Childhood molestation: Variables related to differential impacts on psychosexual functioning in adult women.

To examine factors contributing to the differential adjustment of women sexually molested as children, three groups of 30 women each were recruited to participate in this study: (a) a clinical group consisting of women seeking therapy for problems associated with childhood molestation; (b) a nonclinical group consisting of women molested as children but who had never sought therapy and considered themselves to be well adjusted; and (c) a control group of women who had not been molested. Findings indicate that the clinical group was significantly less well adjusted than either the nonclinical or control group on measures of psychosexual functioning and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. In addition, women in the clinical group differed significantly from women in the nonclinical group in terms of (a) age at which last molestation occurred and (b) frequency and duration of molestation. It is proposed that differences in adult adjustment may be mediated by emotional responses evoked at the time of the incident(s), which in turn can be linked to the frequency and duration of molestation and to developmental factors associated with the age of last molestation.