This study examines the incidence of and the potential correlates
of sexual and physical abuse among facial pain patients. An anonymous
survey composed of standardized self-report measures of abuse, pain,
and psychologic status was distributed to 120 adult facial pain
patients following their initial evaluations. Forty-five
questionnaires were returned by mail. In addition, 206 charts were
randomly selected from a population of 520 new patients seen at the
Orofacial Pain Center during the same time period that data from the
anonymous survey were collected. Results of the anonymous survey
indicated that 68.9% of the patients reported a history of
abuse. Conversely, a chart review revealed that only 8.5% of the
patients indicated a history of abuse on the clinic
questionnaire. History of abuse was significantly related to greater
pain severity, depression, psychologic distress, and various
personality characteristics. Overall, this study indicates that the
assessment of the history of abuse may be an important factor in the
evaluation and treatment of facial pain.