Child sexual abuse and the subsequent adolescent sexual, family planning, and fertility patterns of low-income women

Abstract

This study compares the adolescent sexual behaviors, fertility patterns and family planning behaviors of low socioeconomic, single parent women who reported a history of child sexual abuse (N = 38) with those who did not (N = 437). All questions on sexual behaviors, family planning behaviors, and fertility patterns were taken verbatim from the National Survey of Family Growth Cycle 3, (1981) from the National Center on Health Statistics. The data for this study was gathered in a survey conducted from September 1984 to June 1985. This secondary analysis of 475 cases began with a simple bivariate analysis of CSA related to each of the hypothesized outcomes. Subsequently, for each hypothesized outcome a regression analysis was conducted which included child sexual abuse (CSA) and the control variables race, age at time of interview, years of school achieved, and parenting support. The findings revealed that women who reported CSA had their first intercourse at an earlier age, had more sexual partners, had less committed relationships, had a greater number of live births, and were less likely to have had an abortion than women who reported CSA. However, there was inadequate support for the hypotheses which predicted differences between the two groups on age at first live birth, contraception patterns, opinion of responsibility for contraception, or percent of unwanted live births. Additionally, several of the situational factors had impact on some of these behavioral outcomes. Increased frequency of CSA increased the number of sexual partners, decreased the use of contraception, and increased the percent of unwanted live births. As the severity of CSA increased, the age at first intercourse was younger. The earlier age that CSA began and the greater the number of perpetrators, the greater the number of sexual partners that were reported. The greater the number of perpetrators, the less likely a CSA victim was to use contraceptives between first intercourse and first pregnancy. If the perpetrator was a family member, opinion of self-responsibility for contraception decreased. These consequences of CSA likely lead to decreased life chances and serious health problems.