Department of Psychological Medicine, Christchurch Health & Development Study, Christchurch School of Medicine, New Zealand.
OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to examine the extent to
which exposure to childhood sexual abuse (CSA) was associated with
increased rates of sexual risk taking behaviors and sexual
revictimization during adolescence. METHOD: A birth cohort of 520 New
Zealand born young women was studied at regular intervals from birth
to the age of 18. At age 18 retrospective reports of CSA were obtained
from sample members. Over the course of the 18 year study information
was gathered on: (a) childhood, family, and related circumstances; and
(b) the young women's history of sexual experiences from 14 to 18
years. RESULTS: Young women reporting CSA, and particularly severe CSA
involving intercourse, had significantly higher rates of early onset
consensual sexual activity, teenage pregnancy, multiple sexual
partners, unprotected intercourse, sexually transmitted disease, and
sexual assault after the age of 16. Logistic regression analyses
suggested that the associations between CSA and sexual outcomes in
adolescence arose by two routes. First, exposure to CSA was associated
with a series of childhood and family factors including social
disadvantage, family instability, impaired parent child relationships,
and parental adjustment difficulties that were also associated with
increased sexual vulnerability in adolescence. Second, there appeared
to be a causal chain relationship between CSA and sexual experiences
in which CSA was associated with early onset sexual activity which, in
turn, led to heightened risks of other adverse outcomes in
adolescence. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that
those exposed to CSA have greater sexual vulnerability during
adolescence. This appears to arise because: (a) the childhood and
family factors that are associated with CSA are also associated with
increased sexual risks during adolescence; and (b) exposure to CSA may
encourage early onset sexual activity which places those exposed to
CSA at greater sexual risk over the period of adolescence.
PMID: 9280383, UI: 97424461