This study compares the psychological well-being of nurses who
were sexually abused as children with those who were not abused and
considers the impact of this abuse on aspects of their clinical
practice. On the psychological measures, abused nurses differed from
the nonabused nurses by having significantly higher distress scores
and lower self-esteem scores. For some nurses, the abuse influenced
their private and professional relationships including personal sexual
relationships and working with other health professionals. These
results highlight the need for the educational and health care systems
to consider the needs of health care professionals who may have been
abused.