Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Incestuous Victimization Upon Adulthood Psychological Symptomatology

• NCJ Number: 133812
• Journal: Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: (1992) Pages: 89-109
• Author(s): P K Lundberg-Love; S Marmion; K Ford; R Geffner; L Peacock
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Adult women who were victims of childhood incest (n = 31) were compared to psychological treatment controls (n = 29), exercise controls (n = 32), and no treatment controls to determine any differences in psychological symptomatology.

Abstract

Study findings support the hypothesis that adult women who are incestuously abused as children report greater psychological distress and higher levels of symptomatology than women in treatment who report no history of sexual abuse or women not in psychological treatment. Adult incest survivors reported greater levels of psychological distress and more types of symptomatology when compared to all three control groups. Overall, the incest survivors were significantly more depressed, alienated, inhibited, socially introverted, and interpersonally more sensitive than the other groups. 37 references