NCJ Number
240531
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 36 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2012 Pages: 260-265
Date Published
March 2012
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study investigated characteristics and factors of child sexual abuse among adult lesbian and heterosexual women.
Abstract
Major findings from the study include the following: both lesbian and heterosexual women reported at the same rate that an influential woman, including their mother, as being the perpetrator of the childhood sexual abuse (CSA); lesbian women were more likely to report being victims of CSA and to report that the CSA involved physical contact; and lesbian women were more likely to report being the victim of genital CSA, vaginal or anal CSA, being younger at the time of the first CSA experience, having a larger number of perpetrators, experiencing greater frequency of CSA, experiencing CSA over a longer time period, experiencing painful CSA, and experiencing CSA involving physical injury. This study investigated characteristics and factors of child sexual abuse among adult lesbian and heterosexual women. Data for the study were obtained from the 2001 U.S. National Study of Health and Life Experiences of Women and the 2001 Chicago Life Experiences of Women study, two longitudinal studies designed to assess drinking among women in the U.S. general population. Both studies included questions asking participants about their sexual identities and their experiences with CSA. The study's findings suggest that CSA is more prevalent among lesbians than heterosexual women, and that lesbians experience CSA that is more severe than that experienced by heterosexual females. Implications for treatment and study limitations are discussed. Table and references