One of the assessment instruments was the CAPS-SX (One Week Symptom Status Version), which measures 17 symptoms of PTSD contained in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as well as 8 additional items associated with PTSD. Another assessment instrument administered was the PBRS, which was originally developed to detect disruptions in the cognitive schemas of rape victims. Higher scores indicate less distorted cognitive schemas. The eight subscales are safety, trust, power, esteem, intimacy, negative (rape/sexual abuse) beliefs, self-blame, and undoing. The third instrument administered was the WAS, which was developed for use with victims of past traumatic events such as death of a relative, incest, or rape. The eight subscales are benevolence of the world, benevolence of people, luck, justice, randomness, control, self-worth, and self-control. For the 79 adult women with a history of CSA, those with more severe PTSD levels had more distortions in all areas included on the PBRS and also had more distorted beliefs about self-worth on the WAS. The results from the PBRS and WAS suggest that CSA survivors apparently focus more on self-blame than on assumptions about the world and the self. 4 tables and 30 references