Women with severe mental illness are more
likely to have been abused in childhood than the general
population, new research suggests. But the same association has not
been found in men.
Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry,
King’s College London, believe their findings point to differences
in the way boys and girls respond to traumatic and upsetting
experiences.
The
study, published in the April issue of the British Journal
of Psychiatry, compared two groups of adults. All the
participants were aged between 16 and 64, and lived in either
south-east London or Nottingham.
Those in the first group had experienced
psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions and
received treatment for depression, mania or schizophrenia. Those in
the second group had no mental health problems, and acted as a
control. Both groups were asked whether they experienced physical
or sexual abuse during their childhood.
Women with psychosis were twice as likely to
report either physical or sexual abuse compared to healthy women.
But no such association was found in men. The researchers suggest
that one explanation for this is that girls are more likely to
‘internalise’ difficulties than boys. In other words, girls who are
abused may distance themselves from other people, and become overly
suspicious of other people’s behaviour. This may put them at
greater risk of psychotic symptoms in the future, such as paranoid
delusions. In contrast, boys may be more likely to ‘act out’
following physical abuse and potentially be at greater risk for
antisocial behaviour.
The researchers said: “These findings point to
the need for gender-specific interventions for abused children to
prevent later mental health and behavioural problems.”
For further information, please
contact:
Liz Leicester
or Deborah Hart in the Communications
Department.
Telephone: 020 7235 2351 Extensions. 6298 or 6127
References:
Fisher H, Morgan C, Dazzan P, Craig TK, Morgan K, Hutchinson G, Jones PB, Doody GA, Pariante C, McGuffin P, Murray RM, Leff J and Fearon P (2009) Gender differences in the association between childhood abuse and psychosis, British Journal of Psychiatry, 194: 319-325