Characteristics of adult psychosexual functioning in women sexually abused during childhood

Possible associations between child sexual abuse and adult psychosexual functioning are examined in terms of marital adjustment and sexual behavior. While previous studies of child sexual abuse victims suggested problems in psychosexual functioning, such studies have generally relied on uncontrolled data gathered from clinical populations or cases reported to child welfare or legal agencies. The present study was an exploratory investigation using a retrospective comparative design to compare women who experienced father-daughter incest with those who were molested by adult males at differing levels of relationship with the child. Volunteers were recruited through the media in an effort to gain access to non-clinical populations. Participants were predominantly white, college-educated, and middle-class women with a history of child sexual abuse by an adult male. Participation consisted of a semi-structured interview covering past and current sexual experiences and completion of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. [...]