Associations Between Child Sexual Abuse and Negative Sexual Experiences and Revictimization Among Women: Does Measuring Severity Matter?

• NCJ Number: 237022
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 35 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2011 Pages: 946-955
• Author(s): Tamra B. Loeb; Tommi Gaines; Gail E. Wyatt; Muyu Zhang; Honghu Liu
• Date Published: November 2011
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): T32- MH171140; MH071145; 5T32AI007370
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study investigated whether a composite scoring of child sexual abuse could predict negative sexual behavior for women later in life.

Abstract

Findings from the study show that a composite score documenting child sexual abuse (CSA) was better at predicting negative sexual experiences and revictimization later in life than the standard binary measure of CSA. This study examined three hypotheses: whether model fit indexes would indicate more predictive power for the CSA composite score with regard to negative sexual experiences and revictimization; whether the CSA composite score would more consistently estimate the later association with negative sexual experiences and revictimization; and whether the specific characteristics of abuse were inter-related and caused measurement problems in women with a history of CSA. Data for the study were obtained from interviews with 835 women who participated in the Los Angeles Women's Project, a study examining women's sexual decisionmaking in Los Angeles County. The results of regression analyses indicate that CSA composite scores are more effective at measuring the associations between women's CSA histories and their later negative sexual experiences and revictimization. Tables and references