Metadata record for Risk Factors for Violent Victimization of Women in a Major Northeastern City, 1990-1991 and 1996-1997

Risk Factors for Violent Victimization of Women in a Major Northeastern City, 1990-1991 and 1996-1997 Siegel, Jane A. Williams, Linda M. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research ICPSR 2006-03-30 3052 doi://10.3886/ICPSR03052.v1

This study addressed the question of whether women who were sexually abused as children were at increased risk of either sexual abuse or domestic violence victimization later in life. It also investigated the role of other potential risk factors, including family background, sexual behavior, alcohol problems, and a woman's own aggressive behavior. The investigators sought to answer the following questions: (1) Are victims of child sexual abuse at increased risk of adolescent or adult sexual victimization as compared to nonvictims? (2) Are victims of child sexual abuse at increased risk of physically violent nonsexual victimization as compared to nonvictims? (3) How is the risk of sexual revictimization and physical victimization among abuse survivors affected by their engaging in violent behavior, such as physical fighting, engaging in heavy drinking, and practicing risky sexual behavior, such as having multiple sexual partners? (4) Were women who reported drinking problems and physical fighting in Wave 2 at increased risk of domestic violence victimization at Wave 3, compared to the other child abuse victims in the study? This study consisted of a secondary analysis of selected variables collected during two waves of a three-wave prospective study of the consequences of child abuse and sexual assault for adult, adolescent, and child victims (McCahill, Meyer, and Fischman, 1979). During the first wave of the study, data were gathered on 206 girls ranging in age from 10 months to 12 years who were victims of reported cases of sexual abuse and who were examined at a municipal hospital in 1973-1975. In 1990 and 1991, follow-up interviews (Wave 2) were conducted with 136 of the original 206 girls, then aged 18 to 31. During this wave, a comparison group of girls treated at a hospital for reasons other than child sexual abuse was matched to the 206 victims on the basis of race, age, and date of hospital visit, for purposes of analysis of their official criminal records. The criminal records data are not included in this data collection. Also, none of the women in the comparison group were interviewed during Wave 2. In 1996 and 1997, another wave of follow-up interviews (Wave 3) was conducted. Using the same criteria as in Wave 2, a new matched comparison group was identified, resulting in an additional 85 girls in the sample. Of the 174 women interviewed during Wave 3, 80 were known victims of child sexual abuse who also had been interviewed during Wave 2. The data in Part 2 (Wave 3 Women Also Interviewed at Wave 2) are a subset of Part 1 (All Wave 3 Interviews). Part 1 variables supply information on self-reported family history of substance abuse and criminal activity, parental care and neglect, and family violence when the respondent was a child. Topics focusing on respondents' current (adult) experiences include violence in relationships, injuries as a result of domestic violence, use of a weapon during domestic violence, sexual history, sexual victimization, and parental attachment. Variables in Part 2 cover parental affection and support received by the respondent when she was a teenager, history of fighting, physical abuse by a partner, dating and sexual history, alcohol abuse, and sexual victimization. Demographic variables (found in Part 1 only) include age, marital status, race, and education.

UniverseScheme03052 Organization03052_1 98-WT-VX-0028

This study addressed the question of whether women who were sexually abused as children were at increased risk of either sexual abuse or of domestic violence victimization later in life. It also investigated the role of other potential risk factors, including family background, sexual behavior, alcohol problems, and a woman's own aggressive behavior. The investigators sought to answer the following questions: (1) Are victims of child sexual abuse at increased risk of adolescent or adult sexual victimization as compared to nonvictims? (2) Are victims of child sexual abuse at increased risk of physically violent nonsexual victimization as compared to nonvictims? (3) How is the risk of sexual revictimization and physical victimization among abuse survivors affected by their engaging in violent behavior, such as physical fighting, engaging in heavy drinking, and practicing risky sexual behavior, such as having multiple sexual partners? (4) Were women who reported drinking problems and physical fighting in Wave 2 at increased risk of domestic violence victimization at Wave 3, compared to the other child abuse victims in the study?

ICPSR.XVII.E NACJD.X NACJD.XIII alcohol abuse child abuse domestic violence family history family violence risk assessment risk factors sexual abuse sexual behavior victimization women United States 1990 1991 1996 1997 Individuals. survey data All girls under 12 years old treated for sexual assault in a major northeastern city between 1973 and 1975.

This study consisted of a secondary analysis of selected variables collected during two waves of a three-wave prospective study of the consequences of child abuse and sexual assault for adult, adolescent, and child victims (McCahill, Meyer, and Fischman, 1979). During the first wave of the study, data were gathered on 206 girls ranging in age from 10 months to 12 years who were victims of reported cases of sexual abuse and who were examined at a municipal hospital in 1973-1975. In 1990 and 1991, follow-up interviews (Wave 2) were conducted to investigate the adult consequences of child sexual abuse. Of the original sample of 206 victims, 136 women -- then aged 18 to 31 -- were located and interviewed. During this wave, a comparison group was identified in order to examine whether child sexual abuse was associated with delinquency or adult criminality, based on official criminal records. Girls treated at a hospital for reasons other than child sexual abuse were matched to the victims on the basis of race, age, and date of hospital visit. The criminal records data are not included in this data collection. Also, none of the women in the comparison group were interviewed during Wave 2. In 1996 and 1997, another wave of follow-up interviews (Wave 3) was conducted. Using the same criteria as in Wave 2, a new matched comparison group was identified, resulting in an additional 85 girls in the sample. Of the 174 women interviewed during Wave 3, 80 were known victims of child sexual abuse who also had been interviewed during Wave 2. The data in Part 2 (Wave 3 Women Also Interviewed at Wave 2) are a subset of Part 1 (All Wave 3 Interviews).

Scales include Jehu's Belief Inventory, a modified version of the Conflict Tactics Scale, the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) scale, and several Likert-type scales. Convenience sampling with matched comparison groups.

ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

Standardized missing values.
Created online analysis version with question text.
Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

Of the total sample of 496 women for all three interview waves, the researchers were able to locate and contact 238 women for the Wave 3 follow-up. Of these 238 women, 174 (73 percent of the 238 women and 35 percent of the total sample) were interviewed during Wave 3.

Part 1 variables supply information on self-reported family history of substance abuse and criminal activity, parental care and neglect, and family violence when the respondent was a child. Topics focusing on respondents' current (adult) experiences include violence in relationships, injuries as a result of domestic violence, use of a weapon during domestic violence, sexual history, sexual victimization, and parental attachment. Variables in Part 2 cover parental affection and support received by the respondent when she was a teenager, history of fighting, physical abuse by a partner, dating and sexual history, alcohol abuse, and sexual victimization. Demographic variables (found in Part 1 only) include age, marital status, race, and education.

ICPSR

AVAILABLE. This study is freely available to the general public.

The original collector of the data, ICPSR, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Rearch ICPSR

Ann Arbor MI

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/ netmail@icpsr.umich.edu United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice 2006-03-30 ICPSR 2006-03-30 File CB3052.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads. 2005-11-04 ICPSR 2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable, and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to reflect these additions. 2001-03-27 ICPSR 2001-03-27 Data collection instruments have been added to the collection as a PDF file.