Childhood maltreatment linked to greater symptom severity and poorer quality of life and function in social anxiety disorder

Abstract

Background There is a paucity of data examining the prevalence and impact of childhood maltreatment in patients presenting with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (SAD). We thus examined the presence of a broad spectrum of childhood maltreatment, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect, in treatment-seeking individuals with the generalized subtype of SAD (GSAD). We hypothesized that a history of childhood maltreatment would be associated with greater SAD symptom severity and poorer associated function. Methods One hundred and three participants with a primary diagnosis of GSAD (mean age 37±14; 70% male) completed the well-validated, self-rated Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), as well as measures of SAD symptom severity and quality of life. Results Fully 70% (n = 72) of the GSAD sample met severity criteria for at least one type of childhood abuse or neglect as measured by the CTQ subscales using previously established thresholds. CTQ total score adjusted for age and gender was associated with greater SAD severity, and poorer quality of life, function, and resilience. Further, the number of types of maltreatment present had an additive effect, with specific associations for emotional abuse and neglect with SAD severity. Conclusions Despite the use of validated assessments, our findings are limited by the retrospective and subjective nature of self-report measures used to assess childhood maltreatment. Nonetheless, these data suggest a high rate of childhood maltreatment in individuals seeking treatment for GSAD, and the association of maltreatment with greater disorder severity suggests that screening is clinically prudent.

An examination of the broader effects of warzone experiences on returning Iraq/Afghanistan veterans׳ psychiatric health

“…Within the civilian literature, childhood trauma exposure has been related to the development of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD; Lochner et al, 2002;Matthews et al, 2008;Grisham et al, 2011), social anxiety disorder (Cougle et al, 2009;Simon et al, 2009), panic disorder (Friedman et al, 2001;Cougle et al, 2009), generalized anxiety disorder (Cougle et al, 2009), specific phobia (Cougle et al, 2009), eating disorders (Wonderlich et al, 1997;Rayworth et al, 2004;Jonas et al, 2011) drug-use disorders , psychosis (Read et al, 2005;Fisher et al, 2010;Alvarez et al, 2011), hypochondriasis (Barsky et al, 1994), and somatization (Sanson et al, 2001;Paras et al, 2009). To date, however, far less research has examined whether critical warzone experiences might also be broadly associated with psychiatric symptomatology.…”

An Analysis of Early Developmental Trauma in Social Anxiety Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

“…Also, Prigerson et al in 1996 found that psychological abuse and parental loss were risk factors for the development of adult psychiatric disorders [5]. In SAD [9] and PTSD [10], childhood traumas include physical abuse [11][12][13], sexual abuse [12][13][14][15][16][17][18], and emotional abuse [19][20][21][22][23].…”

The Evaluation of Children in the Primary Care Setting When Sexual Abuse Is Suspected

“…14 Children exposed to sexual abuse are more likely to need hospitalization for mental illness. 15 Adult survivors of child sexual abuse are more likely to become victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. 16,17 They are at higher risk of developing obesity, 18 sexual problems, 19 irritable bowel syndrome, 20 fibromyalgia, 21 and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).…”