Sleep disturbances and nightmares in victims of sexual abuse with post-traumatic stress disorder: an analysis of abuse-related characteristics

Figures & data

Table 1. Participants’ sociodemographic and clinical characteristics (N = 44).

Variable	n	%
Gender
Female	39	88.6
Male	5	11.4
Work status
Employed	13	29.5
Unemployed	7	15.9
Student	24	54.5
Civil status
Married or common-law	10	22.7
Divorced, separated, or widowed	3	6.8
Single	31	70.5
Education
College degree (or higher)	34	77.3
Age at time of sexual abuse
< 18 years	28	63.6
≥ 18 years	16	36.4
Frequency of sexual abuse
Once	16	36.4
Repeated	28	63.6
Number of perpetrators
One	40	90.9
Multiple	4	9.1
Victim–perpetrator relationship
Family member or partner	25	56.8
Stranger or acquaintance	19	43.2
Comorbid anxiety and/or major depressive disorder	19	43.2
Use of psychotropic medication	19	43.2
	M (SD)	Range
Current age (years)	30.73 (10.15)	19–59
NDQ total score	25.69 (6.57)	7–40
No. of nightmares per month	17.88 (14.52)	2–60
No. of nights with nightmares per month	13.26 (7.09)	2–31
PSQI total score	11.50 (3.97)	3–19
PSQI-A total score	10.01 (4.71)	1–19
CAPS total scorea	55.73 (17.77)	27–90
MPSS-SR total scorea	59.15 (19.48)	16–104

CAPS, Clinician-Administered Scale for PTSD; MPSS-SR, Modified PTSD Symptom Scale – Self-Report; NDQ, Nightmare Distress Questionnaire; PSQI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; PSQI-A, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index – Addendum for PTSD; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder.

^aComputed without including items 2 (recurrent distressing dreams of the event) and 13 (difficulty falling or staying asleep).

Figure 1. Participant recruitment flowchart. PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder; SAV, sexual abuse victims.

Table 2. Correlation coefficients between characteristics of participants and of sexual abuse and predicted variables.

	Sleep disturbances				PTSD symptom severity
Variable	NDQ	NM frequency	PSQI	PSQI-A	CAPS	MPSS
Gender	.039	−.096	−.064	−.124	−.353*	−.133
Current age	.178	−.035	.438**	.237	.118	.226
Education	.146	.020	−.041	.194	.266	.149
Age at time of SA	−.346*	.068	.048	.034	.057	.028
Frequency of SA	.110	−.022	.385**	.215	.268	.208
Perpetrators	−.022	.342*	.020	.203	−.049	−.068
Relationship	.301*	−.023	.169	.214	.342*	.348*

Age at time of SA, age at time of sexual abuse (< 18 years or ≥ 18 years); CAPS, Clinician-Administered Scale for PTSD; Frequency of SA, frequency of sexual abuse (once or repeated); MPSS, Modified PTSD Symptom Scale – Self-Report; NDQ, Nightmare Distress Questionnaire; NM frequency, nightmare frequency (number of nights with nightmare per month); Perpetrators, number of perpetrators (one or multiple); PSQI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; PSQI-A, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index – Addendum for PTSD; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder; Relationship, victim–perpetrator relationship (family member/partner or stranger/acquaintance).

*p < .05, **p < .01.

Table 3. Regression analyses of sleep disturbances.

Variable	B	SE B	β	sr^2
Distress associated with nightmares (NDQ)
Age at time of SA	−4.674*	1.955	−.346	−.346 *
R^2 = .120
Adjusted R^2 = .099
R = .346*
Nightmare frequency
Number of offenders	8.263*	3.542	.342	.342*
R^2 = .117
Adjusted R^2 = .096
R = .342*
Sleep quality (PSQI)
Current age	.135*	0.057	.345	.349*
Frequency of SA	2.139†	1.180	.262	.272†
R^2 = .252
Adjusted R^2 = .216
R = .502**

Age at time of SA, age at time of sexual abuse (< 18 years or ≥ 18 years); Frequency of SA, frequency of sexual abuse (once or repeated); NDQ, Nightmare Distress Questionnaire; PSQI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.

*p < .05, **p < .01, †p = .07.

Table 4. Regression analyses of PTSD symptom severity (excluding sleep items).

Variables	B	SE B	β	sr^2
Clinician-rated PTSD symptom severity (CAPS)
Gender	−19.994**	7.502	−.361	−.384*
Relationship	12.413*	4.807	.350	.374*
R^2 = .247
Adjusted R^2 = .210
R = .497**
Self-reported PTSD symptom severity (MPSS)
Relationship	13.544**	5.622	.348	.348*
R^2 = .121
Adjusted R^2 = .101
R = .348*

CAPS, Clinician-Administered Scale for PTSD; MPSS, Modified PTSD Symptom Scale; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder; Relationship, victim–perpetrator relationship (family member/partner or stranger/acquaintance).

*p < .05, **p < .01.