Women with a history of childhood sexual abuse. Long-term social and psychiatric aspects

TY - JOUR

T1 - Women with a history of childhood sexual abuse. Long-term social and psychiatric aspects

AU - Kristensen, Ellids

AU - Lau, Marianne

N1 - Keywords: Adult; Child; Child Abuse, Sexual; Denmark; Female; Humans; Incest; Interview, Psychological; Mental Disorders; Predictive Value of Tests; Psychotherapy, Group; Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Social Behavior; Socioeconomic Factors; Time; Violence

PY - 2007

Y1 - 2007

N2 - The socio-demographics and psychiatric diagnoses in a clinical sample of women with a history of mainly intrafamilial childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are described. The women were referred to five psychiatric centres for incest group psychotherapy. Data were gathered using interviews and self-administered questionnaires. Over a period of 2.5 years, 385 women with mean age of 33 years were referred with a history of CSA. Three hundred and forty of those had experienced intrafamilial CSA. The average age at first abuse was 6.8 years, and it lasted for a mean of 6 years. The women had been abused by a mean of 1.5 perpetrators. A quarter of the women had been subjected to violence in connection with the sexual abuse. The likelihood of violence having occurred rose significantly if there was more than one perpetrator and/or if penetration had been part of the sexual abuse. Violence was less common if the perpetrator was a brother. The women suffered from a broad spectrum of psychiatric symptoms and illnesses. More than half of the women had previously received psychiatric treatment. Compared to a random sample of the general female population, these women were less advantaged with regards to education, financial circumstances and cohabitation. The results emphasize the importance of offering comprehensive social and psychiatric intervention to help reducing the problems following CSA in women.

AB - The socio-demographics and psychiatric diagnoses in a clinical sample of women with a history of mainly intrafamilial childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are described. The women were referred to five psychiatric centres for incest group psychotherapy. Data were gathered using interviews and self-administered questionnaires. Over a period of 2.5 years, 385 women with mean age of 33 years were referred with a history of CSA. Three hundred and forty of those had experienced intrafamilial CSA. The average age at first abuse was 6.8 years, and it lasted for a mean of 6 years. The women had been abused by a mean of 1.5 perpetrators. A quarter of the women had been subjected to violence in connection with the sexual abuse. The likelihood of violence having occurred rose significantly if there was more than one perpetrator and/or if penetration had been part of the sexual abuse. Violence was less common if the perpetrator was a brother. The women suffered from a broad spectrum of psychiatric symptoms and illnesses. More than half of the women had previously received psychiatric treatment. Compared to a random sample of the general female population, these women were less advantaged with regards to education, financial circumstances and cohabitation. The results emphasize the importance of offering comprehensive social and psychiatric intervention to help reducing the problems following CSA in women.

U2 - 10.1080/08039480701226096

DO - 10.1080/08039480701226096

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 17454726

SN - 0803-9496

VL - 61

SP - 115

EP - 120

JO - Nordisk Psykiatrisk Tidsskrift

JF - Nordisk Psykiatrisk Tidsskrift

IS - 2

ER -