OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the
relationship between childhood psychological maltreatment and adult
manifestations of depression, anxiety, and dissociation. METHOD: Women
health care professionals reporting a history of childhood
psychological maltreatment (n = 55) were compared to a nonabused
control group (n = 55) on the three dimensions of anxiety, depression,
and dissociation. The Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, a measure
constructed specifically for this study to assess abuse history, was
used to determine group membership. Participants were administered the
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Beck Depression Inventory
(BDI), and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). RESULTS: A
significant discriminant function analysis using the STAI, BDI, and
DES as predictor variables was able to correctly classify 74.5% of the
psychologically abused participants and 89.1% of the nonabused group,
with an overall hit rate of 81.8%. Statistically significant
differences were obtained between the abused and nonabused groups on
the STAI, BDI, and DES. CONCLUSIONS: Interpretation of these results
suggests that participants who reported a history of childhood
psychological abuse suffer significantly higher levels of depression
and anxiety, and more frequent dissociative experiences, than the
nonabused women.