Abstract
Objective: Because there are few controlled studies, we aimed to determine the prevalence of sexual and physical abuse reported by psychiatric outpatients compared to matched controls.
Method: The sample consisted of 158 outpatients with major mental disorders including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, who responded to a semi-structured interview (response rate = 64.8%) and who were individually matched for gender, age and ethnicity with 158 outpatients who had never been treated for psychiatric illness. They answered questions about whether and when they had ever been sexually or physically abused, and about the type and circumstances of abuse.
Results: Abuse was more common during adulthood (16 years or older); 45 psychiatric patients (28.5%) were sexually abused and 43 (27.3%) were physically abused. Compared to the controls, patients were significantly more likely to report a history of sexual or physical abuse during adulthood (χ2 = 5.15, d.f. = 1, p = 0.02; χ2 = 4.09, d.f. = 1, p = 0.04 respectively). During adulthood, female patients were significantly more likely to be sexually and physically abused than males and those sexually abused were significantly more likely to report a history of sexual abuse during childhood. However, patients were not significantly more likely to report a history of sexual or physical abuse during childhood compared to the controls.
Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that psychiatrically ill patients are vulnerable to sexual and physical abuse during adulthood and underscore psychiatrists' responsibility to routinely inquire about abuse experiences.