A CROSS-VALIDATION STUDY OF THE TRAUMA SYMPTOM CHECKLIST - THE ROLE OF MEDIATING VARIABLES

The study examines the responses to the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC) of college women (n = 654) sexually abused as children, sexually assa ulted as adults, sexually assaulted as children and adults, and nonabu sed Also investigated was the role of mediating variables: parental su pport, attributional style, and coping. Subjects completed a series of self-report measures in small groups. Sexual abuse was associated wit h more symptoms and more recent assaults, and revictimized women repor ted the most symptoms. The hypothesized mediating variables were predi ctive of scores on the Dissociation, Anxiety, Depression, Sexual Abuse Trauma Index and Sexual problems subscales. The interaction of low le vels of parental support and a nonexpressive coping style was predicti ve of Anxiety and Depression scores. The results support the validity of the TSC as a measure of sexual abuse trauma and point to family pat terns associated with prolonged symptomatology.