Childhood Sexual Abuse Moderates the Relationship Between Obesity and Mental Health in Low-Income Women
Date
2016
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Child Maltreatment
Abstract
We examined whether a history of self-reported childhood sexual abuse (CSA) moderates the relationship between obesity and mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder) in an ethnically diverse sample of low-income women. A community sample of 186 women completed self-report measures and had their weight and height measured. Body mass index and CSA had an interactive effect on all mental health measures, such that obese women with a CSA history reported substantially higher levels of all symptoms. These results give greater specificity to the obesity–mental health link reported in previous studies and provide possible directions for targeted intervention. (Author Abstract)
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Keywords
child abuse, research, long term effects, eating disorders, psychological effects, PTSD
Citation
Ramirez, Jennifer C. ; Milan, Stephanie. (2016). Childhood Sexual Abuse Moderates the Relationship Between Obesity and Mental Health in Low-Income Women. Child Maltreatment, 21(1), 85–89.