Jane A. Siegel

The long-term mental health consequences of child sexual abuse: an exploratory study of the impact of multiple traumas in a sample of women.

The current study examined exposure to multiple traumas as mediators of the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and negative adult mental health outcomes. Participants were 174 women interviewed in the third wave of a longitudinal study of the consequences of child sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse victims reported a lifetime history of more exposure to various traumas and higher levels of mental health symptoms. Exposure to traumas in both childhood and adulthood other than child sexual abuse mediated the relationship between child sexual abuse and psychological distress in adulthood. There were also some significant direct effects for child sexual abuse on some outcome measures. Results point to the importance of understanding the interconnected nature of trauma exposure for some survivors.

The Relationship Between Child Sexual Abuse And Female Delinquency And Crime: A Prospective Study

Child sexual abuse has been hypothesized to be an especially significant factor in the etiology of girls’ delinquency and women’s crime. This article reports on a prospective study of 206 women who, in the period from 1973 to 1975, were treated in a hospital emergency room in a major city following a report of sexual abuse. Their subsequent juvenile and adult criminal records were compared to a matched comparison group. Child sexual abuse was a statistically significant predictor of certain types of offenses, but other indicators of familial neglect and abuse were significant factors as well.

Adult Sexual Revictimization among Black Women Sexually Abused in Childhood: A Prospective Examination of Serious Consequences of Abuse

This study is a prospective investigation of adult sexual revictimization among 113 Black women with documented histories of childhood sexual abuse. The purpose was to obtain information on the frequency of sexual abuse in both childhood and adulthood and to determine which characteristics of the child sexual abuse were predictive of revictimization. Thirty percent of the participants were revictimized and physical force predicted subsequent victimization. This study also investigated possible sexual behavioral correlates of revictimization. Revictimized women reported more involvement in prostitution and partner violence. Finally, the present study considered the reproductive and sexual health correlates of revictimization. When compared to women abused in childhood only, revictimized women experienced more problems conceiving, repeated vaginal infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and painful intercourse. Suggestions for intervention are discussed.

Physical Violence Inside Prisons Rates of Victimization

This study estimates prevalence rates of inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate physical victimization. Inmate participants were drawn from 13 adult male prisons and 1 female prison operated by a single mid-Atlantic state. A total of 7,221 men and 564 women participated. Rates of physical victimization varied significantly by gender, perpetrator, question wording, and facility. Prevalence rates of inmate-on-inmate physical violence in the previous 6 months were equal for males and females. Men had significantly higher rates of physical violence perpetrated by staff than by other inmates. By facility, inmate-on-inmate prevalence rates ranged from 129 to 346 per 1,000, whereas the range for staff-on-inmate was 83 to 321 per 1,000 (but the difference was not statistically significant).

Childhood sexual abuse: a gender perspective on context and consequences.

Literature on gender and child sexual abuse (CSA) has highlighted patterns of similarity and difference among survivors and the need for further research. This study relied on gender analysis of 128 women and 69 men, obtained through an examination of childhood hospital records, to further examine gender differences in mental health outcomes among abuse survivors and correlates of mental health outcomes including professional help seeking, family environment, and other trauma exposure. Overall, men and women were similar in the context and consequences of CSA. The role of the characteristics of CSA and contextual variables in explaining variance in mental health for 106 male victims and nonvictims was also examined. Among male participants, number of incidents of sexual abuse, injury at the hands of a caregiver, and exposure to other traumas significantly explained higher levels of an array of mental health symptoms. Implications for future research are discussed.

Childhood physical and sexual abuse as risk factors for heavy drinking among African-American women: a prospective study

OBJECTIVE This study examines the associations among characteristics of child sexual abuse. childhood physical abuse, lack of parental care, and heavy drinking in a relatively young, urban population of African-American women all of whom have documented histories of child sexual abuse. METHODOLOGY The sample consists of 113 African American child victims who were brought to a city hospital emergency room for treatment and collection of forensic evidence in the 1970s and re-interviewed as adults in the 1990s. RESULTS The results of this research suggest that multiple incidents of child sexual abuse, more than the characteristics of such abuse is an important predictor of adult heavy alcohol use and binge drinking. These results remain even after controlling for the effects of parental drinking behavior. CONCLUSION Although the victim of multiple child sexual assaults is more likely to suffer force and penetration, these analyses suggest that it is the multiple victimization and not the force or penetration that drives the relationship between child sexual assault and drinking behaviors.

Risk Factors for Sexual Victimization of Women Results from a Prospective Study

Using data drawn from a prospective study of 206 urban, predominantly low-income, African American women, sexually victimized before they turned 13 in the early 1970s, and a matched comparison group, this article explores whether child sexual abuse was a risk factor for revictimization and examines the role of other factors in the risk of victimization. Child sexual abuse before the age of 13 was not by itself a risk factor for adult victimization, but those who were also victimized as adolescents were at much greater risk of adult sexual victimization than other women. Additional risk factors included measures of sexual behavior and alcohol problems.

Relational Outcomes of Childhood Sexual Trauma in Female Survivors A Longitudinal Study

This longitudinal study examines the effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on the intimate and marital relationships of adult survivors from a sample composed primarily of African American women. In addition, the authors explore the protective role of maternal support. Interview data are collected on 136 women with documented histories of CSA who indicate the quality and nature of their current marital relationships and other interpersonal connections. Results suggest that CSA survivors with poor maternal attachment are more likely to enter into marital or cohabiting relationships. However, more severe sexual trauma in childhood correlates with greater marital dissatisfaction. Good maternal attachment during childhood has a negative main effect on adult interpersonal problems and a buffering effect on the relationship between abuse and marital dissatisfaction. These data can help guide future research on the adult relational outcomes of female CSA survivors, especially among minority populations.

Patterns of victimization among male and female inmates: evidence of an enduring legacy.

People inside prison have above-average rates of childhood and adult victimization. Little is known, however, about the relationship between types of victimization inside prison and that experienced in childhood. This article estimates rates of victimization for male and female inmates by type of perpetrator and form of victimization (sexual, physical, either, or both) and their association with types of childhood victimization (sexual or physical). Data for these estimates are based on a random sample of approximately 7,500 inmates housed in 12 adult male prisons and one adult female prison in a single state. The significance of the findings for practice are discussed along with recommendations to improve the health and welfare of people inside prison.

Understanding Links Among Childhood Trauma, Dissociation, and Women's Mental Health

Interrelationships among pathological dissociation, child and adult trauma exposure, and adult mental health symptoms were examined in a sample of low-income, mostly African-American women. Dissociation was significantly related to both trauma exposure and mental health symptoms but did not mediate this relationship. Implications for research and practice are discussed.