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The long‐term sequelae of sexual abuse: Support for a complex posttraumatic stress disorder
Author(s) -
Zlotnick Caron,
Zakriski Audrey L.,
Shea M. Tracie,
Costello Ellen,
Begin Ann,
Pearlstein Teri,
Simpson Elizabeth
Publication year - 1996
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.2490090204
Subject(s) - posttraumatic stress , sexual abuse , psychology , anxiety disorder , term (time) , victimology , clinical psychology , poison control , psychiatry , injury prevention , medicine , medical emergency , anxiety , physics , quantum mechanics
This study examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and symptoms of a newly proposed complex posttraumatic stress disorder or disorder of extreme stress not otherwise specified (DESNOS). Compared to 34 women without histories of sexual abuse, 74 survivors of sexual abuse showed increased severity on DESNOS symptoms of somatization, dissociation, hostility, anxiety, alexithymia, social dysfunction, maladaptive schemas, self‐destruction, and adult victimization. In addition, a logistic regression found that a complex of symptoms representing DESNOS was significantly related to a history of sexual abuse. Consistent with other studies, the results of this study provide support for the idea that symptoms of DESNOS characterize survivors of sexual abuse.