Abstract
Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the population-attributable risks (PAR) of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) for depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in adulthood.
Method: A total of 2501 adult participants were randomly recruited and interviewed using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing system. They responded to items designed to assess depressive symptoms (SF-12), suicidal ideation (GHQ-28), and other distressing events, including CSA, as part of a broader, mental health survey of the South Australian population.
Results: Logistic regression analyses indicated that CSA was associated with both depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. However, PAR estimates indicated that only 0.8% of depressive symptoms could be attributed to CSA. Similarly, only 2.2% of suicidal ideation in the population could be attributed to CSA.
Conclusions: Notwithstanding the individual distress associated with CSA, a population perspective indicated that the impact of CSA in adulthood was not as great as one might interpret from media reports.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 285-291 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 28 Oct 2009 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Childhood sexual abuse
- Depressive symptoms
- Population-attributable risk
- Suicidal ideation