U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Sexual Abuse and Its Relationship to Later Sexual Satisfaction, Marital Status, Religion, and Attitudes

NCJ Number
121162
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1989) Pages: 379-400
Author(s)
D Finkelhor; G T Hotaling; I A Lewis; C Smith
Date Published
1989
Length
22 pages
Annotation
In a large, nationally representative survey of 2,626 adult Americans, men and women who reported a history of childhood sexual abuse involving penetration were also more likely to report a disrupted marriage, dissatisfaction in their sexual relationships, and a tendency to be a religious nonpractitioner.
Abstract
Victims of abuse were also more likely to have read or talked about the problem recently and tended to see it as a more common occurrence than nonvictims. These findings are generally consistent with other studies on the long-term impact of abuse and add to the sense of this as a social problem with important social and psychological ramifications. (Author abstract)