The Association Between Childhood Physical and Sexual Victimization and Health Problems in Adulthood in a Nationally Representative Sample of Women

The purpose of this investigationwas to test the associations between physical and sexual victim-ization in childhood with seven measures of health problems in adulthood. Data were gathered from8,000women interviewed in theNational ViolenceAgainstWomenSurvey, a nationally rep-resentative survey conducted from November 1995 to May 1996. Results indicated that both physical and sexual victimization in childhood were significantly associated with poor percep-tions of general health, sustaining a serious injury, acquiring a mental health condition, using drugs, and using alcohol daily in adulthood. Women who experienced both physical and sexual victimization as children were at increased risk of health problems in adulthood compared with women who experienced only one type of victimization. These associations could not be attrib-uted to victim demographics or to revictimization in adulthood. Results suggest that intervening with child abuse victims at an early stage may reduce children’s likelihood of developing long-term health problems.