Relationship to Perpetrator, Disclosure, Social Reactions, and PTSD Symptoms in Child Sexual Abuse Survivors

The relationship between childhood sexual abuse and mental health in adult life was investigated in a random community sample of women. There was a positive correlation between reporting abuse and greater levels of psychopathology on a range of measures. Substance abuse and suicidal behaviour were also more commonly reported by the abused group. Childhood sexual abuse was more frequent in women from disrupted homes as well as in those who had been exposed to inadequate parenting or physical abuse. While elements in the individual's childhood which increased the risks of sexual abuse were also directly associated to higher rates of adult psychopathology, abuse emerged from logistic regression as a direct contributor to adult psychopathology. Severity of abuse reported was related to the degree of adult psychopathology. The overlap between the possible effects of sexual abuse and the effects of the matrix of disadvantage from which it so often emerges were, however, so considerable as to raise doubts about how often, in practice, it operates as an independent causal element. Further, many of those reporting childhood sexual abuse did not show a measurable long-term impairment of their mental health. Abuse correlated with an increased risk for a range of mental health problems, but in most cases its effects could only be understood in relationship to the context from which it emerged.

The present study examined the psychological sequelae of child sexual abuse (CSA) and the factors that contributed to revictimization in the form of adult sexual assault (ASA) using a survey of 577 female college students. CSA characteristics, maladaptive coping in response to CSA, degree of self-blame at the time of the abuse and currently, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were examined as predictors of revictimization. Results indicated that individuals who reported both CSA and ASA had more PTSD symptoms, were more likely to use drugs or alcohol to cope, act out sexually, withdraw from people, and seek therapy services. In addition, the revictimized group reported more self-blame at the time of the abuse and currently. The only factor that predicted revictimization in this study was the number of maladaptive coping strategies used. Implications of these findings are discussed.