CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE AS A PRECURSOR TO DEPRESSION AND SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR IN ADULTHOOD

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) as a predictor of depression and self-des tructive behaviors in adulthood was examined relative to other traumat ic stressors in childhood and adulthood with special attention to sex differences. In a college sample of 173 men and 265 women, 16% of male (n = 28) and 24% of female respondents (n = 63) reported having been sexually abused as children. CSA, ranging from unwanted kissing and fo ndling to unwanted sexual intercourse, predicted depression, chronic s elf-destructiveness, self-harm ideation, acts of self-harm, suicide id eation, and suicide attempts, for both men and women. The more frequen t and severe the sexual abuse and the longer its duration, the more de pression and self-destructiveness reported in adulthood. Other stresso rs predicted these effects less consistently but their occurrence in c ombination with CSA contributed to the negativity of long-term outcome s. Study results affirm previous;findings of a relationshop between CS A and depression and self-destructiveness in adult females and extend them to males.