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Personality constellations in patients with a history of childhood sexual abuse
Author(s) -
Bradley Rebekah,
Heim Amy,
Westen Drew
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20085
Subject(s) - personality , psychology , sexual abuse , personality pathology , clinical psychology , child abuse , personality disorders , victimology , psychiatry , poison control , developmental psychology , injury prevention , medicine , social psychology , medical emergency
Although childhood sexual abuse (CSA) appears to have an impact on personality, it does not affect all survivors the same way. The goal of this study was to identify common personality patterns in women with a history of CSA. A national sample of randomly selected psychologists and psychiatrists described 74 adult female patients with a history of CSA and a comparison group of 74 without CSA using the Shedler–Westen Assessment Procedure‐200 (SWAP‐200), a Q‐sort procedure for assessing personality pathology. Q‐factor analysis identified four personality constellations among abuse survivors: Internalizing Dysregulated, High Functioning Internalizing, Externalizing Dysregulated, and Dependent. The four groups differed on diagnostic, adaptive functioning, and developmental history variables, providing initial support for the validity of this classification. The data have potential methodological and treatment implications.