POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER IN WOMEN WHO WERE VICTIMS OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE

Twenty-six women who had been sexually abused in childhood were assessed by means of structured interviews as to the nature of the abusive experience and subsequent psychiatric disorder. Nineteen (73.1%) fulfilled the criteria of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and a comparison was made between PTSD and non-PTSD groups with regard to quantitative abuse variables. The phenomenon of latency or delay in onset in PTSD symptomatology was investigated. The possible implications of those findings were discussed.