households were most likely to experience sexual assault.
the authors found no significant differences in history of sexual assault by education level, health insurance status, or race/ethnicity.
stydy findings indicate that sexual violence is to several adverse health behaviors, chronic health conditions and mental health conditions, even after adjusting for demographic characteristics.
these findings support previous reports linking sexual victimization, risk behaviors, and long-term health condition.
unlike one previous study, the association between HIV risk factors and sexual assault history was not significant after adjusting for demographic characteristics.
given the limitations of the cross-sectional study design, there was no way to establish causal or temporal relationships between sexual violence, demographic characteristics, and health behaviors and conditions.
for example, men and women with physical and mental disabilities are three to four times more likely to be sexually assaulted then individuals without a disability.
the relationship between alcohol use and sexual assault is also complex;excessive drinking has been found to be a significant cause and consequence of sexual assault.
while the association between excessive drinking and sexual assault is well known, alcohol can be a contributing factor in all types of interpersonal violence ( i.e., intimate partner violence, assault, homicide).
while the mechanism by which sexual violence, demographic characteristics, and health behaviors and conditions are related remains to be elucidated, it is important to note that sexual violence is overwhelmingly experienced by younger women (80% of victims reported that they were raped before 25 years of age) while chronic health problem typically arise later in life. therefore, sexual victimization likely preceded health conditions for most respondents.
one possible explanation for the relationships is that sexual violence causes serious psychological distress, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, which is linked to high-risk behaviors.
for example, a 2008 study of college-aged women found that PTSD aymptoms mediated the relationship between sexual assault and adverse health events.
history of childhood sexual abuse has been associated with persistent, chronic major depression.
another potential explanation for the relationship between sexual assault and chronic disease is that trauma.