Citation

Ramirez JC, Milan S. Child Maltreat. 2015; 21(1): 85-89.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077559515611246

PMID

26541476

Abstract

We examined whether a history of self-reported childhood sexual abuse (CSA) moderates the relationship between obesity and mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder) in an ethnically diverse sample of low-income women. A community sample of 186 women completed self-report measures and had their weight and height measured. Body mass index and CSA had an interactive effect on all mental health measures, such that obese women with a CSA history reported substantially higher levels of all symptoms. These results give greater specificity to the obesity-mental health link reported in previous studies and provide possible directions for targeted intervention.

Language: en