Citation

Schry AR, Beckham JC, The Va Mid-Atlantic Mirecc Workgroup, Calhoun PS. Psychiatry Res. 2016; 240: 406-411.

Affiliation

Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Durham, NC, United States; VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Durham, NC, United States; Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States. Electronic address: patrick.calhoun2@va.gov.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2016.04.016

PMID

27149409

Abstract

Research in both civilian and military populations has demonstrated that females who experience childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are more likely to experience sexual assault in adulthood than females who did not experience CSA. Among veteran samples, however, little research has examined previous sexual assault as a risk factor of military sexual assault and post-military sexual assault, and very little research has examined revictimization in male veterans. The purpose of this study was to examine risk of sexual revictimization in a sample of veterans who served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A sample of 3106 veterans (80.4% male) completed a measure of lifetime exposure to traumatic events, including sexual abuse and sexual assault. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine previous sexual abuse/assault as predictors of later sexual assault; analyses were conducted separately for males and females. In general, previous sexual abuse/assault was associated with later sexual assault in both male and female veterans. These findings have important assessment and treatment implications for clinicians working with veterans.

Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Language: en