Child maltreatment and perceived family environment as risk factors for adult rape: is child sexual abuse the most salient experience?

Abstract

Objective: Child maltreatment and family functioning were examined as predictors of adult rape in a sample of 925 college women.

Method: Information was obtained from retrospective self-report questionnaires. Child sexual abuse (CSA) was assessed with the Life Experiences Questionnaire, child emotional abuse (CEA) and physical abuse (CPA) were assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, family functioning was assessed with the Family Environment Scale, and adult rape was assessed with the Sexual Experiences Survey.

Results: Approximately 17% of women reported a history of any form of child abuse: 8.9% reported CSA, 4.2% reported CPA, and 8.6% reported CEA. Fifteen percent of participants reported a history of rape since age 17. CSA and CEA, but not CPA, were related to adult rape. Experiencing multiple forms of child abuse increased the risk of adult rape. Logistic regression analyses indicated that CSA predicted adult rape (OR=1.9). Further, low levels of family cohesion predicted adult rape only in the absence of CEA (OR=1.2), and low levels of emotional expressiveness in the family predicted adult rape only in the presence of CEA (OR=1.4).

Conclusions: Findings highlight the need to consider multiple forms of child abuse as well as family functioning in relation to the risk of adult sexual victimization. Findings suggest CSA is a risk factor for adult victimization independent of family functioning, and family dysfunction exerts an impact on rape only in relation to CEA.