ABSTRACT
This chapter evaluates the prevalence of sexual victimization in patients with functional syndromes and attempt to establish its relationship with psychopathology, somatic symptoms, and functional impairment. Victims of sexual assault report significantly more physical symptoms and conditions, but usually have normal findings on objective examinations. Substantial efforts have addressed the issue of sexual or physical abuse and its relationship with the psychiatric morbidity of patients with fibromyalgia. The questionnaire assessed past episodes of genital exposure, of being threatened with sexual intercourse, of having sex organs touched, of being sexually attacked, and of being beaten, hit, or kicked during childhood or adulthood. The prevalence of physical and sexual victimization and its etiological relationship with irritable bowel syndrome has been the focus of a substantial body of clinical work, which was pioneered by researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill.
