Association between child sexual abuse and sexual revictimization in adulthood among women sex partners of injection drug users

Community-recruited women (n = 1490) were interviewed about their early and adult sexual victimization histories to determine whether there was an association between child sexual abuse and adult revictimization by sex partners and strangers/nonsex partners. Adolescent sexual abuse, lifetime sex-trading, drug treatment, and mental health treatment were examined as mediating variables. One-fourth of the women had been revictimized (i.e., experienced child sexual abuse and at least one instance of adult sexual victimization). Child sexual abuse was associated with both rape and other sexual victimization by a sex partner in adulthood, as well as adult rape by a stranger/nonsex partner. Drug and mental health treatments reduced abused women's chances of being raped by a sex partner; drug treatment also decreased the likelihood of other sexual victimization by a sex partner. Sex-trading increased abused women's likelihood of rape by a stranger or nonsex partner. Intervention--including drug treatment--can help women with child sexual abuse histories overcome some of the abuse-related sequelae that make them vulnerable to adult revictimization.     

Child Sexual Abuse and Women's Sexual Health: The Contribution of CSA Severity and Exposure to Multiple Forms of Childhood Victimization

Research studies have provided increasing evidence for the potential adverse impact of child sexual abuse on women's sexual health. The present study examined the association between child sexual abuse and sexual health while controlling for various forms of childhood victimization. Self-report questionnaires were administered to 889 young women from the province of Quebec. Results suggest that child sexual abuse survivors were more likely to report having experienced other forms of childhood victimization than were women without child sexual abuse. Women with a history of both child sexual abuse and multiple forms of victimization were at greater risk of experiencing more adverse outcomes, including risky sexual behaviors, sexual problems, and negative sexual self-concept. Regression analyses revealed that child sexual abuse was significantly related to indicators of sexual health outcomes even when controlling for the effect of single forms of victimization. Clinically, interventions optimizing sexual health may be particularly helpful for a subgroup of child sexual abuse survivors.     

Childhood victimization and subsequent adult revictimization assessed in a nationally representative sample of women and men

The purpose of this study was to identify whether experiences of childhood physical and/or sexual victimization would increase women's and men's risk for victimization in adulthood by different perpetrators (any perpetrator regardless of the relationship to the victim; intimate partner perpetrator; non-intimate perpetrator) using a nationally representative sample. Results of hierarchical logistic regression analyses indicated that childhood victimization increased the risk for adulthood victimization by any perpetrator for men and women, and by an intimate partner for women but not men. Female and male victims of physical and/or sexual child abuse are at higher risk for adult victimization by non-intimate perpetrators. These results suggest the appropriateness of interventions among adults or young adults who have been victims of child abuse, to prevent any future victimization in adulthood. To guide the development of such prevention programs, research is needed to identify factors that affect the probability of adulthood victimization among child abuse victims.     

Parenting in Females Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence and Childhood Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence may have a significant impact on parenting. The current study expands on existing research by examining the effects of child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence on parenting styles and parenting self-efficacy. In women from a parenting intervention program (n?=?20), child sexual abuse was related to lower parenting self-efficacy and more permissive parenting. In women at a domestic violence shelter (n?=?45), child sexual abuse was related to current sexual coercion of the partner, and authoritative parenting was related to higher parenting self-efficacy. These results indicate that having a history of child sexual abuse should be taken into consideration when dealing with mothers in violent relationships.     

Self Psychology and Male Child Sexual Abuse: Healing Relational Betrayal

The prevalence of male child sexual abuse (MCSA) is higher than initially thought with up to 26 % of men in community samples reporting sexual abuse in childhood, and up to 36 % of men in clinical samples reporting childhood sexual abuse. Disclosure of MCSA is complex because of men’s difficulties in viewing themselves as victims, especially of sexual violence. This difficulty is exacerbated by societal attitudes that sexual abuse rarely occurs with boys, and is further complicated with the taboo of victimization by same sex perpetrators. Too often, the response to disclosure is disbelief and minimization. For these reasons disclosure is often delayed or withheld thus prolonging the abuse. The negative effects of child sexual abuse are well documented and far reaching with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, addictions, sexual dysfunction and impaired interpersonal relations as common presenting issues in therapy. Treatment is indicated for significant numbers of male survivors. This paper identifies aspects of interpersonal relational difficulties commonly experienced by male sexual abuse survivors, and describes self psychology as guiding a clinical approach to address these interpersonal difficulties. The application of self psychology with male sexual abuse survivors is traced and discussed through the use of a clinical case study with Adam.     

The association between suicidal ideation and childhood and adult victimization

Despite the burgeoning literature on suicidal behavior, there are meager data available on the relationship between suicidal ideation and emotional abuse in childhood; adult physical or sexual victimization; and adult re-victimization in those with a history of childhood maltreatment. This study addressed these gaps in the literature. In a sample of 494 female undergraduates, current suicidal ideation was assessed dichotomously using an item from the SCL-90 and victimization was assessed retrospectively with validated multi-item measures. Analyses revealed an association between suicidal ideation and emotional and physical abuse in childhood and a history of partner violence. No relationship was found between childhood sexual abuse or forced sex in adulthood and suicidal ideation. Additionally, results of multiple logistic regression analyses did not support the hypothesis that the relationship between childhood victimization and SI is moderated by re-victimization in adulthood.     

The Influence of Trauma History and Relationship Power on Latinas’ Sexual Risk for HIV/STIs

ABSTRACT

A community sample of Latinas completed surveys that included measures of sexual abuse and intimate partner violence history, relationship power, negotiating power regarding condom use, perceived HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk for sexual partner, and sexual behavior. More than half of the women reported a history of intimate partner violence in the past year and/or sexual abuse in their lifetime. Intimate partner violence was correlated with lower overall sexual relationship power scores, while sexual abuse was correlated with lower condom-use negotiating power. More extensive intimate partner violence had the strongest association with higher HIV/STI risk, while controlling for relationship status, sexual abuse, and relationship power.     

Adult Attachment Security and Different Types of Relational Violence Victimization Among College‐Age Couples

This study aims to understand the associations between adult attachment security and different types of intimate partner violence victimization including that of emotional abuse, physical violence, and sexual coercion among heterosexual couples. Participants included 87 couples with the mean age 22.3 years. An actor–partner interdependence model was fit to the data. Findings indicated that adult attachment security accounted for 15% of the variance in the emotional abuse victimization of females, 9% of the variance in the sexual coercion victimization of females, and 7% of the variance in minor physical victimization of males. This may significantly impact risk factor assessment, and contribute to improved therapeutic intervention and increased understanding of the development and progression of relationship violence.     

Differentiating Children with and without a History of Repeated Problematic Sexual Behavior

Although the issue of dissociative amnesia in adult survivors of child sexual abuse has been contentious, many research studies have shown that there is a subset of child sexual abuse survivors who have forgotten their abuse and later remembered it. Child sexual abuse survivors with dissociative amnesia histories have different formative and therapeutic issues than survivors of child sexual abuse who have had continuous memory of their abuse. This article first discusses those differences in terms of the moderating risk factors for developing dissociative amnesia (e.g., age, ethnicity, gender, etc.) and then mediating risk factors (e.g., social support, trait dissociativity, etc.). The differences between the two types of survivors are then explored in terms of treatment issues.     

Do Child Abuse and Interparental Violence Lead to Adulthood Family Violence?

The cycle of violence posits that victimized children grow up to victimize others. Three forms of the cycle have never been tested: whether exposure to physical victimization and interparental violence additively or interactively increase risk for adulthood (a) child abuse perpetration; (b) partner abuse perpetration; or (c) partner abuse victimization. These hypotheses were tested in a nationally representative data set (1985 National Family Violence Survey) comprising 6,002 participants. Dually exposed, compared to singly exposed, women had significantly increased risk for adulthood family violence. Frequency of family‐of‐origin violence predicted adulthood child and partner abuse through both main and interactive effects.     

Intimate sexual victimization among women with protective orders: types and associations of physical and mental health problems

Intimate sexual violence was examined among a sample of women who had recently obtained protective orders against male partners using three groups: no sexual victimization (n = 368), sexual insistence (n = 114), and threatened and/or forced sex (n = 117). Differences in childhood sexual abuse as well as types of partner psychological abuse, stalking, and severe physical violence experiences were found across the groups. Multivariate analysis showed that women with no sexual victimization had significantly fewer mental health problems than women who had experienced sexual insistence and women who had been threatened or forced to have sex. Findings from this study underscore the importance of health, mental health, and criminal justice professionals assessing for a range of sexually abusive acts when working with victims of partner violence.     

Lifetime Prevalence and Characteristics of Child Sexual Victimization in a Community Sample of Spanish Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to investigate the lifetime prevalence and characteristics of self-reported child sexual victimization and associations between sexual victimization and sociodemographic characteristics and victimological profiles in community adolescents in Spain. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (Finkelhor, Hamby, Ormrod, & Turner, 2005) was applied to a sample of 1,105 community adolescents (M = 14.52 years, SD = 1.76). Experience of sexual victimization (with or without physical contact) was reported by 8.8% of the sample, at a mean age of 13 years old. Sexual victimization was more prevalent in girls (14.2%) and in older adolescents (10.6%). Offenders were mainly male (87.6%) and were mostly friends, neighbors, or schoolmates (52.6%). No injuries resulted from victimization (4.3%), although the percentage of penetration or attempted penetration was very high (30.6%). Only 9.3% of victims reported the incident to the police or the justice system. In regard to victimological profiles, sexual victims also experienced other forms of victimization (M = 7.16; SD = 3.39): boys reported more conventional crimes, peer and sibling victimization, and witnessing community violence than other victims, whereas sexually victimized girls reported more caregiver victimization and property crimes. Sexually victimized youth present a distinctive sociodemographic and victimological profile. Professionals need to be aware of these characteristics in order to conduct adequate prevention programs. We also need to assess a wide range of victimization experiences when treating sexual abuse victims in order to make adolescents less vulnerable to violence.     

Child Sexual Abuse,Sexual Anxiety,and Sexual Satisfaction: The Role of Self-Capacities

Research indicates that child sexual abuse produces lasting alterations in interpersonal relatedness, identity, and affect regulation, often referred to as self-capacity disturbance. Child sexual abuse also has been shown to negatively impact sexual functioning. This study examined the role of altered self-capacities in mediating the relationship between child sexual abuse and sexual responses. Path analysis revealed that child sexual abuse was related to sexual anxiety and decreased sexual satisfaction through its association with reduced self-awareness and a propensity to be involved in difficult interpersonal relationships.     

Sexual abuse,family violence,and female delinquency: findings from a longitudinal study

The current study examines the effects of three forms of childhood victimization on self-reported delinquency and aggression in adolescent girls. These analyses are based on a longitudinal sample of 141 mother-daughter pairs participating in a study about marital violence and child development. When the children were school aged, mothers and children provided reports describing (a) child exposure to marital violence, (b) escalated physical abuse against the child, and (c) child sexual abuse. Children were followed up into adolescence and re-interviewed. Self-reports of delinquency (violent and nonviolent), running away, and violence against parents were collected. Results indicate that out of the three forms of victimization, child sexual abuse emerged as the strongest predictor of girls' violent and nonviolent criminal behavior. Girls with a history of physical abuse in childhood were most likely to assault their parents. Witnessing marital violence failed to contribute further to delinquency, beyond the adverse association with childhood sexual abuse. Findings highlight a unique avenue for delinquency in girls via childhood sexual exploitation.     

Associations Between Psychological,Physical, and Sexual Intimate Partner Violence and Health Outcomes Among Women Veteran VA Patients

Women veterans experience high rates of lifetime intimate partner violence (IPV) and suffer a variety of trauma-related health conditions. The purpose of this study was to identify health status and health risk behaviors associated with experiences of psychological, physical, or sexual IPV among women veterans receiving care at a Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center. We conducted surveys with 249 women veteran patients and examined health factors associated with each form of violence. Sexual IPV victimization had the most pronounced associations with adverse health. In multivariate analysis, controlling for age, race, and income, women veterans who experienced sexual violence victimization were close to or more than three times as likely as those who experienced no IPV to report poor or fair overall health, a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety, difficulty sleeping, cigarette smoking, and problem drinking. Those who reported psychological violence only (without physical or sexual violence) also reported greater odds of self-rated poor or fair health. These findings are consistent with findings from studies with non-veteran populations and serve to further identify the unique contributions of sexual IPV to health outcomes. The integrated VA health care system offers opportunities for IPV identification and response including a coordinated team-based care model with social work integrated within primary care.     

Perpetrator or Victim? Relationships Between Intimate Partner Violence and Well‐Being

In national surveys, around half of intimate partner violence perpetrators are also victims of partner assaults. However, data on intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration are rarely examined together. This study examines the relationships between perpetration, victimization, and three psychosocial variables—depression, self‐esteem, and substance abuse—that have been constructed in prior research as both causes and consequences of partner violence. Results indicate that associations between substance abuse and self‐esteem and partner violence perpetration are mediated by controlling for victimization, but depression is associated with both victimization and perpetration. Associations between mutual violence and depression and substance abuse are greater among women than men, supporting the position that gender symmetry in reported violence perpetration does not imply symmetry in outcomes.     

Supporting Transmasculine Survivors of Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence: Reflections from Peer Support Facilitation

Data show that trans individuals experience disproportionately high rates of sexual assault compared to their cisgender peers, yet very few survivor support spaces are accessible to trans men. Using autoethnography to reflect on the experiences of serving as a peer facilitator of a grassroots peer support group for transmasculine and non-binary survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence in the United States, this article illuminates issues frequently iterated by trans survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence within peer support group settings. From these experiences, common themes are highlighted that reveal new insights and considerations for those who work with transmasculine survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence.     

Sexual Risk-Taking among High-Risk Urban Women with and without Histories of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Mediating Effects of Contextual Factors

This study investigated the mechanisms of risk for urban women at high risk for HIV with and without childhood sexual abuse histories. Childhood sexual abuse survivors reported more unprotected intercourse and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The association of STI locus of control with frequency of unprotected sex was fully mediated by being intoxicated during sex and engaging in sex work, whereas the association between relational control and unprotected sex was not mediated by contextual factors for the childhood sexual abuse group. The mechanisms of risk are different for those with divergent childhood sexual abuse histories and thus interventions should be developed to educate women with a history of childhood sexual abuse about ways to avoid revictimization, particularly within a context of poverty, prostitution, and drug use.     

Maladaptive Schemas as Mediators in the Relationship Between Child Sexual Abuse and Displaced Aggression

Child sexual abuse is one of the most serious forms of abuse due to the psychological consequences that persist even into adulthood. Expressions of anger among child sexual abuse survivors remain common even years after the event. While child sexual abuse has been extensively studied, the expression of displaced aggression has been studied less. Some factors, such as the maladaptive early schemas, might account for this deficiency. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationships between child sexual abuse, displaced aggression, and these schemas according to gender and determine if these early schemas mediate the relationship between child sexual abuse and displaced aggression. A total of 168 Spanish subjects who were victims of child sexual abuse completed measures of childhood trauma, displaced aggression, and early maladaptive schemas. The results depict the relationship between child sexual abuse, displaced aggression, and early maladaptive schemas. Women scored higher than men in child sexual abuse, emotional abuse, disconnection or rejection and impaired autonomy. Mediational analysis found a significant mediation effect of disconnection or rejection on the relationship between child sexual abuse and displaced aggression; however, impaired autonomy did not mediate significantly.