Typology of Child Sexual Abuse: The Interaction of Emotional, Physical and Sexual Abuse As Predictors of Adult Psychiatric Sequelae in Women‪.‬

ABSTRACT: Several recent studies have indicated that child sexual abuse (CSA) only atypically occurs independently of family dysfunction and other kinds of abuse or neglect (physical or emotional). Psychological adjustment problems in adulthood appear to be more common in women who experienced child sexual abuse (CSA) in combination with aspects of family pathology and with other kinds of childhood abuse. These findings suggest the existence of sub-groups with varied adult outcomes within the population that has experienced CSA. These ideas are explored in further analysis of childhood memories of family life and abusive events in childhood by 735 women aged 18 to 27 in a community mental health survey. Cluster analysis does identify clearly delineated sub-groups which have different outcomes in terms of psychiatric problems in adulthood. The frequency and severity of psychological adjustment problems in adulthood varied between these sub-groups according to their reports of either physical, emotional or sexual abuse in childhood or combinations of these. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This paper was presented at the 1995 Canadian Sex Research Forum in Banff, Alberta, October, 1995. The author is grateful to Dr. C-K. Cheung of the City University of Hong Kong for programming assistance with the cluster analysis.