The Role of Child Sexual Abuse in Severity of Adult Sexual Assault

Introduction: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a common and serious problem, and there is considerable evidence that victims of CSA are at increased risk of being sexually revictimized as an adult (See Classen, Palesh, & Aggarwal, 2005 for a comprehensive review). Much of the current literature has focused on the role of CSA severity in predicting the presence of adult sexual assault (ASA). In order to more fully illuminate the relationship between CSA and ASA, it may also be useful to examine the role of CSA in predicting severity of ASA.

Methods. Data was collapsed across five studies, each of which had participants’ reports of CSA, ASA, lifetime number of sexual partners, and sexual attitudes. All measures were retrospective and self-report.  Participants were 935 college women whose mean age was 19.8 years old. Of these women, 10.3% reported experiencing CSA, and 59.2% reported some form of ASA.

Results. Women with a history of CSA, relative to women with no history of CSA, were more likely to experience any form of ASA, and specifically were more likely to experience attempted rape and rape. A history of CSA did not predict unwanted contact or sexual coercion. Though a larger number of sexual partners and more liberal sexual attitudes predicted more severe ASA, they were unrelated to CSA. Thus, sexual behavior and attitudes did not moderate the relationship between CSA and ASA.

Conclusion.  While previous research has established a strong relationship between CSA and ASA (Classen et al., 2005), findings from the current study suggest that victims of CSA are more likely to be victims of the most severe forms of ASA, which is particularly troubling.  Future research may benefit from examining additional factors that may moderate or explain the relationship between CSA and severity of ASA. The relationship between CSA and severity of ASA has significant intervention implications. First, it adds to the extensive literature highlighting the many benefits of preventing CSA. Additionally, many ASA prevention programs do not specifically identify CSA victims, and those that do (e.g. Marx, Calhoun, Wilson, & Myerson, 2001) may benefit from a more thorough understanding of the link between CSA and severity of adult ASA in order to better protect CSA victims from revictimization.