The long-term impact of childhood sexual abuse in Australian women

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the association between chi ldhood sexual abuse (CSA) and a range of adverse adult outcomes in a commun ity sample of women using multivariate analysis which accounted for a numbe r of potential confounding effects. Method: Retrospective study of cross-sectional data on the long-term impact of CSA, collected as part of a larger two-stage case-control study of the possible relationship between CSA and alcohol abuse. Data were appropriatel y weighted to adjust for the different selection probabilities of cases and controls. Results: Significant associations were found between reporting CSA and expe riencing domestic violence, rape, sexual problems, mental health problems, low self-esteem, and problems with intimate relationships even after taking into account a range of family background factors. Women who had experienc ed abuse involving intercourse were the most vulnerable to these negative o utcomes; Conclusions: The findings indicate that the influence of CSA on adverse lon g-term effects is mediated and influenced both by the severity of the abuse experiences and by a range of family and social background factors. (C) 19 99 Elsevier Science Ltd.