Is Disclosure of Childhood Rape Associated With Mental Health Outcome?: Results From the National Women's Study

• NCJ Number: 204160
• Journal: Child Maltreatment Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2004 Pages: 62-77
• Author(s): Kenneth J. Ruggiero; Daniel W. Smith; Rochelle F. Hanson; Heidi S. Resnick; Benjamin E. Saunders; Dean G. Kilpatrick; Connie L. Best
• Date Published: February 2004
• Length: 16 pages
• Grant Number(s): DA05220-01A2
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Based on data from the National Women's Study (NWS), this study tested the hypothesis that victims of childhood rape who disclose their victimization soon after it occurs are at lower risk for later psychosocial difficulties compared with those who delay disclosure or never disclose.

Abstract

The study identified a subsample of 288 women who reported a forcible sexual penetration (rape) prior to becoming 18 years old. Respondents who reported at least one rape were asked several questions to obtain additional information about their first or only victimization. Respondents who reported a child rape were asked whether they had disclosed the rape to other individuals prior to the study. Current (past 12 months) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was assessed with the PTSD module of the NWS survey. Major depressive episodes (MDE's) during the past 12 months were assessed with a module for depression adapted from the Structured Clinical Interview. Respondents were considered to have a substance-use problem when they met criteria for alcohol or drug-use problems. Primary analyses explored outcomes in relation to three disclosure variables: whether respondents ever disclosed child rape to another person; among respondents who disclosed, whether disclosure occurred within 1 month of the rape; and whether respondents ever disclosed to their mother. The findings showed a significantly higher past-year prevalence of PTSD and MDE's among women who waited longer than 1 month to disclose their rape relative to nondisclosers and women who disclosed within 1 month of the rape. Delayed disclosure remained associated with PTSD after controlling for demographic and rape characteristics. Patterns of disclosure were not associated with past-year substance-use problems. Future research should focus on associations between various patterns of disclosure, revictimization, and later mental health functioning. 5 tables and 58 references