Violent and nonviolent revictimization of women abused in childhood

This study investigated the relationship between the severity of childhood trauma and proneness to victimization in adulthood in a sample of 155 Australian women. A tendency for both violent and nonviolent revictimization was observed. The classical "repetition compulsion" theory of revictimization is less able to accommodate these findings than theories that implicate an effect of childhood abuse on self-concept. Additionally, the factors of peritraumatic dissociation, coping styles, and attachment styles were examined as possible intervening variables in the revictimization relationship. The findings of the study suggest that some coping styles mediate the relationship between childhood abuse and victimization in adulthood whereas aspects of attachment styles may serve to moderate this relationship.