A comparison of psychological psychiatric symptomatology of women and men sexually abused as children

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences in s ymptomatology among sexual abuse survivors utilizing a standardized measure of specific symptom patterns, the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Method: Gender differences in symptomatology of adults sexually victimized as children were examined. Participants were 162 women and 25 men entering an outpatient treatment program for adult survivors of childhood sexual abu se (CSA) in a university-based community mental health center. Symptomatolo gy was measured using the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Results: Although no differences appeared when examining the raw data, the results changed dramatically once the data were converted into T-scores and epidemiological SCL-90-R gender differences were taken into account. The f indings indicate that men exhibited significantly more interpersonal sensit ivity, depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety than women in relation to th eir respective normative samples. Conclusions: The use of nonclinical T-scores in this study allows for the i nterpretation that men survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) have highe r levels of symptomatology than women survivors when compared to their resp ective normative samples. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.