A community sample of 391 adult women was screened for a history of sexual assault during childhood and assessed for lifetime and current mental disorders using a structured victimization history interview and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. One third of the women had been victims of rape, molestation, or sexual assault not involving physical contact prior to the age of 18 years. Child rape victims were more likely than nonvictims to have ever met DSM-III diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, and sexual disorders. Molestation victims were overrepresented on major depressive episode, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and sexual disorders. Noncontact child sexual assault was not a significant risk factor for any disorder. Child rape and molestation victims were more likely than victims of noncontact assault to have had crime-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Mental disorder lifetime prevalence risk ratios for child rape and molestation victims versus nonvictims ranged from 1.5 for major depressive episode to 6.7 for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Sound assessment procedures for the identification of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following rape are urgently needed, given the prevalence of this type of trauma and the prevalence of rape-related PTSD. Progress has been made in development of measures to assess complex histories of rape and other trauma exposure. Structured diagnostic interviews have been developed that appear to have high agreement with other measures thought to be indicators of the construct of PTSD. New findings from longitudinal assessment of PTSD following rape indicate that it may be possible to make predictions about the course of PTSD on the basis of initial symptoms and responses on self-report measures. The utility of psychophysiological indexes in assessment of rape-related PTSD is unknown at this time. Research on rape-related PTSD is in the early stages and can benefit from advances made in the study of combat-related PTSD.

This study examined symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in children indirectly exposed to September 11 via television, the Internet, and printed media. Approximately 1 month after the attacks, 179 students in Grades K-5 at four Southeastern elementary schools and their parents were surveyed about their experiences and reactions. The Pediatric Emotional Distress Scale (PEDS), the Parent Report of Post-Traumatic Symptoms (PROPS), and the Children's Report of Post-Traumatic Symptoms (CROPS) were used to assess for PTSD symptoms. More PTSD symptoms were reported in children who saw reports on the Internet (vs. television/printed media), saw images of death or injury, or feared that a loved one might have died in the attacks. There was no measurable benefit to seeing heroic or “positive” images. Older children and boys had greater media exposure and more trauma-specific PTSD symptoms. Implications for those striving to deliver appropriate amounts and types of information to children and families following disasters are discussed.

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This study is a multimethod assessment of depressive features in a sample of 60 adolescent inpatients. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between self-report measures of depression and Rorschach variables commonly associated with depression. Patients represented a variety of diagnostic categories in order to determine whether information gathered through assessment instruments was related to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed. [DSM-III], American Psychiatric Association, 1980) diagnoses of depression. Findings indicated that this sample of adolescents was highly defensive and emotionally constricted. There were several significant relationships between self-report measures and Rorschach indicators of depression. However, in general, the Rorschach variables were not strongly related to depression. The self-report measures were more accurate than Rorschach variables in discriminating between depressed and nondepressed subjects.