WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE WHO REPORT CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE CHILDHOOD AND SEXUAL TRAUMA (CAST) SURVEY?
Creators: name: Squanda, Kaitlyn
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2020

description: Abstract

Background: Within the topic of childhood abuse, childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a critical global public health issue and also defined broadly. Within the United States, national surveys report 8.5% of the population have experience CSA in their lifetime. However, CSA is underreported, with rates of exposure to CSA closer to 20% in women and 15% in men. Disclosure of CSA is rarely a one-time event, but rather a process over a life span. The effects of CSA are variant, and coping mechanisms vary between every individual. With the rapid emergence of the computer and exponentially improving technology, online health communities are a crucial platform for public health professionals to assess and improve health outcomes. An online health community for CSA can be a place for survivors to disclose their experience at a younger age and begin to process sooner. Gravity Network, is a first of its kind, online health community dedicated specifically for CSA survivors. Using a first of its kind survey instrument, Childhood Abuse and Sexual Trauma (CAST) Survey, Gravity network sought to quantify physical, social, and emotional impacts of CSA. The goal of this study is to explore characteristics of those who responded to the CAST survey, allowing for questions that may be difficult to explore in research studies. 

Methods: This study used CAST respondent survey data, 96.89% responding within the United States and 3.11% responding internationally. The CAST responses were received over a two-week period between March 12, 2018 through April 30, 2018. The sample size for this study is comprised of 771 participants who completed the entirety of the survey. For all of the variables and analysis listed below, we performed descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression using STATA/SE version 16.0 to analyze the relationships of interest. 

Results: Almost all respondents report having mental health issues since the abuse, 97.8% reporting some form of issue. Similarly, 95.98% of respondents report physical health issues. When analyzing different coping mechanisms, disclosure of abuse was of interest. The varied responses to who respondents disclosed the abuse to affirms the need for multiple strategies to improved outcomes of CSA. The interest of the relationship between age of first abuse and mental or physical health issues stems from the need for more information around the effects of age of abuse and disclosure for those who have experienced CSA. As it seemed disclosing the abuse tended to have a slight protective effect on mental health issues, disclosing the abuse did not tend to either a protective or detrimental effect on physical health issues.

Conclusion: Overall, the Gravity Network’s CAST survey provides a representation of the community of CSA survivors who accessed this online health community. Gravity Network, with its online health community, serves as a unique avenue for healthcare professionals to connect with such a population. 

Keywords: childhood sexual abuse, online health communities, Gravity Network