Mental Health Impact of Child Sexual Abuse, Rape, Intimate Partner Violence, and Hate Crimes in the National Lesbian Health Care Survey

Abstract

The prevalence and mental health sequelae of child sexual abuse, rape, intimate partner violence and hate crimes are examined in a national sample of 1925 lesbians who participated as respondents in the National Lesbian Health Care Survey (1984-1985), the most comprehensive study on U.S. lesbians to date. Multivariate analyses of covariance indicated that, relative to a comparison group, lesbians who had experienced child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence reported significantly more daily stress, depression, and alcohol abuse; those who had been raped reported significantly more depression and alcohol abuse; and those who had experienced hate crimes reported significantly more daily stress, depression and alcohol and drug abuse. Lesbians who experienced a physical hate crime reported significantly more daily stress and drug abuse compared to lesbians who experienced a physical assault that they did not perceive as hate-motivated. MAN-COVAs were performed to examine the impact of cumulative violence among lesbians who experienced child sexual abuse and adult violence and showed that lesbians with a history of child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence reported significantly more daily stress and alcohol abuse.