NCJ Number
123731
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1990) Pages: 217-228
Date Published
1990
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examines the extent to which symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is exhibited in a nonclinical sample of women who had been sexually abused as children and how the symptoms vary as a function of the perpetrator and level of sexual activity involved in the abuse.
Abstract
Questionnaires were distributed to 1500 nurses in two large hospitals; 54 responded as women who had been sexually abused as children (under 15 years old). When using a rating of "moderate" symptomatology, only 4 percent currently suffer from PTSD and only 17 percent of these women would ever have met DSM-III-R criteria for PTSD. The mean score for current symptom levels was only "a little bit," but approached "moderate" for past symptomatology. These percentages, low in comparison to other studies, are at least partially attributable to the nonclinical nature of the sample. PTSD is more likely to occur and is more severe for victims of father-daughter incest and in cases where sexual intercourse had occurred or had been attempted. 2 tables, 21 references. (Author abstract modified)