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Child Maltreatment
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Is Disclosure of Childhood Rape Associated with Mental Health Outcome? Results from the National Women’s Study

Kenneth J. Ruggiero

Daniel W. Smith

Rochelle F. Hanson

Heidi S. Resnick

Benjamin E. Saunders

Dean G. Kilpatrick

Connie L. Best

Medical University of South Carolina

Clinicians often assert that disclosure of childhood rape is beneficial to victims because it sets the occasion for protective action and can bring them into contact with professionals trained to address rape-related mental health needs. Consistent with this is the hypothesis that victims of childhood rape who disclose their victimization soon after it occurs are at lower risk for later psychosocial difficulties relative to those who delay disclosure or never disclose. We explored this issue with a nationally representative sample of 3,220 adult women; 288 (8.9%) endorsed at least one instance of forcible sexual penetration prior to age 18. Results revealed a significantly higher past-year prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive episodes among women who waited longer than 1 month to disclose their rape relative to nondisclosers and women who disclosed within 1 month of the rape. Delayed disclosure remained associated with PTSD after controlling for demographic and rape characteristics. Patterns of disclosure were not associated with past-year substance-use problems.

Key Words: child rape • sexual abuse • disclosure • mental health outcomes • National Women’s Study

Child Maltreatment, Vol. 9, No. 1, 62-77 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1077559503260309
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