Prevalence and risk factors for childhood sexual abuse in women: national survey findings

Vogeltanz, Nancy D.; Wilsnack, Sharon C.; Harris, T. Robert; Wilsnack, Richard W.; Wonderlich, Stephen A.; Kristjanson, Arlinda F.

doi:10.1016/s0145-2134(99)00026-5

Cited by 157 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Others, such as reliability and validity of various measures, the utility of retrospective versus prospective designs, and how variations in defi nitions of CSA affect prevalence estimates (Goldman and Padayachi, 2000;Haugaard and Emery, 1989;Nelson et al, 2010;Roosa et al, 1998;Widom et al, 1999), cannot be addressed with our fi ndings. Second, the proportion of women endorsing behavioral descriptions of CSA in our study is somewhat lower than prevalence estimates of CSA in women found in the larger literature (Fergusson et al, 1996a;Pereda et al, 2009;Vogeltanz et al, 1999;Walker et al, 2004). The lower degree of specifi city in our behavioral descriptions of CSA (e.g., we did not query vaginal, oral, and anal sexual abuse acts separately) and relatively young age cutoff (15 years) compared with other studies may have contributed to this difference.…”

Section: Limitationscontrasting

confidence: 70%

“…Given the high rates of CSA in women (Fergusson et al, 1996a;Pereda et al, 2009;Vogeltanz et al, 1999;Walker et al, 2004) and the associated elevation in risk for problem alcohol use (Fergusson et al, 1996b;Kendler et al, 2000;Silverman et al, 1996;Wilsnack et al, 1997), it is important to include in alcohol studies CSA assessments that do not introduce systematic bias into the measurement of the association between CSA and alcohol-related outcomes. In the current study, we examined the association between CSA status and AUDs using two types of CSA assessments administered in the same interview to a large communitybased sample of young women.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…N EARLY ONE IN FIVE WOMEN has experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA) (Fergusson et al, 1996a;Pereda et al, 2009;Vogeltanz et al, 1999;Walker et al, 2004), a well-documented risk factor for alcohol-related problems in adolescence and young adulthood (Fergusson et al, 1996b;Kendler et al, 2000;Silverman et al, 1996;Wilsnack et al, 1997) that is more common in families with an alcoholic parent (Anda et al, 2002;Dube et al, 2001;Fergusson et al, 1996a). Although a link between CSA and problem alcohol use has been reported relatively consistently, a range of methods have been used to assess CSA, which may contribute to variability in the estimated magnitude of the association reported in the literature.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Investigating the Association Between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Alcohol Use Disorders in Women: Does It Matter How We Ask About Sexual Abuse?

Sartor¹,

Nelson²,

Duncan³

et al. 2012

J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs

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ABSTRACT. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the type of questions used to assess childhood sexual abuse (CSA) introduces systematic bias into estimations of the magnitude of the association between CSA and alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Method: The Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism was administered by telephone to 3,787 female twins ages 18-29 years (14.6% African American, 85.4% White). Interviews included questions regarding sexual abuse experiences described in behavioral terms and a standard trauma checklist (in a separate section) with the items "rape" and "sexual molestation," with defi nitions provided in respondent booklets. (Fergusson et al., 1996a;Pereda et al., 2009;Vogeltanz et al., 1999;Walker et al., 2004), a well-documented risk factor for alcohol-related problems in adolescence and young adulthood (Fergusson et al., 1996b;Kendler et al., 2000;Silverman et al., 1996;Wilsnack et al., 1997) that is more common in families with an alcoholic parent (Anda et al., 2002;Dube et al., 2001;Fergusson et al., 1996a). Although a link between CSA and problem alcohol use has been reported relatively consistently, a range of methods have been used to assess CSA, which may contribute to variability in the estimated magnitude of the association reported in the literature. In the current study, we tested whether the magnitude of the association of CSA with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) varies as a function of assessment-specifi cally, if behaviorally defi ned questions about sexual abuse (read by an interviewer) yield different estimates than abuse terms such as rape presented with defi nitions in a trauma checklist (read by the respondent). Large-scale studies of alcohol use that cover a broad range of psychosocial domains are limited in the amount of time that can be devoted to the assessment of CSA and thus typically query CSA with one or two items using the terms rape, sexual abuse, or molestation. A larger number of cases of CSA are typically detected when behavioral descriptions of sexual abuse are used (e.g., "Did anyone ever make you touch their genitals when you didn't want to?") (Fricker et al., 2003;Lynch, 1996;Weaver, 1998;Wyatt and Peters, 1986), but it is not yet known whether using questions referencing abuse terms rather than behavioral descriptions of CSA biases results in studies of CSA and alcohol-related outcomes.The fi rst step in this line of inquiry is to determine the proportion of individuals who endorse behaviorally worded CSA questions who also endorse CSA when queried using abuse terms and the proportion of individuals who endorse abuse terms who also endorse behaviorally worded

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Section: Limitationscontrasting

confidence: 70%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Investigating the Association Between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Alcohol Use Disorders in Women: Does It Matter How We Ask About Sexual Abuse?

Sartor¹,

Nelson²,

Duncan³

et al. 2012

J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Study results are inconsistent, however [1,8] . Women with a history of CSA may have reduced confidence in their abilities as a mother [11] , as well as difficulties in using contraception reliably [7,28,36] . Both factors might lead to an increased number of induced abortions in women exposed to CSA.…”

Section: Abortionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prenatal care in adult women exposed to childhood sexual abuse

Leeners

Stiller

Block³

et al. 2012

Journal of Perinatal Medicine

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Aims: Several case reports show a negative impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on prenatal care. The study aimed to systematically investigate this association in a larger study group. Methods: CSA was investigated by face-to-face interviews and by a modified questionnaire developed by Wyatt. All study participants completed a self-administered questionnaire designed to investigate the consequences of CSA on prenatal care during adulthood. Data from 85 women after CSA were compared to those of 170 matched women without such experiences. Results: Women exposed to CSA had fewer than five prenatal consultations more often than unexposed women (26 % /7 % ; P < 0.0001). Of the 85 women with a positive history for CSA, 9.4 % had been asked for such antecedents, 36.5 % had intense memories on original abuse situations during pregnancy, 56.6 % mentioned specific consequences of CSA on prenatal care and 61.2 % were satisfied with obstetrical support. Exposed women (62.4 % ) felt significantly less prepared for labor than unexposed women (75.9 % ) (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: CSA experiences are associated with impaired prenatal care. These results underscore the compelling need to improve prenatal care in women exposed to CSA through better education of obstetricians regarding the effects of CSA and in their ability to provide empathetic professional support.

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“…A number of recent studies (i.e. Hall, 1996 ;Gladstone et al 1999 ;Vogeltanz et al 1999 ;Widom, 1999) have reported that CSA is associated with several dimensions of family dysfunction, including a lack of parental protection, a lack of emotional support, parental alcohol or drug problems, marital discord and emotional abuse and neglect. Thus, in general, CSA appears to be one of a number of correlates of pervasive familial discord.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Childhood sexual abuse and pathogenic parenting in the childhood recollections of adult twin pairs

et al. 2000

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Statham, Dixie J.; Dunne, Michael P.; and Martin, Nicholas G., ,"Childhood sexual abuse and pathogenic parenting in the childhood recollections of adult twin pairs." Psychological Medicine. 30,6. 1293-1302. (2000 ABSTRACTBackground. We examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and interviewees' recollections of pathogenic parenting, testing for possible retrospective biases in the recollections of those who have experienced CSA.

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Prevalence and risk factors for childhood sexual abuse in women: national survey findings

Cited by 157 publications

References 22 publications

Investigating the Association Between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Alcohol Use Disorders in Women: Does It Matter How We Ask About Sexual Abuse?

Investigating the Association Between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Alcohol Use Disorders in Women: Does It Matter How We Ask About Sexual Abuse?

Prenatal care in adult women exposed to childhood sexual abuse

Childhood sexual abuse and pathogenic parenting in the childhood recollections of adult twin pairs

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