Sexual molestation of males: Associations with psychological disturbance

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There are no epidemiological data in Europe on associations between sexual molestation in males and psychological disturbance. AIMS: To investigate whether sexual molestation in males is a significant predictor of psychological disturbance. METHOD: We recruited men attending general practice and genitourinary medicine services. Participants took part in a computerised interview about sexual molestation as children or adults. We ranked reported sexual experiences into three categories of decreasing severity. Each category was treated as an independent predictor in a multivariate analysis predicting different types of psychological disturbance. RESULTS: Men who reported child sexual abuse were more likely to report any type of psychological disturbance. Men who reported sexual molestation in adulthood were 1.7 (1.0-2.8) times more likely to have experienced a psychological disorder, but self-harm was the single most likely problem to occur (odds ratio=2.6, range=1.3-5.2). Men reporting 'consenting' sexual experiences when aged under 16 years also were more likely to report acts of self-harm (odds ratio=1.7, range=0-2.8). CONCLUSIONS: Sexual abuse as a child or adult is associated with later psychological problems. All forms of sexual molestation were predictive of deliberate self-harming behaviour in men.