Speaker
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Authors: Luciana Assini Meytin (Johns Hopkins University), Kerry Green (University of Maryland), Yi Sun (Johns Hopkins University), Elizabeth Letourneau (Johns Hopkins University)
Background: One in four girls will experience sexual abuse before the age of 18. While the ubiquity of reproductive health problems among women survivors of CSA is well-documented, the epidemiology of reproductive health problems specifically associated with childhood sexual trauma remains understudied. In this study, we aimed to estimate the association between CSA and women's reproductive health outcomes.
Methods: This study is a secondary data analysis of the U.S.-based National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a nationally representative cohort of adolescents recruited from grades 7–12 (1994–1995) and prospectively followed across five waves of data collection. The most recent data collection occurred when participants were, on average, 38 years old (2016–2018; N = 6,197 women). We used bivariate and multivariate regression models to test the association between CSA and impaired fecundity (difficulty getting or remaining pregnant), pregnancy complications (high blood pressure, preeclampsia, and diabetes during gestation), and preterm delivery.
Results: In our study sample, 25% of women experienced CSA. In adjusted models, our preliminary findings showed that, compared to women who did not experience CSA, survivors of CSA were more likely to report impaired fecundity (AOR = 1.37, p < .001), preeclampsia (AOR = 1.46, p < .001), and diabetes during gestation (AOR = 1.24, p = .036). The association between CSA and preterm delivery was not statistically significant.
Discussion: While CSA victimization is a widespread public health problem, particularly among girls, much remains to be understood about its association with adverse reproductive outcomes. These findings can inform preventive strategies aimed at mitigating reproductive health sequelae in women who survive CSA and at fostering positive reproductive health outcomes among all women, including those who have endured sexual trauma in childhood.
| Conflict of interest | The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose. |
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