[Base] [Index]

Link Between Sexual Abuse and Depression

There is some correlation between sexual abuse and depression.

Other Types of Abuse

Cohen 1996 has not found differences in the prevalence of depression between sexually and physically abused adolescents.

Similarly, Kumar et.al. 1996 have not found any difference between sexually and nonsexually abused adolescents.

Young et.al. 1997 mentions "emotional abuse, physical abuse, or sexual abuse (childhood adversity)" as risc factors.

Walling et al. 1994 considered depression, anxiety and somatization and found that "childhood sexual abuse was not significant in the prediction of any of the outcome variables, whereas childhood physical abuse was significant in the prediction of all three."

Similarly, Carter et al 2001 found that emotional/psychological abuse and actual physical abuse were risk factors for increasing personality disorder symptomatology. Childhood sexual abuse was not as predictive of personality dysfunction as might be expected, thereby raising questions as to the importance placed on child sexual abuse as a general risk factor for personality psychopathology.

family background

Ernst et al. 1993: "Depression at adult age was more strongly connected with early familial risk factors than with early sexual abuse".

The results of Yama et al. 1993 "suggested that family conflict, control, and cohesiveness moderated the relationship between the childhood abuse and current symptoms of depression".

Psychological abuse

Ferguson & Dacey 1997 have found an association of psychological abuse with depression.

Comorbidity

Brand et.al. 1996 mention high comorbidity of depression and PTSD among adolescents with a history of cronical sexual abuse.

Other results