A volunteer community sample of 159 battered women, 77 percent of them African-Americans, were interviewed about forced sex by their partner or ex-partner.
Women were recruited for the study from a large midwestern city with newspaper advertisements and bulletin board postings. When women called, they were screened for battering through the use of the Conflict Tactics Scale. Women eligible for the study were those who reported having had more than one of the less severe violent tactics (pushing, shoving, slapping, kicking, biting) used against them during the prior year by an intimate partner or one of the severely violent tactics (punching, beating up, weapon threat or use). The study used various instruments to measure self-esteem, physical and nonphysical abuse, risk of homicide, depression, and health. Almost half (45.9 percent) of the 159 women had been sexually assaulted as well as physically abused. Except for ethnicity, there were no demographic differences between those who were forced into sex and those who were not; and there was no difference in history of childhood sexual abuse; however, those who were sexually assaulted had higher scores on negative health symptoms, gynecological symptoms, and risk factors for homicide, even when controlling for physical abuse and demographic variables. The number of sexual assaults (childhood, rape, and intimate partner) was significantly correlated with depression and body image. 3 tables and 52 references