Citation

Hanson RF, Davis JL, Resnick HS, Saunders BE, Kilpatrick DG, Holmes M, Best CL. Child Maltreat. 2001; 6(3): 250-259.

Affiliation

National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425, USA. hansonrf@musc.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11471632

Abstract

Childhood rape occurs frequently in our society and is associated with adverse consequences. Despite the severity of these outcomes, there appear to be many obstacles for children to receive postrape medical care. To date, it is unclear what proportion of childhood rape victims receive postrape medical examination or what factors predict receipt of this medical care. This study instigated the factors predicting immediate medica care for women who were raped during childhood. Data for the study were obtained from the final wave of the 2-year, longitudinal National Women's Study. Results indicated that the majority of women did not receive medical care following their childhood rape. Although women raped as adolescents were more likely to receive a postrape exam, logistic regression analyses indicated that rape characteristics (e.g., reporting the assault, concerns about sexually transmitted diseases [STDs]) mediated the relationship between age of victimization and receipt of medical care. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Language: en