Means of symptoms of dysthymia as a function of MAOA activity and a history of physical abuse and multiple maltreatment in females. MAOA is divided into 3,3 alleles, 4,4 alleles and 3,4 heterozygous. Sexual abuse and multiple maltreatment histories are based on documented court cases. Symptoms of dysthymia were log tranformed to correct for skew. Physically abused or multiply maltreated women with 4,4 high activity genotype were at significantly increased risk (p < .05 for both) for developing dysthymia symptoms than women with 3,3, low-activity genotype. Pattern was absent for non-maltreated females and males.