Abuse in childhood and religious/spiritual status in adulthood among internal medicine outpatients

J Relig Health. 2013 Dec;52(4):1085-92. doi: 10.1007/s10943-012-9582-0.

Abstract

The relationship between abuse in childhood and religiosity/spirituality status in adulthood has been previously studied, but not in a medical sample or with the current study measure. Using a cross-sectional consecutive sample of 317 internal medicine outpatients, we asked participants, "As a child, were you the victim of either physical or sexual abuse?," and assessed religiosity/spirituality status with the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp-12). We found that among the cohort with abuse in childhood, seven of twelve scales as well as the overall FACIT-Sp-12 score demonstrated statistically significant differences, with abused participants consistently evidencing lower religiosity/spirituality scores.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Child
  • Child Abuse / psychology*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Internal Medicine*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Outpatients / psychology*
  • Religion and Medicine*
  • Spirituality*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Young Adult