Women with exposure to childhood interpersonal violence without psychiatric diagnoses show no signs of impairment in general functioning, quality of life and sexuality

Sophie Rausch; Julia Herzog; Janine Thome; Petra Ludäscher; Meike Müller-Engelmann; Regina Steil; Kathlen Priebe; Thomas Fydrich; Nikolaus Kleindienst

doi:10.1186/s40479-016-0048-y

Women with exposure to childhood interpersonal violence without psychiatric diagnoses show no signs of impairment in general functioning, quality of life and sexuality

Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2016 Oct 7:3:13. doi: 10.1186/s40479-016-0048-y. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Sophie Rausch¹, Julia Herzog², Janine Thome¹, Petra Ludäscher³, Meike Müller-Engelmann⁴, Regina Steil⁴, Kathlen Priebe⁵, Thomas Fydrich⁶, Nikolaus Kleindienst³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
² Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
³ Institute of Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany ; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
⁴ Department of Clinical Psychology and Intervention, Institute of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Varrentrappstr. 40-42, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
⁵ Institute of Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany ; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Unter den, Linden 6, 10999 Berlin Germany.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Unter den, Linden 6, 10999 Berlin Germany.

Abstract

Background: Childhood interpersonal violence is a major risk factor for developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), other axis-I disorders or Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Individuals with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and childhood physical abuse (CPA) who meet the criteria of any axis-I disorder usually also exhibit general psychopathologic symptoms and impairments in quality of life and sexuality. The present study investigates whether women with a history of potentially traumatic CSA/CPA without any axis-I disorder or BPD show subthreshold symptoms of PTSD-specific and general psychopathology and impairments in global functioning, quality of life, and sexuality.

Methods: Data were obtained from N = 92 female participants: n = 31 participants with a history of potentially traumatic CSA/CPA (defined as fulfilling PTSD criterion A) without any axis-I disorder or BPD; n = 31 participants with PTSD related to CSA/CPA; and n = 30 healthy controls without any traumatic experiences. All three groups were matched for age and education. Those with a history of CSA/CPA with and without PTSD were further matched with regard to severity of physical and sexual abuse.

Results: While women with a history of potentially traumatic CSA/CPA without axis-I disorder or BPD clearly differed from the PTSD-group in the collected measures, they did not differ from healthy controls (e.g., GAF:87, BSI:0.3, BDI-II:4.5). They showed neither PTSD-specific nor general subthreshold symptoms nor any measurable restrictions in quality of life or sexual satisfaction.

Conclusions: Women with a history of potentially traumatic childhood interpersonal violence without axis-I disorder or BPD show a high level of functioning and a low level of pathological impairment that are comparable to the level of healthy controls. Further studies are needed to identify what helped these women survive these potentially traumatic experiences without developing any mental disorders.

Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Registration ID: DRKS00006095. Registered 21 May 2014.

Keywords: Childhood physical abuse; Childhood sexual abuse; Psychopathology; Quality of life; Sexuality.