The prevalence of a history of child sexual abuse among adults visiting family practitioners in Israel

Objective: To determine the prevalence of a history of child sexual abuse ( CSA) in a random sample of adult patients presenting for routine health car e to family practice clinics in Israel. Method: One thousand and five rando mly selected patients aged 18 to 55, attending 48 clinics, participated in this questionnaire study. Results: Twenty-five percent indicated that they had been sexually abused as children. More women reported CSA do (p < .0001 ) than men, as did women originating from Western countries (p = .02) and t hose with more than 12 years of education (p = .01). There were no signific ant associations between CSA and the other socio-demographic variables exam ined. Fondling was the most common and intercourse the least common activit y experienced. Forty-five percent of the perpetrators were previously known . The mean age at which the child sexual abuse began varied between 10 and 14. Only 45% of the subjects had ever told anyone about the experience. Con clusions: Since no other prevalence study has been reported to date in Isra el, these findings suggest that as in other Western countries CSA is a rela tively common problem. Family physicians and other health professionals sho uld be aware of this high prevalence and its known potential For initial an d long-term deleterious outcomes. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.