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Cited by 601Child Abuse and TraumaSexual Assault and Victimization StudiesPsychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending

The impact of sexual abuse on female development: Lessons from a multigenerational, longitudinal research study

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Trickett, Penelope K., Noll, Jennie G., Putnam, Frank W.·2011·Development and Psychopathology
DOI 10.1017/s0954579411000174PMC PMC3693773
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Abstract

This is a report on the research design and findings of a 23-year longitudinal study of the impact of intrafamilial sexual abuse on female development. The conceptual framework integrated concepts of psychological adjustment with theory regarding how psychobiological factors might impact development. Participants included 6- to 16-year-old females with substantiated sexual abuse and a demographically similar comparison group. A cross-sequential design was used and six assessments have taken place, with participants at median age 11 at the first assessment and median age 25 at the sixth assessment. Mothers of participants took part in the early assessments and offspring took part at the sixth assessment. Results of many analyses, both within circumscribed developmental stages and across development, indicated that sexually abused females (on average) showed deleterious sequelae across a host of biopsychosocial domains including: earlier onsets of puberty, cognitive deficits, depression, dissociative symptoms, maladaptive sexual development, hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal attenuation, asymmetrical stress responses, high rates of obesity, more major illnesses and healthcare utilization, dropping out of high school, persistent posttraumatic stress disorder, self-mutilation,Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnoses, physical and sexual revictimization, premature deliveries, teen motherhood, drug and alcohol abuse, and domestic violence. Offspring born to abused mothers were at increased risk for child maltreatment and overall maldevelopment. There was also a pattern of considerable within group variability. Based on this complex network of findings, implications for optimal treatments are elucidated. Translational aspects of extending observational research into clinical practice are discussed in terms that will likely have a sustained impact on several major public health initiatives.

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  • In the prospective Female Growth and Development Study (FGDS), 54% of the CSA group compared with 16% of the comparison group had a psychiatric diagnosis, and there were significantly more cases of PTSD, dysthymia, major depression, panic disorder, and drug and alcohol dependence in the CSA group.

    “Results indicated that 54% of the CSA group (compared with 16% of the comparison group) had a psychiatric diagnosis, and there were significantly more cases of PTSD, dysthymia, major depression, panic disorder, and drug and alcohol dependence in the CSA group.”

    From Child Sexual Abuse as a Unique Risk Factor for the Development of Psychopathology: The Compounded Convergence of Mechanisms (2021) · cites this paper as Trickett et al. 2011

    The Psychopathology section reports significantly more DSM diagnoses among abused females, along with higher PTSD and depression symptoms and, by adulthood, higher depression and alcohol and drug abuse. It does not give the claimed 54% versus 16% figures or establish significantly more cases of each listed diagnosis, including dysthymia and panic disorder. Its 53% versus 35% figures refer instead to participants meeting criteria for two or more diagnoses. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Trickett, P. K., Noll, J. G., & Putnam, F. W.
Affiliations
  • University of Southern California (US)
  • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
Trickett, Penelope K.
ORCID
Noll, Jennie G.
Venue
Development and Psychopathology
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2011-04-18
Volume
23
Issue
2
Pages
453-476
ISSN
  • 0954-5794 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-2198
DOI
10.1017/s0954579411000174
PMC
PMC3693773
OpenAlex
W2103267771
Cited by
601
References
14
Citations by year
2026: 26 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 74 · 2017: 48 · 2016: 51 · 2015: 50 · 2014: 34 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 21
FWCI
29.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Development and Psychopathology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5k02mh001284-05)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (MH 48330, R01MH048330, MH01284)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R03HD060604, HD045346, R03HD045346, HD41402, HD060604, K01HD041402)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
Keywords
intrafamilial sexual abuse, female development, child sexual abuse, psychological adjustment, puberty onset, cognitive impairment, depression, dissociative symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder, revictimization, adolescent motherhood, substance abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, obesity, school dropout, multigenerational effects, therapeutic implications
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Child, Child Abuse, Sexual, Child Development, Cognition Disorders, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression, Female, Humans, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Longitudinal Studies, Mothers, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Puberty, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Adolescent Development

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