Predictors of relationship adjustment in female survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

The current study investigated: (1) the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and four relationship adjustment variables (consensus, cohesion, affection, and satisfaction); (2) whether finding meaning in CSA and using mature defenses would predict relationship adjustment; and (3) whether meaning and mature defenses would moderate the association between CSA severity and relationship adjustment. The sample consisted of 287 undergraduate women, 95 of whom reported a history of CSA. All participants were involved in a romantic relationship at the time of the study. Results indicated a significant relationship between CSA history and dyadic consensus, whereby abused women reported less agreement with their partners than nonabused women. In the abused sample, CSA severity significantly predicted affection and mature defenses significantly predicted both affection and consensus in relationships. Furthermore, mature defenses moderated the relationship between CSA severity and dyadic cohesion (i.e., joint activities with one's partner). Contrary to hypotheses, meaning was not related to relationship adjustment and did not moderate the association between CSA severity and relationship adjustment. These findings advance the CSA literature by elucidating factors that predict healthy adjustment to CSA.

Are males and females sexually abused as children socially anxious adults?

It is well documented that childhood sexual abuse is associated with deleterious outcomes in the areas of anxiety, depression, and sexual functioning. However, very little research has been conducted to specifically investigate childhood sexual abuse's relationship to adult social anxiety in both males and females. Participants included 250 undergraduate students from a large metropolitan university. Results indicated that almost one-third of males and a little over a third of females reported being sexually abused as a child or adolescent. Although a large portion of the sample exhibited socially anxious symptomology, childhood sexual abuse did not place males and females at increased risk for social anxiety. The use of a nonclinical, college student sample may provide researchers the opportunity to investigate resiliency in individuals with a history of childhood sexual abuse.

MMPI-2 profiles of bariatric surgery patients: a replication and extension.

BACKGROUND: Maddi et al. (Obes Surg, 7:397-404, 1997) reported significant elevations on several MMPI-2 scales in a morbidly obese population. Since the number of patients presenting for bariatric surgery has increased significantly in the decade since this study, we replicated the original Maddi et al. study to investigate if there have been any appreciable changes in these patients' psychological profiles within the past 10 years. METHODS: First, we replicated the original Maddi et al. study using the same definition of profile elevations used by these investigators. Second, we extended these findings to include a fourth classification of extremely elevated profiles. Finally, we included several measures of different emotional states/characteristics in an attempt to further delineate what these elevated profiles may actually represent. RESULTS: Our findings generally support the results of the original Maddi et al. study. Additionally, a number of significant relationships were found between our additional measures and MMPI-2 elevations. CONCLUSIONS: Many morbidly obese patients presenting for bariatric surgery have elevated MMPI-2 profiles, some of which would be considered "invalid" profiles. We recommend procedures for obtaining more valid profiles from such patients. We also urge the use of other measures in addition to the MMPI-2 to more specifically clarify the personality traits/characteristics in these patients.

The relationship between childhood sexual abuse and adult mental health among undergraduates: victim gender doesn't matter.

A large body of research has documented the harmful effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on adult mental health among females, but less work has examined this issue among males. This study examined whether gender moderated the relationship between CSA and adult mental health among a mixed-gender sample of 406 undergraduates. A Pearson chi-square test indicated that a significantly greater proportion of females (41.6%) than males (30.7%) reported a history of CSA. ANCOVAs tested whether gender, CSA status, and their interaction were related to adult mental health symptomatology as measured by Brief Symptom Inventory gender-normed t scores. Participants with a history of CSA reported significantly higher levels of global mental health problems, hostility, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism. The gender by CSA status interaction was not significant for any scale, indicating that the harmful effects of CSA on adult mental health did not vary by gender.

Effects of completing sexual questionnaires in males and females with histories of childhood sexual abuse: implications for institutional review boards.

Few studies have sought to examine empirically the immediate effects of participation in sexual abuse research. The present study investigated the effects of childhood sexual abuse on measures of personality and psychological functioning in 250 males and females. The null hypothesis was that sexually abused and nonabused groups would show no significant differences between pre-and post-testing on measures of state anxiety, state depression, and state anger. No significant differences between pre-and post-testing were observed between nonabused, abused, and severely abused participants. In addition, there were no gender differences among the groups. Findings from this study support those of Savell, Kinder, and Young (2006) and have significant implications for Institutional Review Boards (IRB) as they suggest that participation in childhood sexual abuse or sexuality research does not place sexually abused individuals at greater than minimal risk for immediate increases in anxiety, depression, or anger.

Effects of administering sexually explicit questionnaires on anger, anxiety, and depression in sexually abused and nonabused females: implications for risk assessment.

Human sexuality researchers and institutional review boards often are concerned about the sensitive nature of the information that they obtain and whether this type of research increases the psychological risks to participants. To date, there are almost no empirical data that address this issue. We administered state and trait measures of anger, anxiety, and depression to 207 females who were administered four questionnaires that asked them to reveal highly sensitive, sexually explicit information, including questions regarding childhood sexual abuse. Then they were readministered the state and trait measures of distress. We found no significant differences, even among those who reported being sexually abused as children, suggesting that such studies do not significantly increase the risk of psychological harm to participants.