Child Sexual Abuse, Peer Sexual Abuse, and Sexual Assault in Adulthood: A Multi-Risk Model

This study explored the predictors and consequences of sexual assault occurring after the age of 16 years in a nonclinical sample of women. Child sexual abuse occurring before the age of 16 years was the only predictor of later sexual assault among comorbid risk factors. Peer sexual abuse, number of perpetrators, age at time of sexual abuse, and severity of sexual abuse did not increase the risk for later sexual assault. Adult sexual assault victims showed lower levels of mental health functioning than did survivors of child or peer sexual abuse. We discuss a specificity model of revictimization and the differential effects of child, peer, and adult sexual trauma on the developmental trajectory of sexual violence and psychosocial functioning. KEY WORDS: child sexual abuse; sexual revictimization. Researchers have termed the occurrence of multiple traumas across the life span as “revictimization. ” The concept of “revictimization ” has been defined as at least one incident of sexual abuse in both childhood and adulthood (Wyatt, Guthrie, & Notgrass, 1992). This definition originated in research documenting that victims of childhood sexual abuse are often at greater risk of experiencin