Sexual Revictimization and PTSD: An Exploratory Study

A number of researchers have identified Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a common short and long-term consequence of child sexual abuse. In examining adult survivors of child sexual abuse, however, the time period between the childhood trauma and the assessment of symptoms makes it difficult to be certain that PTSD has resulted from the childhood trauma and not subsequent traumas, in particular, adult/adolescent revictimization. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between adult/adolescent sexual revictimization and the development of PTSD in women with histories of child sexual abuse. Forty-one females with histories of child sexual abuse completed diagnostic interviews to assess current and past diagnoses of PTSD. In addition, participants completed self-report measures regarding their victimization history (adult and child) and current PTSD symptoms. Women with repeated victimization were significantly more likely to have a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD and the majority of repeated victims reported an onset of symptoms in childhood. Age at the time of child sexual abuse and physical severity of abuse were associated with the development of PTSD. The results suggest the importance of considering total assault histories in study and intervention of women with PTSD.