Adult appraisals of their childhood sexual experiences as abusive are associated with increased risk for long-term psychological problems. Factors that underlie whether adults appraise their childhood sexual experiences as abusive remain unknown. To determine factors associated with adult cognitive appraisals of childhood sexual abuse. Participants were 1196 adults ages 19–41 ( = 29.23, = 3.84) with documented cases of childhood maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect) during the years 1967–1971 and demographically matched controls who were followed-up and interviewed in adulthood. Using a prospective cohort design, participants were asked to recall whether they had any sexual experiences in childhood, and if so, the frequency of abuse, age at the onset of abuse, relationship to perpetrator, and whether they appraised the experiences as sexually abusive. Over half of the sample (52%) reported childhood sexual experiences, yet only 44% considered those experiences sexually abusive. Participants with documented cases of child sexual abuse and neglect were more likely to appraise their childhood sexual experiences as abusive compared to controls. Participants who reported more severe abuse, more frequent abuse, younger age at the onset of abuse, and intrafamilial and both intra- and extrafamilial abuse (vs. extrafamilial abuse) were more likely to consider their experiences abusive. Compared to males and Black participants, females and White participants were more likely to appraise their experiences as abusive. Understanding factors that determine adult cognitive appraisals of childhood sexual experiences as abusive can inform clinical interventions for maltreated populations.

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影响成人对儿童性虐待认知评估的因素


成年人将其童年性经历视为虐待与长期心理问题的风险增加有关。成年人是否将其童年性经历视为虐待的背后因素仍然未知。确定与成人对儿童性虐待认知评估相关的因素。参与者包括 1196 名 19-41 岁的成年人 (= 29.23, = 3.84)，他们在 1967-1971 年期间有过儿童虐待（性虐待、身体虐待和忽视）的记录案例，以及人口统计匹配的对照组，他们在成年后接受了随访和访谈。采用前瞻性队列设计，参与者被要求回忆自己童年时是否有过性经历，如果有的话，虐待的频率、虐待开始的年龄、与施暴者的关系，以及他们是否将这些经历视为性虐待。超过一半的样本 (52%) 报告了童年的性经历，但只有 44% 的人认为这些经历是性虐待。与对照组相比，记录有儿童性虐待和忽视案件的参与者更有可能将其童年性经历视为虐待。报告更严重的虐待、更频繁的虐待、虐待开始时年龄较小以及家庭内和家庭内和家庭外虐待（与家庭外虐待）的参与者更有可能认为他们的经历是虐待。与男性和黑人参与者相比，女性和白人参与者更有可能将自己的经历视为虐待。了解成人对儿童性经历是否为虐待的认知评价的因素可以为受虐待人群的临床干预提供信息。