A history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been shown to be an important contributor to poor psychosocial adjustment in adult life. However, the long-term impact of childhood physical abuse (CPA) has been neglected, and research has often failed to consider moderating factors such as a negative family environment. This article investigates the relationships among adult psychological adjustment and self-esteem, family-of-origin environment variables, and a history of CSA or CPA. A self-report questionnaire was administered to a general community sample and a tertiary student sample. Findings indicated that family-of-origin variables did not predict psychological adjustment. However, the community group exhibited poorer psychological adjustment than the student group. For the community group, family cohesion and CSA were the best predictors of adult adjustment and self-esteem. For the student group, only CPA significantly contributed to the prediction of adult psychological adjustment. Statistical and conceptual limitations, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.
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