Sexual abuse and bulimia: response to inpatient treatment and preliminary outcome

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the clinical impact of child sex abuse on bulimic patients. Specifically, differences in treatment response and preliminary treatment outcome between hospitalized bulimic patients with and without a reported history of sexual abuse were examined. The patients were evaluated for past history of alleged sexual abuse by investigator-based interview and ratings of severity of sexual abuse were made. Assessments of mood, eating disordered-related attitudes, and eating behaviors were conducted at the start of treatment, weekly during treatment, and three months post discharge. Sixty-one per cent (45) of the 74 patients enrolled in the study reported a history of child sexual abuse. The majority of such events constituted serious and very serious abuse by this study's criteria. The abused subjects exhibited higher levels of depression, anxiety, and eating disordered attitudes at each assessment point relative to nonabused subjects. In addition, abused subjects were more likely to be re-hospitalized in the 3 month post-discharge period. Significant differences in the extent of actual bulimic behaviors were not detected. Both the abused and nonabused bulimic patients demonstrated significant reductions in psychiatric symptomatology from pretreatment to posttreatment, and from posttreatment to follow-up. Contrary to prediction, differences in symptomatology between the very serious, serious, and least serious abused groups were not detected. Results suggest that bulimic patients with reported histories of sexual abuse can be effectively engaged in a conventional eating disorder treatment program, but that such abuse may place patients at a disadvantage owing to higher levels of pretreatment symptom severity. Findings suggest that extended and/or more specific intervention may be warranted for the abused bulimic patient.