Self-reports of physical, sexual and emotional abuse in an alcoholism treatment sample

There is a growing appreciation that emotional, physical and sexual abuse events are frequently part of the life histories of individuals in treatment for alcohol disorders. The present study examines reports of lifetime abuse in a clinical trial for treatment of alcohol dependency.

Data were obtained from baseline assessments conducted with participants (N = 1,726; 1,307 men) entering Project MATCH, a multisite clinical trial conducted at nine geographically dispersed research sites. Differences on a broad range of participant characteristics were examined by gender and by reported abuse type.

More than half (59%) of the participants reported lifetime abuse. Women were more likely (77%) to report abuse than were men (54%). A lower proportion of men than women (6% vs 31%) reported experiencing both physical and sexual abuse. Gender differences were found on the majority of psychosocial measures. Comparisons of the psychosocial measures by abuse type generally indicated that participants without abuse histories had better functioning than did participants reporting abuse.

The high frequency of lifetime abuse in this geographically dispersed sample underscores the necessity for including assessment of emotional, physical and sexual abuse with alcoholism treatment seeking populations. Participants reporting such events may require other treatment in addition to that for alcohol dependency.