Cynthia J. Thomsen

Childhood abuse and sexual revictimization in a female Navy recruit sample

To examine effects of childhood abuse on adult rape, 1,887 female Navy recruits were surveyed. Overall 35% of recruits had been raped and 57% had experienced childhood physical abuse (CPA) and/or childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Controlling for CPA, rape was significantly (4.8 times) more likely among women who had experienced CSA than among women who had not. In contrast, CPA (controlling for CSA) was unrelated to likelihood of adult rape. Alcohol problems and number of sex partners were examined as mediators. Although both variables predicted rape, their effects were independent of the effects of CSA. Finally, despite ethnic group differences in the prevalence of victimization, the predictors of rape did not differ significantly across ethnic groups.

Child sexual abuse and number of sexual partners in young women: the role of abuse severity, coping style, and sexual functioning.

The authors proposed and tested a model describing distinct pathways through which childhood sexual abuse (CSA) may lead to relatively low or high numbers of sexual partners in adulthood. Path analyses were conducted on survey responses of young female US Navy recruits who reported CSA (N=547). Use of avoidant strategies to cope with CSA was expected to produce higher levels of sexual problems and fewer heterosexual sex partners, whereas use of self-destructive coping strategies was expected to result in more dysfunctional sexual behavior and more heterosexual sex partners. As predicted, the effect of CSA on number of sex partners was largely mediated by coping strategies and dysfunctional sexual behavior.

Childhood physical abuse, early social support, and risk for maltreatment: current social support as a mediator of risk for child physical abuse☆

OBJECTIVE The study investigated whether perceptions of social support in adulthood partially mediated the associations between childhood experiences (i.e., receipt of physical abuse and levels of early social support) and adult risk for child physical abuse. METHOD Participants included 598 general population adults who completed self-report measures designed to assess childhood physical abuse, perceptions of early and current social support, and risk factors for child physical abuse. Structural equation modeling was used to test and cross validate a model that included the direct effects of child physical abuse and early social support on child physical abuse risk, as well as mediated effects through an influence on adult perceptions of social support. RESULTS Childhood physical abuse and early social support covaried, such that receipt of physical abuse was associated with lower levels of perceived early social support. Early support, but not child physical abuse, had an indirect effect (i.e., through current support) on child physical abuse risk. More specifically, levels of early support were directly related to adult perceptions of support, and adult perceptions of support were inversely associated with child physical abuse risk. Childhood physical abuse was directly related to child physical abuse risk. CONCLUSIONS Low levels of early support may impact risk for child physical abuse by affecting perceptions of others as supportive in adulthood. The receipt of physical abuse in childhood, however, does not appear to impact perceptions of support in adulthood. Research is needed to identify additional factors that may explain the association between receipt of physical abuse in childhood and increased risk of child physical abuse in adulthood.

Etiology of depression comorbidity in combat-related PTSD: A review of the literature☆

Posttraumatic stress disorder is often diagnosed with other mental health problems, particularly depression. Although PTSD comorbidity has been associated with more severe and chronic symptomology, relationships among commonly co-occurring disorders are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to review the literature regarding the development of depression comorbid with combat-related PTSD among military personnel. We summarize results of commonly tested hypotheses about the etiology of PTSD and depression comorbidity, including (1) causal hypotheses, (2) common factor hypotheses, and (3) potential confounds. Evidence suggests that PTSD may be a causal risk factor for subsequent depression; however, associations are likely complex, involving bidirectional causality, common risk factors, and common vulnerabilities. The unique nature of PTSD-depression comorbidity in the context of military deployment and combat exposure is emphasized. Implications of our results for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

The relationship of national and personal issue salience to attitude accessibility on foreign and domestic policy issues

Research on issue voting indicates that the impact of a given attitude on the candidate appraisal process depends on its personal importance or salience (e.g., Krosnick, 1988). In the present research, we suggest that salient attitudes may be more influential because they are more cognitively accessible in memory relative to less salient attitudes. Results based on within-subject, between-issue comparisons indicate that individuals have more accessible attitudes toward issues that are highly salient to them than toward issues that are relatively less salient. Results also indicate that attitude accessibility is more closely associated with the personal importance of an issue than with the perceived national importance of an issue. Finally, in applying this accessibility analysis to the debate on the relative electoral influence offoreign versus domestic issues, we find that attitudes on the latter are more accessible and more likely to arouse self-interest. Discussion focuses on developing process models of political cognition and behavior, and on the utility of accessibility theory in providing insights into these processes.

Do trauma symptoms mediate the relationship between childhood physical abuse and adult child abuse risk

OBJECTIVE Although the intergenerational transmission of family violence has been well documented, the mechanisms responsible for this effect have not been fully determined. The present study examined whether trauma symptoms mediate the relationship between a childhood history of child physical abuse (CPA) and adult CPA risk, and whether any such mediation was similar for women and men. METHOD Female and male US Navy (USN) recruits (N=5,394) and college students (N=716) completed self-report measures of their history of child abuse (i.e., CPA and child sexual abuse [CSA]), exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), current trauma symptoms, and adult CPA risk. RESULTS As expected, there was a strong association between a childhood history of CPA and adult CPA risk. This association was significant even after controlling for demographic variables and childhood exposure to other forms of violence (CSA and IPV), and the strength of the relationship did not vary depending on demographics or exposure to other forms of violence. However, the association between a history of CPA and adult risk of CPA was stronger for individuals high in defensive avoidance compared to those low in defensive avoidance. The association between a history of CPA and adult CPA risk was largely, although not entirely, mediated by psychological trauma symptoms. Mediation was observed for both women and men in both the USN and college samples. CONCLUSIONS Trauma symptoms associated with a history of CPA accounted for a substantial part of the relationship between a history of CPA and adult CPA risk in both women and men. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS To the extent that trauma symptoms are a mechanism by which the intergenerational transmission of child abuse occurs, intervening to reduce trauma symptoms in CPA victims has the potential of reducing their risk of continuing the cycle of violence.

Childhood abuse and premilitary sexual assault in male Navy recruits.

Three samples of male U.S. Navy recruits (N = 7,850) were surveyed to determine whether a history of childhood physical abuse (CPA) or childhood sexual abuse (CSA) was predictive of premilitary rape of women and whether these relationships were mediated by alcohol problems and number of sex partners. In the 3 samples, 11.3%, 11.6%, and 9.9% of men reported committing premilitary rape. When demographic factors were controlled for, both CPA and CSA were independently and additively predictive of rape in each sample, with men who experienced both forms of abuse showing the highest risk of committing rape. Additional analyses revealed that alcohol problems and number of sex partners significantly mediated the relationship between childhood abuse (CPA and CSA) and rape perpetration.

EFFECTS OF WOMEN'S STUDIES COURSES ON GENDER-RELATED ATTITUDES OF WOMEN AND MEN

Attitudes about feminism, gender equality, and gender differences were assessed for male and female students enrolled in three womens studies courses and four control courses at the beginning and end of an academic semester. Compared to control students, womens studies students agreed more with feminist and equality items, and disagreed more with gender difference items, at the beginning of the term. Nonetheless, belief in gender differences decreased among men, but not women, enrolled in womens studies courses. Additionally, womens studies courses produced increased feminist attitudes among women, but decreased feminist attitudes among the small sample of men in the study.

Reports of Rape Reperpetration by Newly Enlisted Male Navy Personnel

This study examined the frequency and characteristics of repeated attempted and completed rape (ACR) incidents reported by newly enlisted male navy personnel (N = 1,146) who participated in a longitudinal study during the transition from civilian to military life. Overall, 13% (n = 144) reported engaging in sexual behavior that approximates legal definitions of ACR since the age of 14. Among those men, most (71%) reperpetrated ACR incidents (M = 6.36, SD = 9.55). Demographic variables were unrelated to perpetration history. Regardless of time period, respondents reported perpetrating primarily completed rather than attempted rape, perpetrating multiple ACR incidents rather than a single incident, using substances to incapacitate victims more frequently than force, and knowing their victim rather than targeting a stranger in completed rape incidents.

Risk for Intimate Partner Violence and Child Physical Abuse: Psychosocial Characteristics of Multirisk Male and Female Navy Recruits:

This study examined psychosocial characteristics of individuals at risk for perpetrating both intimate partner violence (IPV risk) and child physical abuse (CPA risk). The sample consisted of 775 female and 592 male Navy recruits. The psychosocial variables assessed included symptoms of dysphoria, posttraumatic stress, self-dysfunction, alcoholrelated problems, and drug use. IPV risk and CPA risk were positively associated with approximately9% of the total sample considered multirisk (i.e., positive for both IPV risk and CPA risk). Results of regression analyses revealed that patterns of predictors (demographic and psychosocial variables) for IPV-risk only and CPA-risk only differed with multirisk individuals characterized by the combined predictors of both types of violence risk. Nearly half (47.2%) of the multirisk individuals were characterized by multiple (i.e., two or more) clinical elevations on the psychosocial characteristics assessed.