Childhood Sexual Abuse and Mental Health in Adult Life

The relationship between childhood sexual abuse and mental health in adult life was investigated in a random community sample of women. There was a positive correlation between reporting abuse and greater levels of psychopathology on a range of measures. Substance abuse and suicidal behaviour were a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of psychiatry 1993-12, Vol.163 (6), p.721-732
Main Authors: Mullen, Paul E., Martin, Judy L., Anderson, Jessie C., Romans, Sarah E., Herbison, G. Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adults
Child
Child abuse & neglect
Child Abuse, Sexual - psychology
Child sexual abuse
Childhood
Children
Drug abuse
Effects
Feeding and Eating Disorders - psychology
Female
Health problems
Humans
Mental disorders
Mental Disorders - psychology
Mental health
Middle Aged
Odds Ratio
Parents & parenting
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Patient Admission
Personality Development
Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data
Psychometrics
Psychopathology
Psychosocial Deprivation
Regression Analysis
Risk Factors
Sex crimes
Sexual behavior
Substance abuse
Substance-Related Disorders - psychology
Suicide
Suicide, Attempted - psychology
Women
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Summary:The relationship between childhood sexual abuse and mental health in adult life was investigated in a random community sample of women. There was a positive correlation between reporting abuse and greater levels of psychopathology on a range of measures. Substance abuse and suicidal behaviour were also more commonly reported by the abused group. Childhood sexual abuse was more frequent in women from disrupted homes as well as in those who had been exposed to inadequate parenting or physical abuse. While elements in the individual's childhood which increased the risks of sexual abuse were also directly associated to higher rates of adult psychopathology, abuse emerged from logistic regression as a direct contributor to adult psychopathology. Severity of abuse reported was related to the degree of adult psychopathology. The overlap between the possible effects of sexual abuse and the effects of the matrix of disadvantage from which it so often emerges were, however, so considerable as to raise doubts about how often, in practice, it operates as an independent causal element. Further, many of those reporting childhood sexual abuse did not show a measurable long-term impairment of their mental health. Abuse correlated with an increased risk for a range of mental health problems, but in most cases its effects could only be understood in relationship to the context from which it emerged.
ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465
DOI:10.1192/bjp.163.6.721