This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Google Scholar Articles by Godbout, N. Articles by Lussier, Y. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Godbout, N. Articles by Lussier, Y. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Romantic Adjustment: Comparison of Single- and Multiple-Indicator Measures

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Stephane.Sabourin{at}psy.ulaval.ca.

	Abstract

This study compared the usefulness of single- and multiple-indicator strategies in a model examining the role of child sexual abuse (CSA) to predict later marital satisfaction through attachment and psychological distress. The sample included 1,092 women and men from a nonclinical population in cohabiting or marital relationships. The single-item measure assessed the presence or absence of CSA. The multiple-indicator measure included items relating to level of force, relationship with perpetrator, number of abusive experiences, and nature of assault. Structural equation modeling indicated that, for research purposes, a dichotomized item provided as much information as a complex measure to predict the relationship between sexual abuse and marital adjustment through attachment representations and psychological distress. However, when analyses were conducted strictly within the CSA victims group, no correlation was found between abuse severity and psychosocial measures. The present results show that in a community sample, CSA may be an important risk factor that develops couple difficulties, regardless of the severity of the trauma.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?