Posttraumatic stress disorder in a clinical sample of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse

One hundred seventeen help-seeking adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) were assessed to investigate the relationship between the level of self-reported CSA and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). CSA was measured utilizing the Sexual Abuse Exposure Questionnaire, a new research instrument. Further preliminary psychometric properties of the instrument were reported. CSA was operationalized to include severity, duration, age of onset, number of perpetrators, and use of force. PTSD diagnostic status was assessed utilizing a standardized instrument, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-II-R. Eighty-six percent of survivors met full DSM-III-R criteria for a PTSD diagnosis at some point during their lives. Multivariate analysis indicated that CSA severity and duration accounted for significant portions of the variance in PTSD symptoms, providing support for their role as traumagenic variables.