title: Does Sexual Orientation Precede Childhood Sexual Abuse? Childhood Gender Nonconformity as a Risk Factor and Instrumental Variable Analysis.
abstract: Research suggests that there is a relation between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and adulthood nonheterosexual orientation. To explore whether nonheterosexual orientation increases the risk of CSA, we recruited a large sample, added the variable of childhood gender nonconformity (CGNC), and applied the instrumental variable method. We found that heterosexual and nonheterosexual men who were more gender nonconforming in childhood were significantly more likely to report having a history of CSA than their gender-conforming counterparts. There was no relation between CSA and CGNC for heterosexual and nonheterosexual women. The instrumental variable analysis revealed that the increased prevalence of CSA experienced by nonheterosexuals compared with heterosexuals may be due to the influence of sexual orientation on CSA. In sum, the results suggest that nonheterosexuality may increase the risk of childhood sexual abuse.
authors.affiliation: 1 Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: 1 Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D019529:Sexuality
keywords: childhood gender nonconformity; childhood sexual abuse; instrumental variable analysis; sexual orientation