Physical and sexual assault histories among psychiatric outpatients

Using a semistructured interview, the author obtained complete histories of experiences of being physically or sexually assaulted from 31 psychiatric outpatients. The majority (68%) of outpatients had experienced major physical and/or sexual assaults, and most assaults had not been revealed to the patients' prior therapists. Circumstances associated with the assaults, a comparison of outpatient and inpatient assault histories, and the relevance of the findings to clinical practice are discussed.