To examine effects of childhood abuse on adult rape, 1,887 female Navy recruits were surveyed. Overall 35% of recruits had been raped and 57% had experienced childhood physical abuse (CPA) and/or childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Controlling for CPA, rape was significantly (4.8 times) more likely among women who had experienced CSA than among women who had not. In contrast, CPA (controlling for CSA) was unrelated to likelihood of adult rape. Alcohol problems and number of sex partners were examined as mediators. Although both variables predicted rape, their effects were independent of the effects of CSA. Finally, despite ethnic group differences in the prevalence of victimization, the predictors of rape did not differ significantly across ethnic groups.
Female Navy recruits (N = 5,226) completed surveys assessing history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), childhood strategies for coping with CSA, childhood parental support, and current psychological adjustment. Both CSA and parental support independently predicted later adjustment. In analyses examining whether CSA victims' functioning was associated with CSA severity (indexed by 5 variables), parental support (indexed by 3 variables), and coping (constructive, self-destructive, and avoidant), the negative coping variables were the strongest predictors. A structural equation model revealed that the effect of abuse severity on later functioning was partially mediated by coping strategies. However. contrary to predictions, the model revealed that childhood parental support had little direct or indirect impact on adult adjustment.
This study examined the effect of child sexual abuse, defined three different ways, and three definitions of adult sexual assault on revictimization rates. Child definitions varied in the degree of contact; adult definitions varied in degree of contact and force used. Variables hypothesized to mediate the rate of revictimization included parental support, attributional style, coping style, severity of abuse, and involvement in psychotherapy. Subjects were 654 college females. Contact forms of child sexual abuse were associated with significant rates of revictimization, although noncontact child sexual abuse was not associated with revictimization. Revictimized women could not be discriminated from nonrevictimized women on the basis of the proposed mediating variables. Level of adult sexual experience was the best predictor of adult sexual assault. High levels of sexual activity is proposed as the link between child sexual abuse and adult sexual assault.
The study examines the responses to the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC) of college women (n = 654) sexually abused as children, sexually assaulted as adults, sexually assaulted as children and adults, and nonabused. Also investigated was the role of mediating variables: parental support, attributional style, and coping. Subjects completed a series of self-report measures in small groups. Sexual abuse was associated with more symptoms and more recent assaults, and revictimized women reported the most symptoms. The hypothesized mediating variables were predictive of scores on the Dissociation, Anxiety, Depression, Sexual Abuse Trauma Index, and Sexual Problems subscales. The interaction of low levels of parental support and a nonexpressive coping style was predictive of Anxiety and Depression scores. The results support the validity of the TSC as a measure of sexual abuse trauma and point to family patterns associated with prolonged symptomatology.
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