Characteristics of Child Maltreatment and Their Relation to Dissociation, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, and Depression in Adult Psychiatric Patients

Abstract Little is known about the influence of particular characteristics of childhood maltreatment, such as developmental stage, relationship to the perpetrator, and nature of the trauma, on adult psychopathology. The effects of childhood maltreatment were assessed in adult psychiatric patients (N = 287) using self-rating scales and diagnostic checklists. Maltreatment was strongly associated with dissociation. This relationship was observed for all childhood developmental stages and was strongest when the perpetrator was outside the family. Dissociation was more strongly correlated with childhood emotional abuse and sexual harassment than with sexual or physical abuse. Childhood sexual abuse was found to be associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress. The findings suggest that dissociation is a relatively specific consequence of childhood maltreatment that is largely independent of the familial relationship to the perpetrator or the child’s developmental stage.

• Publication year

  2013

• Venue

  Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease

• Publication date

  2013-06-01

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3182948096PMID 23686156
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

  2013cited by this paper
• Psychometric characteristics of the German adaptation of the traumatic experiences checklist (TEC)

  2012cited by this paper
• Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Deutsche Version (HADS-D)

  2011cited by this paper
• Childhood adversities and adult psychiatric disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication I: associations with first onset of DSM-IV disorders.

  2010cited by this paper
• The Validity and Reliability of the German Version of the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20)

  2010cited by this paper
• Childhood emotional maltreatment and later psychological distress among college students: the mediating role of maladaptive schemas.

  2009cited by this paper
• The contribution of childhood emotional abuse to teen dating violence among child protective services-involved youth.

  2009cited by this paper
• Posttraumatische Belastungsstörungen bei Säuglingen und Kleinkindern

  2008influential reference
• [Posttraumatic stress disorder in infants and toddlers].

  2008cited by this paper
• The prevalence and impact of child traumatic stress.

  2007cited by this paper
• The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization

  2007influential reference
• Different Types of “Dissociation” Have Different Psychological Mechanisms

  2006cited by this paper
• Sticks, stones, and hurtful words: relative effects of various forms of childhood maltreatment.

  2006cited by this paper
• A Model of Dissociation Based on Attachment Theory and Research

  2006cited by this paper
• Dissociative Symptoms and Trauma Exposure: Specificity, Affect Dysregulation, and Posttraumatic Stress

  2006cited by this paper
• A Review of Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (3rd ed.)

  2005cited by this paper
• Developmental Trauma Disorder: Toward a rational diagnosis for children with complex trauma histories.

  2005cited by this paper
• Disorders of extreme stress: The empirical foundation of a complex adaptation to trauma.

  2005cited by this paper
• Trauma-Related Dissociation: Conceptual Clarity Lost and Found

  2004cited by this paper
• Somatoform Dissociation, Reported Abuse and Animal Defence-Like Reactions

  2004cited by this paper
• A genetic analysis of individual differences in dissociative behaviors in childhood and adolescence.

  2004cited by this paper
• Adverse childhood experiences and the risk of depressive disorders in adulthood.

  2004cited by this paper
• Childhood emotional abuse and neglect as predictors of psychological and physical symptoms in women presenting to a primary care practice.

  2003cited by this paper
• Emotional Closeness with Perpetrators and Amnesia for Child Sexual Abuse

  2002cited by this paper
• The psychometric characteristics of the traumatic experiences checklist (TEC): first findings among psychiatric outpatients

  2002influential reference
• Somatoform Dissociation

  2001cited by this paper
• The role of childhood trauma in the neurobiology of mood and anxiety disorders: preclinical and clinical studies.

  2001cited by this paper
• Somatoform Dissociation, Psychological Dissociation, and Specific Forms of Trauma

  2001cited by this paper
• Posttraumatic stress disorder in abused and neglected children grown up.

  1999cited by this paper
• Long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse: objective and subjective characteristics of the abuse and psychopathology in later life.

  1999cited by this paper
• Long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse: Objective and subjective characteristics of the abuse and psychopathology in later life.

  1999cited by this paper
• Memories of childhood abuse: dissociation, amnesia, and corroboration.

  1999cited by this paper
• Childhood trauma and perceived parental dysfunction in the etiology of dissociative symptoms in psychiatric inpatients.

  1999cited by this paper
• [Questionnaire on dissociative symptoms. German adaptation, reliability and validity of the American Dissociative Experience Scale (DES)].

  1998cited by this paper
• Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the German Version of the Dissociative Experience Scale

  1998cited by this paper
• Degree of Somatoform and Psychological Dissociation in Dissociative Disorder Is Correlated with Reported Trauma

  1998influential reference
• Fragebogen zu dissoziativen Symptomen (FDS). Deutsche Adaptation, Reliabilität und Validität der amerikanischen Dissociative Experience Scale (DES).

  1998cited by this paper
• Fragebogen zu Dissoziativen Symptomen : FDS

  1998cited by this paper
• The Validation of a Self-Report Measure of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

  1997influential reference
• Development and the fragmented self: Longitudinal study of dissociative symptomatology in a nonclinical sample

  1997cited by this paper
• Types of dissociation and dissociative types: A taxometric analysis of dissociative experiences

  1996cited by this paper
• Childhood abuse, adult assault, and dissociation.

  1996cited by this paper
• Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey.

  1995cited by this paper
• The ICD-10 Symptom Checklist: a companion to the ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders

  1993influential reference
• An update on the Dissociative Experiences Scale.

  1993cited by this paper
• Resilience and development: Contributions from the study of children who overcome adversity

  1990cited by this paper
• Multivariate correlates of childhood psychological and physical maltreatment among university women.

  1988cited by this paper
• Symptomatology associated with childhood sexual victimization in a nonclinical adult sample.

  1988cited by this paper
• The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

  1987cited by this paper
• Dissociating damage.

  1986cited by this paper
• Development, reliability, and validity of a dissociation scale.

  1986cited by this paper
• The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale

  1983cited by this paper
• Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences

  1979cited by this paper

• Experiences of childhood emotional maltreatment and emotional intelligence in young men

  2026cites this paper
• Functional brain changes related to adverse childhood experiences and the presence of psychopathology

  2025cites this paper
• Development and Validation of an Online Intervention Program to Augment Psychological Resilience: A Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial

  2025cites this paper
• Sensitive periods for the link between childhood maltreatment and brain aging during adulthood

  2025cites this paper
• The Impact of Childhood Maltreatment Timing on Adolescents’ Depression and Anxiety

  2024cites this paper
• Childhood traumas and dissociative experiences among individuals with substance use disorders in Eastern Turkey

  2024cites this paper
• Impact of childhood maltreatment on adult resilience

  2023cites this paper
• Attachment Styles and Their Impact on Sleep Disturbances and Dissociation in Adults: A Comprehensive Study

  2023cites this paper
• Association between Childhood Maltreatment and Suicidal Ideation: A Path Analysis Study

  2022cites this paper
• A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Planned Teaching Programme on Knowledge and Attitude regarding safety measures against sexual Harassment among adolescent girls in selected school at Dehradun, Uttarakhand

  2022cites this paper
• Age at first exposure to violence and later mental health outcomes: A sex-disaggregated, multi-country analysis in sub-Saharan Africa.

  2022cites this paper
• Sensitive periods in development and risk for psychiatric disorders and related endpoints: a systematic review of child maltreatment findings.

  2022cites this paper
• “Time Does Not Heal All Wounds”: Sexual Victimisation Is Associated with Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD in Old Age

  2021cites this paper
• Dissociation and insecure attachment as mediators of the relation between childhood emotional abuse and nonclinical paranoid traits

  2021influential citation
• Childhood maltreatment and the clinical characteristics of major depressive disorder in adolescence and adulthood.

  2020cites this paper
• Childhood Maltreatment, Limbic Dysfunction, Resilience, and Psychiatric Symptoms

  2020cites this paper
• Childhood maltreatment type and severity predict depersonalization and derealization in treatment-seeking women with posttraumatic stress disorder.

  2020cites this paper
• Out-of-body experience

  2019cites this paper
• Equality , Diversity and Inclusion : An International Journal Out-of-body experience : Sex-based harassment linked to general dissociation , sexual dissociation , and sexual communication

  2019cites this paper
• Attachment insecurity as a mediator of the relationship between childhood trauma and adult dissociation

  2018cites this paper
• Childhood adversity as a transdiagnostic risk factor for affective disorders in adulthood: A systematic review focusing on biopsychosocial moderating and mediating variables.

  2018cites this paper
• Psychopathology, Dissociation and Somatic Symptoms in Adolescents Who Were Exposed to Traumatic Experiences

  2018cites this paper
• Traumatic experiences and dissociation in patients with conversion disorder.

  2018cites this paper
• In search of connection: towards a transdiagnostic view of dissociative phenomena through Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework

  2018cites this paper
• Effect of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Reduction Social and Emotional Maladjustment of Physically Abused Children: A Clinical Trial

  2017cites this paper
• Is developmental timing of trauma exposure associated with depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in adulthood?

  2017cites this paper
• Predicting a dissociative disorder from type of childhood maltreatment and abuser–abused relational tie

  2017cites this paper
• Mental Health Consequences of Childhood Physical Abuse in Chinese Populations

  2016cites this paper
• Pain and tactile dissociation, derealization and depersonalization symptoms in women and recalled traumatic events in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood.

  2016cites this paper
• A qualitative cancer screening study with childhood sexual abuse survivors: experiences, perspectives and compassionate care

  2015cites this paper
• Impact of Childhood Abuse on the Risk of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Mainland Chinese Adolescents

  2015cites this paper
• Examining Resilience In Relation to PTSD Symptomatology In Maltreated Youth

  2015influential citation
• Seksuaalista kaltoinkohtelua kokeneiden kahdeksas- ja yhdeksäsluokkalaisten nuorten seksuaalikäyttäytyminen ja median käyttö : kouluterveyskysely 2011

  2014cites this paper
• Childhood Sexual Abuse

  2014cites this paper
• Childhood Sexual Abuse and Psychopathology

  2014cites this paper