The relationship between childhood trauma and medically self-sabotaging behaviors among psychiatric inpatients

Int J Psychiatry Med. 2008;38(4):469-79. doi: 10.2190/PM.38.4.f.

Abstract

Objective: This study was designed to explore the relationship between five forms of childhood trauma and medically self-sabotaging behaviors (i.e., the intentional induction, exaggeration, and/or exacerbation of medical symptoms).

Method: Using a cross-sectional sample of convenience, 120 psychiatric inpatients were surveyed about childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuses, the witnessing of violence, and physical neglect, as well as 19 medically self-sabotaging behaviors (i.e., intentional behaviors that represent attempts to sabotage medical care).

Results: As expected, in this sample there were high prevalence rates of trauma (62.5% emotional abuse, 58.3% witnessing of violence, 46.7% physical abuse, 37.5% sexual abuse, 28.3% physical neglect). Simple correlations demonstrated statistically significant relationships between sexual abuse and physical neglect and medically self-sabotaging behaviors. Using multiple regression analysis, only physical neglect remained a unique predictor of medically self-sabotaging behaviors.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that among psychiatric inpatients there appears to be a relationship between physical neglect in childhood and the generation of medically self-sabotaging behaviors in adulthood. Perhaps physical neglect in childhood contributes to the generation of somatic behaviors in adulthood for the purpose of eliciting caring responses from others.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / psychology*
  • Aged
  • Borderline Personality Disorder / psychology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Health Behavior*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders / psychology*
  • Middle Aged
  • Midwestern United States
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Regression Analysis
  • Self-Injurious Behavior / psychology*
  • Violence / psychology*