NCJ Number
137766
Journal
Journal of Social Issues Volume: 48 Issue: 1 Dated: (1992) Pages: 105-125
Date Published
1992
Length
21 pages
Annotation
Data from the National Institute of Mental Health Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Program were used to provide a profile of sexual assault victims from a representative sample of urban and rural southern women and to examine demographic correlates and characteristics of sexual assault, victims' self-reports of the effects of sexual assault, and the degree and sources of help seeking used by victims.
Abstract
The profile presented for the North Carolina sample (Duke University) was compared with that for a highly urban and ethnically diverse sample in Los Angeles (UCLA). The lifetime prevalence of sexual assault was 5.9 percent in the Duke ECA sample and 16.7 percent in the UCLA ECA sample. Larger proportions of North Carolina than Los Angeles victims reported all types of pressures during their sexual assault experiences except verbal persuasion and being drugged or drunk. Large proportions of victims in both samples reported dramatic changes in well-being subsequent to sexual assault. 4 tables and 32 references (Author abstract modified)