Effects of Completing Sexual Questionnaires in Males and Females with Histories of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Implications for Institutional Review Boards

Abstract

Few studies have sought to examine empirically the immediate effects of participation in sexual abuse research. The present study investigated the effects of childhood sexual abuse on measures of personality and psychological functioning in 250 males and females. The null hypothesis was that sexually abused and nonabused groups would show no significant differences between pre-and post-testing on measures of state anxiety, state depression, and state anger. No significant differences between pre-and post-testing were observed between nonabused, abused, and severely abused participants. In addition, there were no gender differences among the groups. Findings from this study support those of Savell, Kinder, and Young (2006) and have significant implications for Institutional Review Boards (IRB) as they suggest that participation in childhood sexual abuse or sexuality research does not place sexually abused individuals at greater than minimal risk for immediate increases in anxiety, depression, or anger.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Jodi Savell for her consultation in designing this study; M. Scott Young, PhD for his assistance with statistical analyses; and Maria Dalal Safa for her service in conducting this study with the first author.

Notes

^a Significant before Bonferroni adjustment.