Factors related to the reporting of childhood rape

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether there would he diff erences in reported versus unreported cases of childhood rape on incident c haracteristics including life threat, physical injury, identity of the perp etrator, frequency of assault(s), and rates of posttraumatic stress disorde r or major depression. Method: In a telephone interview, a national probability sample of 4,008 (w eighted) adult women was screened for a history of completed rape in childh ood. Respondents were also assessed for DSM-III-R diagnoses of major depres sive episode and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Three hundred for ty-one (8.5%) of these women were victims of at least one rape prior to the age of 18, for a total of 437 completed rapes. Of these 437 rape incidents , 52 (11.9%) were reported to the police or other authorities. Results: Significant differences were obtained between reported versus nonr eported cases on incident characteristics, including life threat, physical injury, identity of the perpetrator. Reported cases were more likely to inv olve life threat and/or physical injury, and were more likely to have been committed by a stranger than nonreported cases. No significant differences between reported and nonreported cases were found concerning whether the ra pe involved a single incident versus series of events, or rates of PTSD or major depression. Conclusions: Findings suggest that different characteristics are associated with reported versus unreported cases of childhood rape. Since few cases o f childhood rape are actually reported to the authorities, it appears that we may be missing valuable information. Implications for research and clini cal intervention are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.