In a large, nationally representative survey of 2,626 adult Americans, men and women who reported a history of childhood sexual abuse involving penetration were also more likely to report a disrupted marriage, dissatisfaction in their sexual relationship, and a tendency to be a religious nonpractitioner. Victims of abuse were also more likely to have read or talked about the problem recently and tended to see it as a more common occurrence than nonvictims. These findings are generally consistent with other studies on the long-term impact of abuse and add to the sense of this as a social problem with important social and psychological ramifications.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bagley, C. , & Ramsay, R. (1985). Disrupted childhood and vulnerability to sexual assault: Long-term sequels with implications for counseling.Social Work and Human Sexuality, 4, 33-48.
2.
Briere, J. (1988). Controlling for family variables in abuse effects research: A critique of the “partialling” approach.Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 3(1), 80-89.
3.
Briere, J. , & Runtz, M. (1987). Post sexual abuse trauma: Data and implications for clinical practice.Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2(4) 367-379.
4.
Briere, J. , & Runtz, M. (1988). Post sexual abuse trauma. In G. Wyatt & G. Powell (Eds.), Lasting effects of child sexual abuse (pp. 85-99). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
5.
Browne, A. , & Finkelhor, D. (1986). Impact of child sexual abuse: A review of the research.Psychological Bulletin, 99(1), 66-77.
6.
Courtois, C. (1979). The incest experience and its aftermath.Victimology: An International Journal, 4, 337-347.
7.
Courtois, C. (1988). Healing the incest wound: Adult survivor in therapy.New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
8.
Finkelhor, D. (1979) Sexually victimized children.New York: Free Press.
9.
Finkelhor, D. (1984). Child sexual abuse: New theory and research.New York: Free Press.
10.
Finkelhor, D. (1987). The sexual abuse of children: Current research reviewed.Psychiatric Annals: The Journal of Continuing Psychiatric Education, 17(4), 233-237, 241.
11.
Finkelhor, D. (1988). The trauma of child sexual abuse: Two models. In G. Wyatt & G. Powell (Eds.), Lasting effects of child sexual abuse (pp. 61-82). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
12.
Finkelhor, D. , & Browne, A. (1985). The traumatic impact of child sexual abuse: A conceptualization.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 55(4), 530-541.
13.
Finkelhor, D. , Hotaling, G., Lewis, I. A., & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual abuse in a national survey of adult men and women: Prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors.Child Abuse & Neglect, 14(1), 27-35.
14.
Finkelhor, D. , & Williams, L., with Burns, N. (1988). Nursery crimes: Sexual abuse in day care.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
15.
Henderson, J. (1983). Is incest harmful?Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 28, 34-39.
16.
Jehu, D. (1988). Beyond sexual abuse: Therapy with women who were childhood victims.Chichester, Great Britain: John Wiley & Sons.
17.
Locander, W. , Sudman, S., & Bradburn, N. (1976). An investigation of interview method, threat and response distortion.Journal of the American Statistical Association, 71, 269-274.
18.
Mullen, P. , Romans-Clarkson, S., Walton, V., & Herbison, G. (1988). Impact of sexual and physical abuse on women's mental health.The Lancet, 1(8,590), 841-845.
19.
Murphy, S. , Kilpatrick, D., Amick-McMullan, A., Veronen, L., Paduhovich, J., Best, C., Villeaponteaux, L., & Saunders, B. (1988). Current psychological functioning of child sexual assault survivors: A community study.Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 3(1), 55-79.
20.
Peters, S. (1988). Child sexual abuse and later psychological problems. In G. Wyatt and G. Powell (Eds.), Lasting effects of child sexual abuse (pp. 101-117). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
21.
Peters, S. , Wyatt, G., & Finkelhor, D. (1986). Prevalence. In D. Finkelhor and Associates (Eds.), Sourcebook on child sexual abuse (pp. 15-59). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
22.
Quine, S. (1985). Does the mode matter: A comparison of three modes of questionnaire completion.Community Health Studies, 2, 151-155.
23.
Ramey, J. (1979). Dealing with the last taboo.SIECUS Report, 7, 1-2, 6-7.
24.
Russell, D. (1986). The secret trauma: Incest in the lives of girls and women.New York: Basic Books.
25.
Stein, J. , Golding, J., Siegal, J., Burnham, M., & Sorenson, S. (1988). Long-term psychological sequelae of child sexual abuse: The Los Angeles Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study. In G. Wyatt & G. Powell (Eds.), Lasting effects of child sexual abuse (pp. 135-154). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
26.
Timnick, L. (1985a, August 25). 22% in survey were child abuse victims.Los Angeles Times, p. 1.
27.
Timnick, L. (1985b, August 26). Children's abuse reports reliable, most believe.Los Angeles Times, p. 1.
28.
Urquiza, A. , & Crowley, C. (1986). Sex differences in the survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Paper presented at the Fourth Conference on the Sexual Victimization of Children, New Orleans, LA.
29.
Wyatt, G. (1987). Maximizing appropriate populations and responses for sex research. Paper presented at the Sex and AIDS conference, Kinsey Institute, Bloomington, IN.
