The Impact of a History of Childhood Abuse on Life as a College Student

Abstract

Several studies demonstrate the impact that childhood abuse has on adult life (Felitti et al., 1998; Galea, 2008). This study sought to examine the impact of childhood abuse on college student life. Physical, sexual, emotional, and spiritual abuse were examined in a group of college students from Andrews University and Southern Adventist University. The research team sought to assess whether childhood abuse correlated with challenges for students in the areas of emotional distress, relationship distress, addictive behaviors, spiritual distress, academic problems, and self-indulgence. This research found that nearly all independent variables correlated with one another and with each dependent variable at a statistically significant level (p ≤ .001). The implications of these findings for college students are explored.