title: Child sexual abuse, coping strategies and lifetime posttraumatic stress disorder among female inmates.
abstract: The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in female inmates in China. A total of 471 participants were assessed for CSA, personality traits, coping strategies, and frequency of lifetime PTSD. Results demonstrated that CSA and negative coping were predictive factors for lifetime PTSD among female inmates after personality traits were controlled. The findings suggest that CSA is one potential factor contributing to lifetime PTSD among female inmates. The importance of screening for CSA among female inmates was highly emphasized. Early intervention and prevention programmes based on coping skills may be useful to forestall the development of chronic PTSD in female inmates.
authors.affiliation: The Mental Health Center of Sichuan Province, China. xyhuanggp@126.com
authors.forename: Guoping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yalin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shakeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Momartin
authors.forename: Xuanyin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology