Mental Health Impact of Sexual Abuse, Rape, Intimate Partner Violence, and Hate Crimes in the National Lesbian Health Care Survey

• Published in: Journal of gay & lesbian social services Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 27
• Main Authors: Descamps, Monica J, Rothblum, Esther, Bradford, Esther, Bradford, Judith, Ryan, Caitlin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Binghamton Taylor & Francis LLC 31.03.2000
• Subjects: Bias; Child abuse & neglect; Crime; Hate crimes; Health; Preventive medicine; Psychology; Rape
• ISSN: 2993-3021

The prevalence and mental health sequelae of child sexual abuse, rape, intimate partner violence and hate crimes are examined in a national sample of 1925 lesbians who participated as respondents in the National Lesbian Health Care Survey (1984-1985), the most comprehensive study on U.S. lesbians to date. Multivariate analyses of covariance indicated that, relative to a comparison group, lesbians who had experienced child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence reported significantly more daily stress, depression, and alcohol abuse; those who had been raped reported significantly more depression and alcohol abuse; and those who had experienced hate crimes reported significantly more daily stress, depression and alcohol and drug abuse. Lesbians who experienced a physical hate crime reported significantly more daily stress and drug abuse compared to lesbians who experienced a physical assault that they did not perceive as hate-motivated. MANCOVAs were performed to examine the impact of cumulative violence among lesbians who experienced child sexual abuse and adult violence and showed that lesbians with a history of child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence reported significantly more daily stress and alcohol abuse. KEYWORDS. Lesbians, mental health, child sexual abuse, hate crimes, rape, domestic violence For a complete reprint of this article contact Haworth Press by telephone (1-800-HAWORTH) of EMail (getinfo@haworthpressinc.com). Copies are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Center, The Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580. Article copyright The Haworth Press, Inc.