Sensory modulation difficulties and complex PTSD among child abuse survivors

Background: Child abuse (CA) has diverse long-term negative outcomes, including trauma-related disorders such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD). Evidence suggests that CA may also result in sensory modulation dysfunction, which is related to posttraumatic distress. However, previous research has primarily explored the relationship between sensory modulation and PTSD, without examining the role of sensory modulation in both PTSD and CPTSD.Objective: This study aimed to bridge this knowledge gap by exploring (1) sensory modulation response patterns as a function of a history of CA; (2) the relationships between sensory modulation, PTSD, and disturbances in self-organization (DSO) in CA survivors; and (3) The role of sensory modulation response patterns in the likelihood of being diagnosed with PTSD or CPTSD.Method: An online survey was conducted among a convenience sample of Israeli female adults (n = 426), including 288 (67.6%) CA survivors and 138 (32.4%) participants without a history of CA. Background variables, abuse features, sensory modulation, and PTSD and CPTSD symptoms were assessed via self-report measures.Results: CA survivors exhibited higher scores for high sensory responsiveness and a greater proportion of sensory over-responsiveness (SOR) (Mdn = 2.00, $\hat{p}$ = 31.6%) compared to participants without a history of CA (Mdn = 1.74, $\hat{p}$ = 12.3%). High sensory responsiveness was associated with both PTSD symptoms and disturbances in self-organization (DSO) symptoms (r > 0.15, p < .01). Furthermore, SOR was significantly associated with the likelihood of receiving either PTSD or CPTSD classifications ($\hat{\beta }=0.96,\mathrm{OR}=2.6,p<.001$). In the presence of SOR, the gap in the predicted probabilities for the two diagnoses doubled on average across all combinations of abuse features.Conclusion: These findings suggest that high responsiveness to sensory stimuli may be related not only to PTSD but also to the profound and enduring effects of CA, as reflected in CPTSD.