Young Women's Social and Occupational Development and Mental Health in the Aftermath of Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract

We examined social role functioning and depressive symptoms of young adults who were abused as children in data from a longitudinal community sample. Sexually abused women and men were more depressed during their senior year of high school, and this difference was more pronounced 2 years later. We then examined a mediational model to determine whether social functioning explained the course of depressive symptoms over this transitional period. Focusing only on young women, for whom the prevalence of abuse was much higher, results indicated that two-thirds of the effect of abuse on depressive symptoms was explained by experiences and choices in the domains of work, education and intimate relationships. Having less supportive intimate relationships and lower rates of attendance at 4-year colleges were particularly important. Findings reveal the key role played by early adult interpersonal and occupational development in perpetuating the mental health impact of childhood trauma.