NCJ Number
210252
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: 2005 Pages: 39-55
Date Published
2005
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on treatment outcomes for a sample (n=2,434) of substance abusing men and women in a national, multisite study.
Abstract
As part of the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Studies (DATOS), 10,010 patients were admitted to 96 drug treatment programs in 11 U.S. cities between 1991 and 1993. The current study involved 2,434 participants who were followed up 1 year after entry into drug treatment. Variables selected for the study pertained to the association between CSA history and posttreatment drug and alcohol use among male and female adults treated in the four types of modalities included in the DATOS. Variable categories focused on demographic/background characteristics, abuse history, mental health disorders, substance dependence disorders, criminal involvement, treatment retention, treatment motivation, and negative reference group. Log linear models were used to test for main effects and interactions of CSA and gender with categorical variables. A history of CSA was reported by 27.2 percent of the women and 9.2 percent of the men. Controlling for gender, patients reporting CSA were younger at entry into the current drug treatment than patients without a CSA history, and they were more likely to be White, to have a comorbid mental disorder, to be alcohol or cocaine dependent, to have higher levels of criminal activities, to have a higher level of problem recognition, and to have a more negative peer influence. Controlling for these correlates, a history of abuse was related to a lower likelihood of posttreatment abstinence. 2 tables, 1 figure, and 46 references