The authors examined longitudinally the mental health status of women as a function of different types and combinations of exposure to interpersonal violence. A structured telephone interview was administered to a household probability sample of 4,008 women (18-89 years of age), who were then recontacted for 1- and 2-year follow-up interviews.…

Child sexual assault is a risk factor for a wide range of emotional and behavioral problems. Little is known about mental health functioning in relation to victims' decisions to tell someone (or not) about their assault. This study used data from a nationally representative sample of 4,023 adolescents to examine the relation between sexual assault…

Older adult women age 55+ years (N = 549) were interviewed as part of a population-based epidemiological research study of lifetime experiences with physical and sexual assault and current mental health problems. Although overall rates of psychopathology were low, producing very small cells for comparison, women who reported experiencing physical…

This research examines mental health correlates of different victim-perpetrator relationships among adolescent victims of interpersonal violence. A large and nationally representative sample of adolescents (N = 4,023) responded to structured telephone interviews concerning mental health functioning (posttraumatic stress disorder--PTSD, major…

Screened 391 women for a history of sexual assault during childhood and then assessed subjects for mental disorders. Results indicate that rape and molestation, but not noncontact sexual assault, increased incidents of mental disorders, suggesting that physical sexual contact leads to severe mental health effects. Other findings are discussed.…