Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T08:07:35.754Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sexual Abuse in People with Alcohol Problems

A Study of the Prevalence of Sexual Abuse and its Relationship to Drinking Behaviour

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Joanna Moncrieff ,
D. Colin Drummond ,
Bridget Candy ,
Ken Checinski  and
Roger Farmer
Joanna Moncrieff*
Affiliation:
Department of Addictive Behaviour, St George's Hospital Medical School, London
D. Colin Drummond
Affiliation:
Department of Addictive Behaviour, St George's Hospital Medical School, London
Bridget Candy
Affiliation:
Department of Addictive Behaviour, St George's Hospital Medical School, London
Ken Checinski
Affiliation:
Department of Addictive Behaviour, St George's Hospital Medical School, London
Roger Farmer
Affiliation:
Department of Addictive Behaviour, St George's Hospital Medical School, London
*
Dr Joanna Moncrieff, Section of Epidemiology and General Practice, Institute of Psychiatry, London SE5 8AF
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

There is evidence that people with a history of sexual abuse may have an increased risk of developing alcohol and drug problems.

Method

A self-completion sexual abuse questionnaire was designed and administered to a sample of attenders at three London alcohol services. Drinking behaviour was assessed using the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire and the Alcohol Problems Questionnaire, and additional data were derived from case notes.

Results

Fifty-four per cent of women and 24% of men identified themselves as victims of sexual abuse or assault. For the majority this had started before the age of 16 and involved non-relatives. Subjects with a history of sexual abuse were younger, reached drinking milestones earlier, were more likely to have a family history of alcohol misuse and had more alcohol-related problems than non-abused subjects. Sexual abuse, age and alcohol dependence predicted level of problems in a regression analysis.

Conclusions

The high rates of sexual abuse and its association with indications of increased morbidity suggest it is an important issue for the management of alcohol problems. More use could be made of self-completion questionnaires for the investigation of sexual abuse.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 169 , Issue 3 , September 1996 , pp. 355 - 360
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Burnam, M. A., Stein, J. A., Golding, J. M., et al (1988) Sexual assault and mental disorders in a community population. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 843–850.Google Scholar
Downs, W. R. & Miller, B. A. (1995) Inter-generational links between childhood abuse and alcohol-related problems. In Alcohol Problems in the Community (ed. Harrison, L.), pp. 14–51. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Drummond, D. C. (1990) The relationship between alcohol dependence and alcohol related problems in a clinical population. British Journal of Addiction, 85, 357–366.Google Scholar
Edwards, G. (1986) The alcohol dependence syndrome: a concept as stimulus to enquiry. British Journal of Addiction, 81, 171–183.Google Scholar
Finkelhor, D. (1979) Sexually Victimised Children. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Finkelhor, D. & Baron, L. (1986) Risk factors for child sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1, 43–71.Google Scholar
Harrison, P. A., Hoffmann, N. G. & Edwall, G. E. (1989) Differential drug use patterns among sexually abused adolescent girls in treatment for chemical dependency. International Journal of Addictions, 24, 499–514.Google Scholar
Harrison, P. A., Edwall, G. E., Hoffmann, N. G., et al (1990) Correlates of sexual abuse among boys in treatment for chemical dependency. Journal of Adolescent Chemical Dependency, 1, 53–67.Google Scholar
McClelland, L., Mynors-Wallis, L., Fahy, T., et al (1991) Sexual abuse, disordered personality and eating disorders. British Journal of Psychiatry, 158 (suppl. 10), 63–68.Google Scholar
Miller, B. A., Downs, W. R., Gondou, D. M., et al (1987) The role of childhood sexual abuse in the development of alcoholism in women. Violence and Victims, 2, 157–172.Google Scholar
Miller, B. A., Downs, W. R. & Testa, M. (1993) Interrelationships between victimization experiences and women's alcohol use. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 54 (suppl. 11), 109–117.Google Scholar
Moncrieff, J. (1994) Sexual abuse and drug misuse (Letter). British Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 847.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mullen, P. E., Romans-Clarkson, S. E., Walton, V. A., et al (1988) Impact of sexual and sexual abuse on women's mental health. Lancet, i, 841–845.Google Scholar
Mullen, P. E., Martin, J. L., Anderson, J. C., et al (1993) Childhood sexual abuse and mental health in adult life. British Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 721–732.Google Scholar
Rounsaville, B. J., Websman, M. M., Wilber, C. H., et al (1982) Pathways to opiate addiction: an evaluation of differing antecedents. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 437–446.Google Scholar
Stockwell, T., Hodgson, R., Edwards, G., et al (1979) The development of a questionnaire to measure severity of alcohol dependence. British Journal of Addiction, 74, 79–87.Google Scholar
Sullivan, P. F., Bulk, C. M., Carter, F. A., et al (1995) The significance of a history of childhood sexual abuse in bulimia nervosa. British Journal of Psychiatry, 167, 679–682.Google Scholar
Wallen, J. (1992) A comparison of male and female clients in substance abuse treatment Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 9, 243–248.Google Scholar
Williams, B. T. & Drummond, D. C. (1994) The Alcohol Problems Questionnaire: reliability and validity. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 35, 239–243.Google Scholar
Winfield, I., George, L. K., Swartz, M., et al (1990) Sexual assault and psychiatric disorders among a community sample of women. American Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 335–341.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1992) The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Vize, C. M. & Cooper, P. J. (1995) Sexual abuse in patients with eating disorder, patients with depression and normal controls. A comparative study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 167, 80–85.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.