The Relationship between Child Sexual Abuse and Adolescent Sexual Functioning in Afro‐American and White American Womena

This study has examined the relationship between child sexual abuse and adolescent sexual functioning in a community sample of 245 Afro-American and white American women, most of whom became sexually active during adolescence. Significant relationships between several aspects of women's child abuse experiences and their voluntary sexual behavior before age 18 revealed that women who reported contact sexual abuse (fondling, and attempted and completed oral and vaginal intercourse) had voluntary sexual intercourse 15.4 months earlier than women with noncontact (e.g., observing exhibitionists) or no abuse. Likewise, women with contact abuse engaged in necking and petting behaviors at earlier ages, and had more sexual partners during adolescence and briefer sexual relationships than women with noncontact or no abuse. Similar relationships between interviewers' ratings of the severity of child sexual abuse and women's adolescent sexual behaviors were noted. These findings stress that child sexual abuse, rather than women's ethnicity alone, may contribute to the early onset and frequency of adolescent sexual behaviors. Conceptual formulations that address these relationships and the implications for future research and social policy have been discussed.