A total of 42 subjects were classified as having a history of childhood sexual abuse; 67 subjects were classified as having had an alcoholic parent; and 70 subjects were classified as having experienced neither parental alcoholism nor childhood sexual abuse. Of the 42 subjects who had been sexually abused, 23 were also classified as children of alcoholics. Using a 2 x 2 factorial design, main effects on symptoms were obtained for sexual abuse and parental alcoholism, but their interaction was not significant. Regarding family environment, a history of sexual abuse was associated with perceptions that families of origin had less cohesion, more conflict, less emphasis on moral-religious matters, less emphasis on achievement, and less of an orientation toward intellectual, cultural, and recreational pursuits. Similarly, subjects who had alcoholic parents reported less family cohesion, more conflict, and less emphasis on moral-religious matters. Results of analyses of covariance suggest that family environment was a mediator of current symptoms of anxiety, but not symptoms of depression. 2 tables, 1 figure, and 51 references