistical significance. The relationship between a childhood history of physical abuse and lifetime psychopathology varied significantly by gender for all categories except for anxiety disorders. Al though not statistically significant, a similar relationship was seen betwe en childhood history of sexual abuse and lifetime psychopathology. Conclusions: A history of abuse in childhood increases the likelihood of li fetime psychopathology; this association appears stronger for women than me n.