Sexual trauma uniquely associated with eating disorders: A replication study.

Francesca Gomez, Lisa Smith Kilpela, Keesha M. Middlemass, Carolyn Black Becker

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: Extensive research supports the contention that trauma exposure is a nonspecific risk factor for the development of eating disorders (EDs). Limited research has investigated the relative association of diverse types of traumatic events with EDs in the same statistical model. In a recent exception, Breland et al. (2018) found that only sexual trauma predicted ED pathology among female veterans when both sexual trauma and combat exposure were examined simultaneously, even though combat exposure alone had been previously identified as an ED risk factor. Given the current replication crisis in psychology, it is important to investigate if this finding replicates in different populations. This study investigated whether results from Breland et al. (2018) would (a) replicate in a distinct population (i.e., participants living with food insecurity) and (b) hold when 3 additional traumatic events were included in the statistical model. Method: We hypothesized that self-reported sexual trauma would be uniquely associated with ED pathology as compared to combat exposure, wreck/crash/accident, serious body-related accident, and life-threatening illness or injury. Results: Using a cross-sectional logistic regression model, sexual trauma was the only independent predictor of EDs in the model, thus replicating the findings of Breland et al. (2018) in a different population. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of (a) investigating multiple traumatic events in the same statistical models and (b) careful screening of traumatic events in patients presenting with EDs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) Clinical Impact Statement: Results from this study suggest that sexual assault is associated with eating disorder pathology, whereas combat exposure and three forms of noninterpersonal trauma were not. These findings replicate previous research and highlight the particular importance of assessing the possible co-occurrence of sexual assault and eating disorders across diverse populations. Purpose: This study was to examine both the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer (CQOLC}, which was developed to measure the quality of life of family caregivers of cancer patients. Methods & Results: Study subjects comprised 400 family caregivers who were registered at an Internet research company. The explanatory factor analysis yielded the following 4 domains: psychological burden (8 items); positive emotions (5 items); and financial burden (3 items); disruption of daily living (5 items). The Cronbach' s alpha coefficients of the total score and each domain were 0.85 and 0.75 to 0.88, respectively. The total score and each domain were moderately correlated with mental health, vitality, social functioning, general health, role emotinal scores from the SF-36. The intraclass correlation coefficients of the total score and each domain were 0.78 and 0.67 to 0.74, respectively. Conclusion: These results suggest that the Japanese version of the CQOLC has sufficient reliability and validity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)202-205
Number of pages4
JournalPsychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
Volume13
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2021

Keywords

  • eating disorders
  • food insecurity
  • sexual trauma
  • trauma exposure

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Psychology
  • Social Psychology

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