Citation

Faravelli C, Giugni A, Salvatori S, Ricca V. Am. J. Psychiatry 2004; 161(8): 1483-1485.

Affiliation

Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Florence University Medical School, Italy. carlo.faravelli@unifi.it

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

10.1176/appi.ajp.161.8.1483

PMID

15285977

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the psychopathological consequences of a single rape occurring in adult women. METHOD: The psychiatric symptoms reported by 40 women who were victims of rape during the previous 9 months as decided by a court of law were compared with the symptoms of 32 women who underwent severe, nonsexual, life-threatening events (car accidents, physical attacks, or robberies). None of the raped women had experienced previous sexual abuse during childhood or adolescence. RESULTS: The raped women showed a significantly greater prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as sexual, eating, and mood disorders. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that the psychopathological consequences of a rape could be specific and may warrant particular attention.

Language: en