NCJ Number
177050
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 23 Issue: 2 Dated: February 1999 Pages: 145-159
Date Published
1999
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article reports on a study of the long-term impact of childhood sexual abuse in Australian women.
Abstract
The study examined the association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and a range of adverse adult outcomes in a community sample of Australian women, using multivariate analysis which accounted for a number of potential confounding effects. The retrospective study examined cross-sectional data collected as part of a larger two-stage case-control study of the possible relationship between CSA and alcohol abuse. Data were appropriately weighted to adjust for the different selection probabilities of cases and controls. The study found significant associations between reporting CSA and experiencing domestic violence, rape, sexual problems, mental health problems, low self-esteem and problems with intimate relationships even after taking into account a range of family background factors. Women who had experienced abuse involving intercourse were the most vulnerable to these negative outcomes. Tables, references