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Abstract
The prevalence and mental health sequelae of child sexual abuse, rape, intimate partner violence and hate crimes are examined in a national sample of 1925 lesbians who participated as respondents in the National Lesbian Health Care Survey (1984-1985), the most comprehensive study on U.S. lesbians to date. Multivariate analyses of covariance indicated that, relative to a comparison group, lesbians who had experienced child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence reported significantly more daily stress, depression, and alcohol abuse; those who had been raped reported significantly more depression and alcohol abuse; and those who had experienced hate crimes reported significantly more daily stress, depression and alcohol and drug abuse. Lesbians who experienced a physical hate crime reported significantly more daily stress and drug abuse compared to lesbians who experienced a physical assault that they did not perceive as hate-motivated. MAN-COVAs were performed to examine the impact of cumulative violence among lesbians who experienced child sexual abuse and adult violence and showed that lesbians with a history of child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence reported significantly more daily stress and alcohol abuse.
