POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER IN A CLINICAL-SAMPLE OF ADULTS SEXUALLYABUSED AS CHILDREN

Forty-seven help-seeking, adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (C SA) were assessed to examine the relationship between the level of CSA exposure and the subsequent development of posttraumatic stress disor der. CSA exposure was operationalized to include the overall level of exposure, frequency and duration of the abuse, age of onset, use of fo rce, perceived life threat, and the occurrence of penetration. Partici pants were administered standardized measures of PTSD, including the S tructured Clinical Interview of DSM-III-R (SCID). On the SCID, 69% of the survivors met full DSM-III-R criteria for PTSD. Significant correl ations were found between several overall exposure measures and PTSD d iagnostic status and the intensity of PTSD symptomatology. Similar rel ationships were identified with the duration and frequency of the abus e, the age of onset, and the use of force. This study is important in that it utilized standardized measures of PTSD and found a significant incidence of PTSD among adult CSA survivors.