NCJ Number
130609
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1991) Pages: 183-197
Date Published
1991
Length
15 pages
Annotation
A questionnaire was administered to a university sample of 245 female victims of sexual child abuse and 750 nonvictims, ranging in age from 18 to 63 years, to determine whether abuse is related to poor adult social and psychological adjustment.
Abstract
The instrument consisted of three outcome measures of adjustment, variables directly related to abuse, perceived satisfaction with early family life, and demographic data. Only one of the outcome measures -- the Texas Social Behavior Inventory (TSBI) -- yielded a statistically significant difference between the samples. There was a steady, significant, and progressive increase in maladjustment between the nonabused, the nonincestuously abused, and the incest victims. Factors directly or indirectly related to abuse were not associated with differences in maladjustment scores. Women still disturbed by the abusive incident had higher mean impairment scores on the TSBI than those who reported no disturbance. When controls were applied for levels of satisfaction with early family life, differences between the abused and nonabused samples disappeared. Those abused as children who reported "good treatment" by parents exhibited no ill effects as adults on the TSBI. 4 tables and 39 references (Author abstract modified)