NCJ Number
178383
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Dated: April 1999 Pages: 361-369
Date Published
1999
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined the association between childhood sexual victimization and adult psychiatric disorders among male inmates; it further assessed the association between the perception of an event (as sexual abuse or not) and psychiatric diagnoses.
Abstract
A sample of 211 randomly selected male inmates were interviewed. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule (Version III-R) was used to assess psychiatric diagnoses. An additional questionnaire that assessed childhood sexual abuse and perception of childhood sexual abuse was also administered. Findings show that 40 percent of the inmates met standard criteria for childhood sexual abuse, which far exceeded rates found in the general population. Significant differences for a variety of psychiatric diagnoses were found between inmates who had a history of childhood sexual abuse and those who did not. Forty- one percent of those who met criteria for childhood sexual abuse did not consider themselves to have been abused. Those who did not consider themselves to have been abused had higher rates of alcohol abuse/dependence, and those who considered themselves to have been abused had higher rates of posttraumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder. This study shows the importance of perception or "cognitive appraisal" of the sexual experience (as abusive or not) and the need for further study regarding the potential mediating role of cognitive appraisal. Other implications of these findings include the need for primary prevention programs designed to reduce childhood sexual abuse and inmate rehabilitation programs that emphasize the connection between victimization and criminality. 2 tables and 29 references