A survey of undergraduates (N=427) in Queensland (Australia) found child sexual abuse prevalence rates of 19% for males and 45% for females, with incestuous abuse reported by 9% of males and 19% of females. Other findings addressed age at onset of abuse, gender, types of unwanted sexual experiences, and media exposure. (DB)

Study of college women (n=131) at midwestern university found significant effects of an unwanted childhood sexual experience on subsequent psychosocial tasks of intimacy and career planning. In addition, victims of incestuous, adult perpetrators, who encountered experiences of greater severity, reported greatest number of negative developmental…

There is evidence that many women experience sexual assault, and that sexual assault can cause psychological and interpersonal problems. This study examined the psychological aftermath of sexual assault in a probability sample of female university students and employees (N=542), focusing on how various aspects of a victim's lifetime sexual assault…

This study of stigmatizing attitudes toward adults who suffered incestuous abuse as children involved 195 college students. Women indicated differences in stigma when anticipating various types of relationships with male survivors, whereas men predicted comfort with female survivors based on the length of the relationship. (Author/DB)

This study compared the personality profiles of 30 women who had been incestuously abused as children with a matched comparison group of 30 nonabused women. Women in the incest group self-reported sexual abuse before age 18 by a father or stepfather. Sexual abuse was broadly defined to encompass a range of sexual activities from exhibitionism to…

Questionnaires assessing childhood physical abuse, childhood incest, and parental alcoholism were completed by 253 college women. Analysis of level of depression; self-esteem; and involvement with physically abusive, sexually assaultive, sexually coercive, and chemically dependent partners revealed support for an additive model of trauma that…

Statistics indicate that 100,000 to 500,000 children are sexually abused yearly. Changing child abuse laws, significant attention by the media, and sexual abuse prevention programs have contributed to the explosion of incest disclosures from children and adults, including college students. Studies support the prevalence of incest victims within…

Investigated family and social cognitive characteristics as mediators of social adjustment among college women. Indicated decreased cohesion and adaptability in the family of origin, increased perception of social isolation, and poorer social adjustment among subjects abused as children. Family characteristics and especially increased perceptions…