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This digital document is an article from Journal of Studies on Alcohol, published by Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc. on May 1, 1997. The length of the article is 7288 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.... More

This digital document is an article from Journal of Studies on Alcohol, published by Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc. on May 1, 1997. The length of the article is 7288 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: Objective: Clinical studies have found elevated rates of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in women seeking treatment for alcohol or drug abuse, and elevated rates of alcohol and drug disorders among female psychiatric patients with histories of CSA. The present study examines the relationship of CSA to women's use of alcohol and other drugs in a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. women. Method: As part of a national survey of women's drinking, 1,099 women were asked about sexual experiences occurring before age 18. Women who reported sexual experiences classified as abusive were compared to women without histories of CSA on nine measures of substance use, self-perception of anxiousness, the occurrence of one or more lifetime depressive episodes, five measures of sexual dysfunction, and early onset of masturbation and consensual sexual intercourse. Results: Results of logit analyses, controlling for age, ethnicity and parental education, indicated that women with histories of CSA were significantly more likely than women without CSA histories to report recent alcohol use, intoxication, drinking-related problems and alcohol dependence symptoms; lifetime use of prescribed psychoactive drugs and illicit drugs; depression and anxiety; pain that prevented intercourse; and consensual sexual intercourse before age 15. Conclusions: Findings from this U.S. national sample support those of previous clinical studies and suggest that women's experience of sexual abuse in childhood may be an important risk factor for later substance abuse, psychopathology and sexual dysfunction. Implications of these findings for future research, treatment and prevention are discussed. (J. Stud. Alcohol 58: 264-271, 1997)

From the supplier: The experience of childhood sexual abuse is significantly linked to higher adult incidences of drug and alcohol abuse, sexual dysfunction and depression for 1,099 US women surveyed in 1991. Respondents who reported childhood sexual abuse also experienced an earlier onset of consensual sexual intercourse than those not reporting such abuse. Over one-third of respondents admitting sexual abuse as children also reported long-term use of at least one illegal drug. Theoretical models that clearly explain the linkage between childhood sexual abuse and substance abuse problems must be developed.

Citation Details
Title: Childhood sexual abuse and women's substance abuse: national survey findings.
Author: Sharon C. Wilsnack
Publication: Journal of Studies on Alcohol (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 1997
Publisher: Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc.
Volume: v58 Issue: n3 Page: p264(8)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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