EVIDENCE FOR SPECIFIC EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE ON MENTAL WELL-BEING AND PHYSICAL SELF-ESTEEM

Women who are sexually abused are at increased risk for having mental health problems long after the abuse. Other nonexploitive experiences can also be psychologically detrimental, may coexist with sexual abuse , and may explain some portion of subsequent mental health problems. T his study addresses the association between childhood sexual abuse and a woman's psychological functioning, independent of the quality of pa rental nurturance received during childhood and other variables which may influence mental health. Of 609 women completing mental health and self-concept measures, 98 reported sexual abuse; 110 of the remaining women were selected as comparisons. Women sexually abused as children scored lower on measures of mental health status. Both sexual abuse a nd fewer years of education were related to lower scores on a psycholo gical well-being scale after variance accounted for by family and demo graphic variables was removed. Sexual abuse was not a predictor of gen eral self-concept scores after the removal of family and demographic v ariables, but sexual abuse was independently associated with the subsc ale measuring the physical aspect of self-concept. These findings lend support to theorized causal links between child sexual abuse and some aspects of later psychological difficulties.