Consequences of Childhood Sexual Assault in Girls

Background:  Early childhood and adolescent sexual assault is a significant problem in the United States. There has been a substantial effort made to analyze the long term effects that childhood sexual assault (CSA) has on individuals during their lifetime. Due to the various ways of defining sexual assault and the difficulty of categorizing its various forms and outcomes, research on this subject has faced considerable limitations. The purpose of this study is to explore the consequences of CSA among girls. The aims of the study are to: 1) describe the CSA among girls and 2) explore the behaviors that occur as a result of experiencing CSA.  

Method: A secondary data analysis of the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) will be completed to explore the consequences of CSA on girls. The YRBS presents a representative sample of students in high school throughout the U.S. Questions from the YRBS will be used to examine the relationship among the different variables (ex: child sexual assault, depression, alcohol use, and promiscuous sexual behavior).

Results:  The data from the 2011 YRBS is available; however, the data presented for this project will be based on the 2013 YRBS. The results of the 2013 survey will be available in the June 2014.

Conclusion:  When data analysis is complete, we hope to find evidence supporting a relationship between CSA and risky behaviors. With this information, nurses will be able to better assess and identify those most at risk, allowing for early intervention.