Adverse developmental effects associated with traumatic life experiences such as child sexual abuse will not apply to all individuals exposed. This general population study, compared the health and life circumstances of 45 respondents who spontaneously identified the experience of sexual abuse before age 22 as changing their life for the “better” (n = 12) versus “worse” (n = 33); with respondents who reported exposure to child sexual abuse on a standard questionnaire; and respondents not reporting such exposure. Individuals exposed versus non-exposed to sexual abuse experienced more adversity in early life and exhibited lower functioning in adulthood. However, individuals associating sexual abuse with a life change for the “better” exhibited a constellation of features consistent with more stable, supportive home environments and better prospects early on and healthier functioning later-on as adults. Studies are needed to understand the complex pathways between early exposure to sexual abuse and these diverse outcomes.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author .
2.
Babor, T.F., Higgins-Biddle, J., Saunders, J.M., & Monteiro, M.G. (2001). The alcohol use disorders identification test: Guidelines for use in primary care (2nd ed.). Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
3.
Beitchman, J.H., Zucker, K.J., Hood, J.E., DaCosta, G.A., & Akman, D. ( 1991). A review of the short-term effects of child sexual abuse . Child Abuse & Neglect, 15, 537-556.
4.
Beitchman, J.H., Zucker, K.J., Hood, J.E., DaCosta, G.A., Akman, D., & Cassavia, E. ( 1992). A review of the long-term effect of child sexual abuse . Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 101-118.
5.
Boyle, M.H., Georgiades, K., Racine, Y., & Mustard, C. ( 2007). Neighborhood and family influences on educational attainment: Results from the Ontario Child Health Study Follow-Up 2001. Child Development, 78, 169-189.
6.
Boyle, M.H., Offord, D.R., Hofmann, H.G., Catlin, G.P., Byles, J.A., Cadman, D.T., et al. (1987). Ontario Child Health Study, I. Methodology. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 826-831.
7.
Brazier, J.E., Harper, R., Jones, N.M., O’Cathain, A., Thomas, K.J., Usherwood, T., et al. (1992). Validating the SF-36 health survey questionnaire: New outcome measure for primary care. British Medical Journal , 305, 160-164.
8.
Byles, J., Byrne, C., Boyle, M.H., & Offord, D. ( 1988). Ontario Child Health Study: Reliability and validity of the general functioning subscale of the McMaster Family Assessment Device . Family Process, 27, 97-104.
9.
Cadman, D., Boyle, M., Szatmari, P., & Offord, D. ( 1987). Chronic illness, disability, and mental and social well-being: Findings from the Ontario Child Health Study. Pediatrics, 79, 805-813.
10.
Elliot, D.S., & Huizinga, D. ( 1989). Improving self-reported measures of delinquency. In M. W. Klein (Eds.), Cross-national research in self-reported crime and delinquency (pp. 155-186). London: Kluwer.
11.
Epstein, N.B., Baldwin, L.M., & Bishop, D.S. ( 1983). The McMaster Family Assessment Device. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 9, 171-180.
12.
Finkelhor, D. ( 1993). Epidemiological factors in the clinical identification of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 17, 67-70.
13.
Finkelhor, D. ( 1994). Current information on the scope and nature of child sexual abuse. Future of Children, 4, 31-53.
14.
Fleming, J. ( 1998). Childhood sexual abuse: An update. Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 10, 383-386.
15.
Fleming, J., Mullen, P.E., Sibthorpe, B., & Bammer, G. ( 1999). The long-term impact of childhood sexual abuse inAustralian women. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 145-159.
16.
Frothingham, T.E., Hobbs, C.J., Wynne, J.M., Lee, L., Goyal, A., & Wadsworth, D.J. (2000). Follow-up study eight years after diagnosis of sexual abuse. Archives of Disease in Childhood , 83, 132-134.
17.
Hardt, J., & Rutter, M. ( 2004). Validity of adult retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences: A review of the evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 260-273.
18.
Jonzon, E., & Lindblad, F. ( 2006). Risk factors and protective factors in relation to subjective health among adult female victims of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30, 127-143.
19.
Kendall-Tackett, K.A., Williams, L.M., & Finkelhor, D. ( 1993). Impact of sexual abuse on children: A review and synthesis of recent empirical studies. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 164-180.
20.
Leventhal, J.M. ( 1998). Epidemiology of sexual abuse of children: Old problems, new directions. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22, 481-491.
21.
MacMillan, H.L., Fleming J.E., Streiner D.L., Lin, E., Boyle M.H., Jamieson, E., et al. (2001). Childhood abuse and lifetime psychopathology in a community sample. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 1878-1883.
22.
McMillen, C., Zuravin, S., & Rideout, G. ( 1995). Perceived benefit from child sexual abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 1037-1043.
23.
Molnar, B.E., Buka, S.L., & Kessler, R.C. ( 2001). Child sexual abuse and subsequent psychopathology: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 753-760.
24.
Mullen, P.E., & Fleming, J. ( 1998). Long-term effects of child sexual abuse. Retrieved on August 18, 2007, from http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/issues/issues9/issues9.html
25.
Nash, M., Husley, T., Sexton, M., Harralson, T., & Lambert, W. ( 1993). Long-term sequelae of childhood sexual abuse: Perceived family environment, psychopathology, and dissociation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 276-283.
26.
Offord, D., Boyle, M.H., Szatmari, P., Rae-Grant, P., Links, D., Cadman, J., et al. (1987). Ontario Child Health Study. II. Six-month prevalence of disorder and rates of service utilization. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 832-836.
27.
Offord, D.R., Boyle, M.H., Racine, Y.A., Fleming, J.E., Cadman, D.T., Munroe Blum, H., et al. (1992). Outcome, prognosis and risk in a longitudinal follow-up study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 916-923.
28.
Okami, P. ( 1991). Self-reports of "positive" childhood and adolescent sexual contacts with older persons: An exploratory study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 20, 437-457.
29.
Putnam, F. ( 2003). Ten-year research update review: Child sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 269-278.
30.
Rind, B., Tromovitch, P., & Bauserman, R. ( 1998). A meta-analytic examination of assumed properties of child sexual abuse using college samples. Psychological Bulletin , 124, 22-53.
31.
Swanston, H.Y., Plunkett, A.M., O’Toole, B.I., Shrimpton, S., Parkinson, P., & Oates, R.K. ( 2003). Nine years after child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 967-984.
32.
Swanston, H.Y., Tebbutt, J.S., O’Toole, B.I., & Oates, R.K. ( 1997). Sexually abused children 5 years after presentation: A case control study. Pediatrics, 100, 600-607.
33.
Walsh, C.A., MacMillan, H.L., Trocmé, N., Jamieson, E., & Boyle, M.H. ( 2006). Measurement of victimization in adolescence: Development and validation of the Childhood Experiences of Violence Questionnaire. Manuscript submitted for publication.
