Running Head : SEXUAL ABUSE ON COLLEGE ADJUSTMENT The Relationship between Childhood Sexual Abuse and College Adjustment in Women

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Tompkins, Laura
Copyright Year	2006
Abstract	The purpose of this study was to link the literature between childhood sexual abuse and college adjustment. Sexual abuse and its effects on the developing person have been researched extensively. Research supports that this particular type of abuse often has negative effects on many aspects of a person’s life. Research has also focused on adjustment to college and the particular factors that aid or hinder that adjustment. This investigation examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and college adjustment. College freshmen and sophomore women were recruited for this study, each of whom was asked to complete a college adaptation measure, an attachment measure, and a sexual abuse measure. The prediction was that a history of childhood sexual abuse would be related to poorer adjustment to college life. Results showed a relationship between abuse history and attachment style. Results supported the hypothesis, showing that individuals with a history of abuse scored lower than those not reporting abuse on the adjustment questionnaire. Attachment style was found to be a mediator between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and adjustment scores, with those reporting CSA being more likely to indicate an insecure attachment and lower adjustment scores than those not reporting abuse. The Effect of Childhood Sexual Abuse on College Adjustment Sexual abuse and college adjustment are often researched as two separate entities. Much of the research on childhood sexual abuse focuses on the long term outcomes of the experience, such as low self-esteem (Crocker, Luhtanen, Blaine, & Broadnax, 1994), attachment problems (Roche, Runtz, & Hunter, 1999), and psychological symptoms, to name a few. Many of these same factors are also found in research on college adjustment (Bettencourt, Charlton, Eubanks, Kernahan, & Fuller, 1999). This study seeks to integrate the literature on outcomes of childhood sexual abuse with the factors that aid or hinder adjustment to college life. Childhood Sexual Abuse Definition and Statistics Sexual abuse was initially defined as “sexual bodily contact prior to age 18 by someone of any age or relationship to the subject;” however, this definition does not allow for normal childhood experimentation (Wyatt & Newcomb, 1990). Wyatt and Newcomb (1990) added two exclusion criteria, the age difference must have been greater than 5 years between the victim and the perpetrator, or if the age difference was not 5 years, the sexual contact must have been unwanted. This definition of sexual abuse is not universal, however; many researchers define sexual abuse in different ways. Sexual abuse can be defined differently depending on the age of the child and which acts are defined by the researcher as sexual abuse (Russell, 1983). Russell (1983) conducted a study on 930 women in 1978, in which she separated sexual abuse into extrafamilial, abuse by an unrelated person, and intrafamilial, abuse by a family member. In her study of the 930 women, 16 percent reported intrafamilial abuse, and 31 percent reported extrafamilial abuse (Russell, 1983). Sexual abuse is not a new concept; the topic has been studied since the early 1900's. When Kinsey surveyed 14,000 women in the 1950's, he found that at least a quarter of his sample had reported a sexual incident before the age of 13 (Kinsey, Pomeroy, Martin, & Gebhard, 1953). Kinsey’s definition of abuse, occurring before the age of 13, is much lower than the current definition of abuse occurring before the age of 18. Wyatt and Newcomb’s (1990) current definition also takes into account the age difference between victim and perpetrator. Finkelhor, a major researcher in the field of sexual abuse, conducted a study in 1981 of 700 households and found that 47 percent of the subjects had either experienced abuse or were knowledgeable of abuse occurring within the household (Crosson-Tower, 2002). Although these studies date back some years, it is important to show that sexual abuse is not a newly-emerging problem. On a significantly larger scale, Siegel, Sorenson, Golding, Burnam, and Stein (1987), conducted face to face interviews with 3,000 adults regarding incidences of childhood sexual abuse. In this particular study, sexual abuse was defined as incidents which occurred before the age of 16 involving force and/or pressure for sexual contact. The individuals in this sample were asked about the most recent event of sexual abuse. The sexual abuse instrument, which was developed by the researchers for this particular study, questioned how long it had been since the abuse, the duration of the abuse, the relationship to the perpetrator, type of pressure or force used, and any strategies the victim used to resist the abuse. This particular study found some very interesting statistics regarding both the prevalence of sexual abuse and demographics of the victims. The prevalence of sexual abuse for this sample was 5.3%, and sexual abuse was more prevalent in women (6.8%) as compared to men (3.8%). Results also showed that the individuals in the study who had some college education or had completed college were more likely to report incidences of sexual assault than those who had a high school diploma or less. Also, when examining the perpetrator’s relationship, if one existed, to the victim, results showed that females were more likely than males to be assaulted by relatives. Almost half of the sample (46%) of this study who reported an incident of sexual abuse, reported more than one specific incidence of abuse during childhood. Also, of those who had reported abuse, 23% indicated that they had been abused continually. This study also reported that predominately men were the perpetrators (93%) (Seigel et al., 1987). Although dated, this research gives some idea of the prevalence rates of sexual abuse in childhood. Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, and Smith (1990) conducted a national phone survey regarding childhood sexual abuse. This study included a sample of 2,626 American males and females. Unlike the previous study, these phone interview questions left the idea of sexual abuse partially undefined, perhaps misleading the subjects. Also, this study did not use an extensive list of questions regarding sexual abuse, but instead asked only four comprehensive questions. These questions inquired about any incidences the subjects experienced before the age of 18 that they would consider childhood sexual abuse, listing anything from intercourse, touching, rubbing, kissing, having nude pictures taken of them, or someone performing a sex act in front of them. Of this sample, 27% of the women and 16% of the men reported an incidence of abuse. These results also supported the previous findings that girls were more likely to have been abused by family members, while boys were more likely to have been abused by strangers. This study stands out from the previous study because of the discussion of risk factors for sexual abuse. In addition to asking subjects about incidences of sexual abuse, the subjects were also asked about demographics, childhood, and family background. Unhappy family life seemed to be the biggest risk factor for abuse. Both men and women who described their family life as “unhappy” were more likely to be abused. However, one cannot assume that an unhappy family life causes sexual abuse; one who has suffered abuse may describe his or her family life as unhappy. Another risk factor that was identified was the loss of a natural parent, especially for girls. Girls were shown to be at a higher risk for abuse if they were not living with their two natural parents. Also worth mentioning is the risk factor of inadequate sex education describing what behaviors were normal experimentation versus abusive. Results showed that women who felt their sex education was inadequate were at a higher risk for abuse (Finkelhor et al., 1990). Also, adding the aspect of risk factors is important to identifying those who may be at a significant higher risk for abuse. Gender differences typically emerge in prevalence rates of sexual abuse. Most often, a higher prevalence of sexual abuse is found for females. In another study conducted by Finkelhor, results showed that of 530 females, 19.2% reported abuse, as compared to 8.6% of the 266 males in the study (Crosson-Tower, 2002). Males who do experience sexual abuse tend to be victimized at a younger age than female victims. Males tend to show the highest incidence rate between the ages of 4 and 6, while for females the highest incidence rate falls between the ages of 11 and 14 (Crosson-Tower, 2002). Many researchers conclude that although the statistics for males’ reporting an experience of sexual abuse is lower than female incidence of abuse, these data do not necessarily mean that males experience less abuse than females. Males may tend to report less incidents of abuse than females because of the social pressures of the male stereotype. Stereotypically men are not supposed to show emotion or weakness, and some see reporting abuse as a sign of weakness (Crosson-Tower, 2002). Researching the prevalence of sexual abuse is a difficult task. There is no way to know just how many individuals experience sexual abuse. Much abuse that occurs goes unreported to authorities. As mentioned before, one of the reasons that males typically report less abuse is because of the male stereotype; males are not thought to be victims of sexual abuse because they’re supposed to be tough, etc. Females, although more likely to report abuse, may not report some experiences out of fear, shame, guilt, or lack of resources to enable reporting (Crosson-Tower, 2002). Because of these difficulties, researchers must be very cautious in choosing measures and interpreting results. In gathering statistics about this delicate topic, researchers run into criticism about the reliability and validity of the measures they use. As mentioned above, one study used face to face interviews, while t
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