Table 3.
Relationship Between Screening and Select Variables Measuring Perceived Role, Confidence, Barriers, Personal Experiences, Practice, and Sociodemographic Characteristics of Survey Respondents in 2007 (N = 313)abc
| Sometimes/Usually/Always Screen for a History of Childhood Trauma | Statistics |
Usually/Always Screen for a History of Childhood Trauma | Statistics |
|||
| Variable | χ2 | P | χ2 | P | ||
| Gender | ||||||
| Male (n = 153) | 110 (71.9) | 2.14 | .144 | 35 (22.9) | 6.30 | .012 |
| Female (n = 153) | 121 (79.1) | 55 (35.9) | ||||
| Practice type | ||||||
| Non-community health center (n = 225) | 161 (71.6) | 6.63 | .010 | 56 (24.9) | 8.05 | .005 |
| Community health center (n = 79) | 68 (86.1) | 33 (41.8) | ||||
| Percent of adult primary care female patients believed to have a history of childhood trauma | ||||||
| ≤ 10% (n = 64) | 39 (60.9) | 9.26 | .002 | 10 (15.6) | 7.41 | .006 |
| > 10% (n = 242) | 192 (79.3) | 80 (33.1) | ||||
| Percent of adult primary care male patients believed to have a history of childhood trauma | ||||||
| ≤ 10% (n = 180) | 132 (73.3) | 1.10 | .294 | 50 (27.8) | 0.56 | .453 |
| > 10% (n = 126) | 99 (78.6) | 40 (31.7) | ||||
| Percent of all adult primary care patients believed to have a history of childhood trauma | ||||||
| ≤ 10% male or female (n = 183) | 135 (73.8) | 0.86 | .353 | 50 (27.3) | 1.40 | .237 |
| > 10% male or female (n = 125) | 98 (78.4) | 42 (33.6) | ||||
| Care for other patients besides adult primary care | ||||||
| Pregnant women | ||||||
| No (n = 156) | 108 (69.2) | 6.90 | .009 | 42 (26.9) | 1.40 | .237 |
| Yes (n = 151) | 124 (82.1) | 50 (33.1) | ||||
| How confident are you in your ability to screen for a history of childhood abuse? | ||||||
| Not at all/somewhat (n = 152) | 93 (61.2) | 33.07 | <.001 | 24 (15.8) | 26.29 | <.001 |
| Moderate/very (n = 153) | 137 (89.5) | 65 (42.5) | ||||
| To what extent do you think it is your role as a physician to screen for a history of childhood abuse? | ||||||
| Not at all/small extent (n = 63) | 30 (47.6) | 33.07 | <.001 | 3 (4.8) | 23.38 | <.001 |
| Moderate/great extent (n = 242) | 200 (82.6) | 87 (36.0) | ||||
| How useful to the patient do you think it is for a family physician to screen for a history of childhood abuse? | ||||||
| Not at all/somewhat (n = 84) | 47 (56.0) | 23.45 | <.001 | 7 (8.3) | 23.98 | <.001 |
| Moderate/very (n = 220) | 182 (82.7) | 81 (36.8) | ||||
| Self-reported history of personal trauma | ||||||
| Never (n = 194) | 141 (72.7) | 2.69 | .101 | 49 (25.3) | 3.69 | .055 |
| At least sometimes (n = 97) | 79 (81.4) | 35 (36.1) | ||||
| Self-reported history of personal trauma to oneself (minus witnessing trauma) | ||||||
| Never (n = 205) | 150 (73.2) | 2.22 | .136 | 53 (25.9) | 3.07 | .080 |
| At least sometimes (n = 86) | 70 (81.4) | 31 (36.0) | ||||
| Do you know someone with a history of childhood trauma outside of your professional relationships? | ||||||
| No (n = 81) | 51 (63.0) | 9.21 | .002 | 20 (24.7) | 1.08 | .300 |
| Yes (n = 224) | 179 (79.9) | 69 (30.8) | ||||
| If patient reveals a childhood abuse history, refer patient to a mental health specialist | ||||||
| Rarely/never/sometimes (n = 74) | 59 (79.7) | 0.95 | .330 | 27 (36.5) | 2.35 | .125 |
| Usually/always (n = 232) | 172 (74.1) | 63 (27.2) | ||||
| If patient reveals a childhood abuse history, discuss history in some detail with patient | ||||||
| Rarely/never/sometimes (n = 137) | 94 (68.6) | 7.28 | .007 | 35 (25.5) | 1.76 | .184 |
| Usually/always (n = 166) | 136 (81.9) | 54 (32.5) | ||||
| If patient reveals a childhood abuse history, discuss medications to help relieve persisting symptoms | ||||||
| Rarely/never/sometimes (n = 202) | 146 (72.3) | 3.58 | .059 | 59 (29.2) | 0.01 | .929 |
| Usually/always (n = 101) | 83 (82.2) | 30 (29.7) | ||||
| If patient reveals a childhood abuse history, bring up abuse history at subsequent visits | ||||||
| Rarely/never/sometimes (n = 212) | 153 (72.2) | 4.07 | .044 | 57 (26.9) | 2.48 | .116 |
| Usually/always (n = 89) | 74 (83.1) | 32 (36.0) | ||||
| Sometimes/Usually/Always Versus Never/Rarely Screen for a History of Childhood Trauma | Statistics |
Usually/Always Versus Never/Rarely/Sometimes Screen for a History of Childhood Trauma | Statistics |
|||
| Variable | t | P | t | P | ||
| Time as a barrier to screening sum score, mean (SD)d | 1.54 (0.50) vs 1.64 (0.55) | 1.27 | .206 | 1.54 (0.49) vs 1.78 (0.61) | 3.30 | .001 |
| My patients are unlikely victims of childhood abuse as a barrier to screening sum score, mean (SD)d | 2.73 (0.51) vs 2.84 (0.42) | 1.77 | .079 | 2.76 (0.49) vs 2.94 (0.26) | 3.96 | <.001 |
| Discomfort with screening, little I can do to help patients as a barrier to screening sum score, mean (SD)d | 2.52 (0.38) vs 2.64 (0.33) | 2.42 | .017 | 2.56 (0.36) vs 2.73 (0.26) | 4.47 | <.001 |
| Years in practice, mean (SD) | 15.43 (9.24) vs 13.61 (9.51) | 1.44 | .151 | 14.40 (9.51) vs 13.23 (9.35) | 0.97 | .331 |
a
Data are presented as n (%) unless otherwise specified.
b
Some variables may not total to 313 because of sporadic missing data.
c
Bolded values indicate statistical significance.
d
For barrier variables, a higher score indicates it was reported as less of a barrier.