The study, conducted by scientists from UQ, QUT and QIMR, is published in the current edition of international journal Archives of Sex Research (Oct 2005).
It found that the rate of sexual dysfunction for men who had experienced childhood sexual abuse was double that of those who had not experienced abuse.
For women, similar differences were apparent, with women who had experienced penetrative abuse substantially more likely to report three or more symptoms of sexual dysfunction.
Study lead author, Professor Jake Najman of UQ's School of Population Health, said the research looked at the rates of sexual dysfunction by specific type of sexual abuse experience.
"The research suggests that for males, non-penetrative childhood sexual abuse experiences do not lead of higher rates of sexual dysfunction. However, males who have experienced some forms of childhood sexual abuse are more likely to report that they have symptoms of sexual dysfunction in later life.
"Females reporting both non-penetrative and penetrative sexual abuse experiences are substantially more likely to report many symptoms of sexual dysfunction."
The National Health and Medical Research Council-funded study is one of the first to directly compare the impact of childhood sexual abuse on males with that of females in adulthood.
Professor Najman said men and women could react differently because they tended to experience different kinds of childhood sexual abuse.
Because women tended to be exposed to more abuse within the family, and tended to experience it at younger ages, they could find childhood sexual abuse to be more damaging than men.
Study respondents were randomly selected from the Australian electoral roll. They were interviewed about their health status and sexual ex
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Contact: Professor Jake Najman
61-733-655-180
Research Australia
11-Oct-2005