Citation

Brown L, Russell J, Thornton C, Dunn S. Aust. N. Zeal. J. Psychiatry 1999; 33(4): 521-528.

Affiliation

Royal North Shore Hospital, University of Sydney, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10483846

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: A number of European and Northern American studies have investigated a possible association between dissociative phenomena, eating disorders, child sexual abuse and self-mutilation. However, there has been little confirmation from other countries and cultures, and the Australian experience of these interrelationships has not previously been studied. METHOD: Dissociative symptomatology and self-reported history of abusive experiences, physical and sexual, were retrospectively studied in a sample of Australian eating disordered patients using a self-report measure, the Dissociation Questionnaire (DIS-Q). RESULTS: As hypothesised, dissociative symptoms were particularly frequent in those who reported child and adult sexual abuse and in those who self-mutilated. A correlation between multiple forms of abuse and higher dissociation scores was only partially upheld. CONCLUSIONS: Interrelationships between victimisation and dissociation are discussed within the context of current knowledge in the field, and brief suggestions for therapeutic strategies are offered.

Language: en