Somatic, Affective, and Pain Characteristics of Chronic TMD Patients with Sexual Versus Physical Abuse Histories

Aims: This study examined whether temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients with sexual versus physical abuse histories differ in their pain report, psychological distress, and somatic symptoms. Methods: Participants were 114 female TMD patients. The sample was divided into 3 groups based on abuse history: sexual abuse, physical abuse, or no abuse. Abuse histories were assessed with a structured clinical interview. Measures used included the McGill Pain Questionnaire, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Pennebaker Inventory of Limbic Languidness. Group differences were analyzed by analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc comparisons. Results: Temporomandibular disorder patients with a history of physical abuse reported significantly more pain, anxiety, and depressive symptoms than did patients with a history of sexual abuse or no history of abuse. Furthermore, the results suggest that TMD patients with a sexual abuse history are not significantly different from patients with no abuse history across the domains studied. Conclusion: Based on the differences found, it can be argued that assessment of physical abuse histories by appropriately trained clinicians should be a routine part of any multimodal assessment of female chronic TMD patients.