Sexual assault among males, compared with females, is understudied, and may also be significantly underreported. Past studies have relied primarily on population-based survey data to estimate the prevalence of sexual assault and associated health outcomes. However, survey-based studies rely primarily on self-reports of victimization and may not accurately estimate the true prevalence of male sexual assault victimization. In order to obtain a detailed assessment of sexual assault among males, criminological databases like the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) may provide an important and unique source of information. The objective of the current study was to use data from the 2001-2005 NIBRS to construct an epidemiological profile of sexual assault among males. Our results suggest that the incidence of sexual assault was higher among young males (less than 19 years of age), with approximately 90% of all cases being reported among members of this age group. Among males of all ages, forcible fondling and sodomy were the most prevalent forms of sexual assault. Results from additional analyses include age- and race-specific rates of male sexual assault, the prevalence and severity of injury, and time trends detailing incidence by time of the day and location of the incident. Our analyses show that sexual assault is experienced by males of all age groups. However, the rate of sexual assault is higher among younger males. Despite some limitations, results from this study suggest that NIBRS data may provide a important complement to survey data for understanding breadth and consequences of male sexual assault.

This study reports results from follow-up interviews with 301 women aged 18-44 years who were first identified 2 years earlier in a cross-sectional study of 1498 adults in the general population of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The prevalence of intrafamilial sexual abuse was 13%. This incestuous sexual abuse in childhood was associated with an increase in many adult mental symptoms, particularly symptoms of depression, bulimia and generalized anxiety. In this community study the consequences associated with sexual abuse within the family appear to be widespread and not very specific, and show as additional comorbidity rather than as increased severity within a disorder. These results do not support the strong direct causal effects postulated in some theories derived from clinical studies.

This study investigates the association between objective and subjective characteristics of childhood sexual abuse and psychopathology in later life. The sample consists of 404 Dutch female adults who had been sexually abused in their childhood or adolescence. The participants were recruited by means of articles about childhood sexual abuse in major Dutch newspapers. The characteristics and severity of the sexual abuse were assessed with the Questionnaire Unwanted Sexual Experiences in the Past (QUSEP). General psychopathology was measured with the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90), the degree of dissociation was measured with the Dissociation Questionnaire (DIS-Q). Stepwise multiple regression analyses showed a moderate association between psychopathology and objective characteristics of the abuse, such as number of different types of abusive events and the duration of the abuse. However, more strongly associated with later psychopathology were variables reflecting coping style, such as the degree of self-blame, and circumstantial factors, such as the emotional atmosphere in the family of origin and the reactions after disclosure. Whether or not the abuse was incestuous did not explain additional variance in later psychopathology.

Over a 5-year period, of the 461 cases of sexual abuse of adults with mental retardation, 37% were confirmed by the Abuse Investigation Division of the Connecticut Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities. As expected, most of the victims were women (72%); their average age at the time of the incident was 30 years. Victims, for the most part, had no problems communicating verbally and had few, if any, secondary disabilities. As is the case in the general population, the majority of the perpetrators were men (88%) and included other adults with mental retardation, paid staff, family members, and others. Most sexual abuse occurred in the victim's residence, and in 92% of the cases the victim knew his or her abuser. Results were discussed and several concerns raised.

The authors compared rates of physical and sexual abuse in women with eating disorders (N = 102) and general psychiatric disorders (N = 49). Relationships between sexual abuse and severity of eating disordered and psychiatric symptoms were also examined. While high rates of sexual abuse were found in the eating disordered sample, these rates were not significantly higher than those found in the general psychiatric population. No relationship between a history of sexual abuse and severity of eating disordered symptoms was found. However, within the eating disordered group, sexually abuse subjects reported more severe psychiatric disturbances of an obsessive and phobic nature than nonabused subjects. These findings suggest that while sexually abusive experiences may be related to increased psychological distress, they do not serve to increase eating disordered symptomatology.

OBJECTIVE: Series of patients fulfilling diagnostic criteria for Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), otherwise known as multiple personality disorder, have particularly been reported on in North America and increasingly in other countries. The present study investigated the trauma and past treatment histories, symptom profiles and dissociative phenomenology of 62 patients fulfilling diagnostic criteria for DID seen in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia). METHOD: From 1992, systematic assessments, including the Dissociative Experience Scale and the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule, were performed with a personal series of 57 patients with DID seen by one of the authors (WM) and five patients seen by the second author (JB). RESULTS: The histories of childhood trauma, the clinical profiles and dissociative indices of these patients closely approximate those described in series reported in other countries. CONCLUSIONS: Patients fulfilling diagnostic criteria for DID are regularly seen in Australian inpatient and outpatient settings. The dissociative symptomatology of the patients examined in the present study represents a significant component of a complex syndrome associated with a history of severe ongoing developmental trauma dating from early childhood.

The concurrence of substance abuse and history of sexual abuse among adolescents has prompted this study of substance abuse patterns among families of adolescents who report incest or extrafamilial sexual abuse. A total of 3,179 ninth-grade students in a rural midwestern state completed a survey that included questions about individual and family substance abuse. Adolescents who had been sexually abused were more likely to report substance abuse for themselves as well as for members of their immediate families. They were also more likely to report that they used substances because of family problems, school problems, and because they were sad, lonely, or angry. Adolescents reporting a parent with an alcohol or a drug problem were more likely to use cigarettes, marijuana, alcohol, or "speed." Adolescents experiencing extrafamilial abuse reported more alcohol abuse and more alcohol-related problems than those who experienced incest. There were similar reports of parental and familial alcohol and drug problems among these experiencing incest and those experiencing extrafamilial abuse. Those with drug-abusing parents, however, were most likely to report some kind of sexual abuse history.

Homicidal sex offenders represent an understudied population in the forensic literature. Forty-eight homicidal sex offenders assessed between 1982 and 1992 were studied in relation to a comparison group of incest offenders. Historical features, commonly used psychological inventories, criminal histories, phallometric assessments, and DSM diagnoses were collected on each group. The homicidal sex offenders, compared with the incest offenders, self-reported that they had more frequently been removed from their homes during childhood and had more violence and forensic psychiatric contact in their histories. On the self-report psychological inventories, the homicidal sex offenders portrayed themselves as functioning significantly better in the areas of sexuality (Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory) and aggression/hostility (Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory). However, on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), researchers rated the homiciders significantly more psychopathic than the incest offenders on Factor 1 (personality traits) and Factor 2 (antisocial history). Police records revealed the homicidal subjects also had been charged or convicted of more violent and nonviolent nonsexual offenses. The phallometric assessments indicated that the homicidal sex offenders demonstrated higher levels of response to pedophilic stimuli and were significantly more aroused to stimuli depicting assaultive acts to children, relative to the incest offenders. Despite the homiciders' self-reports of fairly good psychological functioning, DSM-III diagnoses reliably discriminated between the groups. A large number of homicidal sex offenders were diagnosed as suffering from psychosis, antisocial personality disorder, paraphilias, sexual sadism, sexual sadism with pedophilia, and substance abuse. Seventy-five percent of the homicidal sex offenders had three or more diagnoses compared with six percent of the incest offenders. The article addresses the role of "hard" versus "soft" measures in the assessment and treatment of violent sex offenders. In addition, the usefulness of phallometric assessments and the PCL-R and its subscales are considered.

Patients with epileptic seizures (ES) and especially those with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) share many symptoms with patients with pseudo-epileptic seizures (PES), and the differentiation between them is often difficult There is growing evidence that a subgroup of PES patients suffer from a dissociative disorder. It is recognized that dissociative symptoms pertain to both psychological and somatoform components of experience. Questionnaires assessing dissociation might provide positive criteria for the diagnosis of PES. In this study, the Dissociation Questionnaire (DIS-Q) and the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20) were administered to patients with ES (TLE, non-TLE) and PES. To control for the influence of general psychoneurotic complaints, the SCL-90 was administered. Apart from this, answers on a trauma questionnaire were related to the diagnosis. Results showed that PES patients scored significantly higher on the SDQ-20, also after correction with the SCL-90, and no difference was found on the DIS-Q. Also, PES patients significantly more often reported sexual traumatic experiences. A logistic regression revealed that results on the SDQ-20 have no independent value in addition to the contribution of gender, age, age at seizure onset, and the presence of sexual abuse in the prediction of the diagnosis. In conclusion, somatoform and not psychological dissociative symptoms are characteristic for PES patients in comparison to ES patients. Other measures are needed within the framework of the differential diagnosis between PES and ES.

OBJECTIVE To study the differential effects of sexual abuse on Hispanic (HN) and African-American (AA) girls. METHOD Sexually abused girls and their caretakers (N = 159), of which 52%(n = 82) were AA (mean age 9.8 years, SD = 3.4, R = 6-17) and 48%(n = 77) were HN (mean age 10.1 years, SD = 3.8, R = 6-18), were included in the study. The mother/caretaker was administered a demographic form, the Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the Family Assessment Measure (FAM-P). The child completed the FAM-C and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC). The clinician completed the Parental Reaction to Incest Disclosure Scale (PRIDS). RESULTS HN girls were found to have a greater number of sexually abusive episodes and waited longer to disclose their abuse while AA girls were more likely to have experienced vaginal penetration. The perpetrators of HN girls were older and more likely to be fathers or stepfathers. The mothers/ caretakers of HN girls perceived their children as having significantly more aggressive behavior, anxiety/depression, somatic complaints, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and had a higher total score on the CBCL than did AA girls. The HN girls were more likely to see their family as dysfunctional with confusion regarding family values and rules. HN mothers/caretakers perceived their families as more conflicted regarding adaptability and family controls. CONCLUSIONS HN girls experienced more emotional and behavioral problems, and both HN girls and their mothers/caretakers perceived their families as more disturbed and dysfunctional.

One hundred and twenty-two adult outpatients, 81 women and 41 men, in a community mental health center responded to a survey of history of sexual assault and abuse. Overall, 48% reported they had been sexually assaulted or abused, 59% of women and 24% of men. Forty-two percent of women and 17% of men reported they had been raped, 27% of women and 7% of men reported attempted rape, and 31% of women and 10% of men reported molestation. Characteristics of assaults and assailants were examined. Implications for training clinicians in the treatment of victims of sexual assault and abuse are discussed.