SEXUAL ABUSE IN GIRLS LEADS TO LATER SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Young girls who are forced to hae sex are three times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders or abuse alcohol and drugs in adulthood, than girls who are not sexually abused, researchers report.  The study, which involved more than 1,400 adult female twins, found that the sibling who was abused had a consistently higher risk of psychiatric disorders, such as depression and bulimia, despite being raised in the same family and having the same genetic makeup as her sister.  Dr. Kenneth S. Kendler and colleagues, from the Medical College of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, examined the psychological impact of different types of childhood sexual abuse ranging from exposure and sexual suggestions to unwanted intercourse.  Their findings are published in the October issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

(New York)