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The Relationships Between Childhood Sexual Abuse, Social Anxiety, and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Women

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Abstract

The relationships between childhood sexual abuse, social anxiety, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder were examined in a sample of 313 undergraduate women. Thirty-one percent of the women reported some form of sexual abuse in childhood. Women with a history of sexual abuse reported more symptoms of anxiety, distress in social situations, and posttraumatic stress disorder than other women. Women who experienced attempted or actual intercourse reported more avoidance than women with no history of abuse and women with exposure only, and more PTSD symptoms than all other groups of women. Women who experienced fondling reported more PTSD symptoms than women with no history of abuse. Pressure, age of onset of abuse, abuse by a family friend, and abuse by other perpetrators were all significant abuse characteristics in predicting adult social anxiety. Implications of these results for research and interventions are discussed.

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  1. Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

    Margaret M. Feerick & Kyle L. Snow

  2. Child Development and Behavior Branch, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 4B05, MSC 7510, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-7510

    Margaret M. Feerick

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Feerick, M.M., Snow, K.L. The Relationships Between Childhood Sexual Abuse, Social Anxiety, and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Women. J Fam Viol 20, 409–419 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-005-7802-z

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