Urinary symptoms in sexual abuse survivors with severe post-traumatic morbidity: the impact of emotion regulation strategies.

Background

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been associated with both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), yet these associations remain underexplored in psychiatric inpatient populations. While emotion regulation strategies have not been directly linked to LUTS, they represent a theoretically relevant mechanism through which trauma-related psychopathology may affect somatic symptom severity.

Objective

We studied the association between LUTS and PTSD related to childhood CSA among women admitted to an inpatient psychiatric ward while exploring the possible associations of mechanisms of emotional regulation strategies with LUTS and PTSD levels.

Methods

Women diagnosed with PTSD with a history of CSA (n = 48), aged 18-50 (M = 30.51), that were admitted to a psychiatric ward at Merhavim Mental Health Centre completed self-report measures, assessing PTSD and LUTS, as well as emotional regulation strategies.

Results

LUTS severity was found to be moderate (M = 15.25) and significantly positively associated with PTSD symptoms (r(47) = .58, p < .01). Expressive suppression but not cognitive reappraisal was strongly associated with PTSD symptoms, as well as LUTS (F(2, 44) = 14.76, p < .001; R² = 0.401).

Conclusions

The participants exhibited a moderate level of LUTS, which were correlated with PTSD levels. Further, expressive suppression levels were found to be associated both with LUTS and PTSD severity. Given the highly specific clinical sample of hospitalized women with severe PTSD following CSA, these findings underscore the need for integrated care approaches that address both emotional regulation difficulties and somatic symptoms to improve treatment outcomes.