CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND ADULT SEXUAL REVICTIMIZATION

experiences included events that occurred after the age of 17 that involved
unwanted vaginal or anal intercourse.
Women were grouped into five categories of abuse that included a
revictimization group (CSA and adult physical or sexual assault). Results
indicated that 20.1% of the participants reported CSA experiences, and over
half of the CSA victims also reported an adult physical or sexual assault.
Revictimized women reported more somatic complaints, depression, anxi~
ety, interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, and posttraumatic stress symptoms
than women with no abusehistory and women with only child abuse experi~
ences. In addition, women with multiple types of adult victimizations but no
CSA history reportedhigher symptomsthan women with no abuseand women
with only one type of ASA experience but no CSA history.
A significant contribution of this studywasthe assessmentof both sexual
and physical assault. Past research has typically focused on one type of vic~
timization and has neglected to investigate the cumulative effects of vio~
lence over time. Limitations of the study relate to the use of a retrospective
design and reliance on a college student sample.
Community Studies
In addition to college studies, researchers have investigated sexual
revictimization among community samples. A number of these studies have
demonstrated a relationship between CSA and ASA. These studies have
recruited women with greater ageranges and racial diversity,which may make
their findings somewhat more generalizable to the general population than
findings from college samples.
We identified two community studies for inclusion in the present re~
view. In an early study, Russell (1986) recruited 930 women from the com,
munity who were interviewed by trained individuals. Although recruitment
for the study was limited to the San Francisco area, with a focus on incest
survivors, a marketing and research firm used a probability sampling method
to obtain a random list of addresses for the study. The interview used both
behaviorally phrased questions and labeled terms to assess for a history of
sexual assault. Age 14wasused as the cutoff for defining CSA, and ages 14 to
18 defined adolescent experiences. The definitions for CSA experiences dis,
tinguished between incest and extrafamilial experiences. The definition of
incestuous abuse included any contact or attempted contact with a child
prior to age 18 by a relative. Extrafamilial CSA was defined as experiences
ranging from molestation to rape with a child up to age 14, and completed or
attempted rape with a child from the ages between 14 and 18 years by a
nonrelative. Rape was further defined for participants as penile-vaginal in,
tercourse with force or threats of force, or when the woman was rendered
unable to physically resist (e.g., drugged, unconscious).
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