Psychological impact of childhood sexual abuse on male inmates: The importance of perception

Objective: The current study examined the association between childhood sex ual victimization and adult psychiatric disorders among male inmates. It fu rther assessed the association between the perception of an event (as sexua l abuse or not) and psychiatric diagnoses. Method: A sample of 211 randomly-selected male inmates were interviewed. Th e Diagnostic Interview Schedule (Version III-R) was used to assess psychiat ric diagnoses. An additional questionnaire assessing childhood sexual abuse and perception of childhood sexual abuse was also administered. Results: Forty percent of the inmates met standard criteria for childhood s exual abuse, which far exceeded rates found in the general population. Sign ificant differences were found between inmates who had a history of childho od sexual abuse and those who did not for a variety of psychiatric diagnose s. Forty-one percent of those who met criteria for childhood sexual abuse d id not consider themselves to have been abused. Those who did not consider themselves to have been abused had higher rates of alcohol abuse/dependence , while those who considered themselves to have been abused had higher rate s of posttraumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the importance of perception or "cogniti ve appraisal" of the sexual experience (as abusive or not) and the need for further study regarding the potential mediating role of cognitive appraisa l. Other implications of these findings include the need for primary preven tion programs designed to reduce childhood sexual abuse, and inmate rehabil itation programs with an emphasis on the connection between victimization a nd criminality. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.