Social isolation and sexual abuse among women who smoke crack.
The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence of social isolation and its relationship to sexual trauma in a sample of Black women who smoke crack cocaine. Using a convenience sample of 115 Black women with a history of smoking crack cocaine, participants were interviewed for 2 to 4 hours and asked a variety of questions about their health, relationships, sexuality, and drug use. Bivariate and multivariate logistical regressions were used to predict whether the women reported being socially isolated. While social isolation was not necessarily a common experience among the sample, it was found that women who had been sexually abused were three times more likely to report being socially isolated than women who had not been sexually abused. In addition, social isolation was more common among women who had been abused by a family member, who had been abused when they were young, and who had been abused for a long period of time. However, multivariate analyses revealed that the age at which the sexual trauma occurred was the most salient predictor of social isolation in adulthood. Implications for drug treatment are discussed.
Young
A M
AM
Substance Abuse Research Center, University of Michigan, 475 Market Place, Suite D, Ann Arbor, MI 48108-1649, USA.
Boyd
C
C
Hubbell
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D016578:Crack Cocaine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007179:Incest / Q000523:psychology*; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016015:Logistic Models; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012934:Social Isolation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health
D016578:Crack Cocaine