Concordance About Childhood Sexual Abuse Among Depressed Patients 50 and Over and Their Family and Friends

This study examined concordance between patient & informant reports of childhood sexual abuse in a sample od depressed patients 50 years & older. 88 pairs of patients & informants independently responded to items from the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Informants’ reports of patients’ severe sexual abuse histories were in high agreement with patients’ reports; concordance was significantly lower, however, for milder forms of sexual abuse. Findings demonstrate the feasibility & limitations of collecting sensitive information about patients’ early life experiences in research designs utilizing informant report, including postmortem studies of suicide that use psychological autopsy methods. (16 refs.)