Prevalence and risk factors for childhood sexual abuse in women: National survey findings

Objective: We interviewed a U.S. national sample of women, aged 18 years and older to determine the prevalence and characteristics of childhood sexual abuse. We also examined which family and background variables were predictive of CSA in this sample. Method: The study employed a series of detailed descriptive questions regarding childhood sexual experiences that were administered in a highly structured format by trained female interviewers. CSA prevalence rates were calculated using two definitions of CSA, one of which was slightly more inclusive. Results: prevalence rates for the more inclusive CSA definition ranged from 21% to 328, depending on how respondents who provided incomplete information about their sexual experiences were classified. The less inclusive CSA definition resulted in prevalence rates ranging from 15% to 26%. Additional information about the types of abuse experienced, perpetrator characteristics, age at first abuse, and physical and affective consequences of the abusive experiences are reported. The risk of CSA was related to higher scores on a measure of father's rejection, and the interaction between parental drinking status and whether the respondent had lived with both parents during childhood. Further analysis of this interaction suggests that when respondents reported living with both biological parents, they were most at risk for CSA when their father was a nondrinker and their mother was a drinker. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.