NCJ Number
187518
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: 2000 Pages: 71-86
Editor(s)
Robert Geffner Ph.D.
Date Published
2000
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study investigated dependency in survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) by administering the Interpersonal Dependency Inventory (IDI) at intake to 234 men and 85 women seen in therapy at a university-based community mental health clinic.
Abstract
Data were drawn from an archival data base from a treatment program specifically designed for adults with CSA histories. CSA was defined as any unwanted sexual activity before 18 years of age, including non-contact forms of abuse and physical contact. The Structured Clinical Interview was used to obtain data on demographics and abuse experiences of study participants, while the IDI was employed to assess cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of dependency. In contrast to findings from earlier studies, no significant gender differences were obtained for IDI whole-scale or sub-scale scores. Analyses comparing CSA IDI scores with IDI scores of previously studied groups indicated that, among women, CSA survivors obtained higher dependency scores than non-CSA psychiatric patients, community adults, and college students. Findings for men were less consistent. Follow-up analyses revealed that commonly investigated CSA characteristics were not related to dependency scores of survivors. Implications of the findings for future research and clinical practice are explored, with emphasis on the importance of dependency as a salient personality trait among clinical samples of CSA survivors. 34 references and 6 tables