Citation

Vigil JM, Geary DC, Byrd-Craven J. Dev. Psychol. 2005; 41(3): 553-561.

Affiliation

Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-2500, USA. jmv427@mizzou.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/0012-1649.41.3.553

PMID

15910162

Abstract

Life history theory provided a framework for examining the relations among child sexual abuse (CSA), childhood adversity, and patterns of reproductive development and behavior. A community survey that assessed CSA, life history variables (e.g., age of menarche), and social and family background was administered to 623 women (mean age=26.9 years). Independent of social and family background, CSA was associated with earlier age of (a) menarche, (b) first sexual relationship, (c) desire to have children, (d) first childbirth, and (e) lower self-evaluated physical attractiveness. Cluster analyses revealed different patterns of experiential correlates of reproductive development within the group of abused women, suggesting CSA may operate in combination with other childhood circumstances to modify the timing and pattern of individual maturation.

Language: en