This project is comprised of a series of studies investigating the long- term psychological, biological, and social outcomes of childhood sexual abuse in female children. Subjects are sexually abused girls, aged 6-15 years on entry into the study in 1986-88 (mean age =16 in 1995). Comparison subjects are matched on gender, age, race, socio-economic status, and family situation. Subjects have been assessed at three or four time points, approximately one year apart. Another assessment is currently underway and a final assessment is scheduled for 1998-9, when the majority of subjects will be in their early to mid-20s. Prior results include: significant dysregulation of the HPA axis, increased urinary catecholamines, increased antinuclear antibodies, and multiple types of psychopathology in the abused girls. New findings include: the manner (accidental vs. deliberate) in which abuse was disclosed predicts long term anxiety and coping; the amount of treatment received by abused children is predicted by ethnicity, invasiveness of abuse experiences, and child's depression and aggression; patterns of symptom comorbidity differ by developmental stage; and relationship with primary perpetrator complexly predicts abuse severity and behavioral outcomes. This project was formerly Z01 MH 02365-05 LDP and has been transferred from LDP, NIMH to BPB, NIMH.
