CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE IN ANOREXIA-NERVOSA AND BULIMIA-NERVOSA - A PILOT-STUDY

Objectives: The aims of this pilot study were to determine the feasibility and scientific merit of coordinating a large-scale investigation of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in outpatient-eating disordered women and to evaluate the usefulness and potential adverse effects of a semistructured trauma interview. Method: The sample was randomly selected from subjects participating in a naturalistic longitudinal study of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). The refusal rate was 26%. Twenty women with DSM-III-R AN/BN were assessed with the traumatic antecedents interview (TAI); a brief semistructured follow-up interview was administered over the telephone 3 to 8 weeks after the first interview. Subjects also completed the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). Results: Thirteen subjects (65%) reported CSA, and those with more comorbidity reported CSA more frequently. Subjects with a history of CSA had significantly higher scores on the DES. Minimal adverse consequences to the TAI were noted. Conclusions: The high compliance rate, high prevalence of CSA, and high DES scores among our pilot sample support the merit of studying CSA in a larger sample.