NCJ Number
158164
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 19 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1995) Pages: 1289-1301
Date Published
1995
Length
13 pages
Annotation
In the 1987 National Survey of Children, the question was asked, "Was there ever a time when you were forced to have sex against your will, or were you raped?" Among white females, aged 18-22, those who answered yes (n=41) and no (n=400) were compared by the current study on a number of social-psychological and sexual variables that might be considered outcomes affected by having had coercive sexual experiences.
Abstract
Those who reported being forced to have sexual intercourse, compared to those who did not, had more permissive attitudes about 16- to 17-year-olds having intercourse and were younger at the time of their first voluntary sexual intercourse themselves. They also had lower internal locus of control and higher depression scores. They needed and received more psychological help than those who did not report forced sexual intercourse. The same findings occurred when the forced-sexual-intercourse group was divided into those who reported forced sexual intercourse before compared to after their first date and those whose forced sexual intercourse was before age 12. Even in the presence of multivariate control variables, forced sexual intercourse remained a significant predictor of age at first voluntary sexual intercourse, locus of control, depression, and perceived need for psychological help. These analyses of national survey data support the clinical perspective that forced sexual intercourse causes or exacerbates various sexual and psychological problems. 6 tables and 34 references