Relación entre psicopatología adulta y antecedentes de trauma infantil

Abstract

Introduction. There is renewed interest in modern psychiatry in studying the link between psychopathology and traumatic events during childhood. Methods. The Marshall scale of childhood trauma was applied to173 psychiatric patients at the Curicó Mental Hospital. The traumatic events were correlated with Axis I diagnoses and probable Axis II diagnoses according to DSM-IV. Results. Positive correlations were obtained between substance abuse and childhood events involving alcohol, physical abuse and forced sexual contact (correlations 0.19 p < 0.01, 0.22 p < 0.003 and 0.14 p < 0.054); depressive disorders were linked to backgrounds involving alcohol and physical abuse (correlations 0.15 p < 0.04 , 0.16 p < 0.026); and probable personality disorders correlated with traumatic events of forced sexual contact, intrafamily violence, alcohol and physical abuse (correlations 0.3 p < 0.0001, 0.26 p < 0.0004, 0.26 p < 0.0004 and 0.17 p < 0.01). Logistic regressions were obtained between probable Axis II diagnosis and traumatic sexual events (odds ratio 2.6 p < 0,009) and alcohol (odds ratio 2.2 p < 0.021). Conclusions. The study suggests that there is a particular patient profile connected with traumatic events such as sexual abuse in childhood, and there is a need to continue with research in this country using standardized instruments, control groups, and prospective studies. © 2006 Sociedad de Neurología, Psiquiatría y Neurocirugía.