Sexual Abuse and Its Relationship to Later Sexual Satisfaction, Marital Status, Religion, and Attitudes

• NCJ Number: 121162
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1989) Pages: 379-400
• Author(s): D Finkelhor; G T Hotaling; I A Lewis; C Smith
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 22 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In a large, nationally representative survey of 2,626 adult Americans, men and women who reported a history of childhood sexual abuse involving penetration were also more likely to report a disrupted marriage, dissatisfaction in their sexual relationships, and a tendency to be a religious nonpractitioner.

Abstract

Victims of abuse were also more likely to have read or talked about the problem recently and tended to see it as a more common occurrence than nonvictims. These findings are generally consistent with other studies on the long-term impact of abuse and add to the sense of this as a social problem with important social and psychological ramifications. (Author abstract)