Childhood traumatic events and dissociation in university students

Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of childhood traumatic events, to investigate its relationship with dissociation and other psychiatric symptoms and to examine the potential effect of family functioning on dissociative symptoms and general psychopathology in a Turkish university student sample. Methods. All participant completed Brief Physical and Sexual Abuse Questionnaire, Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and Family Assessment Device (FAD). Results. The most frequent childhood trauma type was separation from caretaker (46.1%). Witnessing violence (33.1%), harsh punishment (21.2%) and substance abuse in family (10.5%) followed. Sexual abuse of incest type was seen in 6.3%. Students who reported childhood traumatic events had higher DES and SCL-90-R scores compared to those who did not. There were fair relationships between SCL-90-R and FAD scores. Conclusion. A history of childhood traumatic events may be related to increased level of dissociation and general psychopathology in university students. Other pathogenic family factors also may contribute to the development of psychiatric symptoms.