Sexual assault and psychiatric disorders among a community sample of women.

The authors examined the relationships between sexual assault and psychiatric disorders in a sample of 1,157 women 18-64 years old in the North Carolina site of the NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area Program. The results suggest that sexual assault is a risk factor for a number of psychiatric disorders. In addition, several characteristics of the assault among sexual assault victims were significantly related to one or more psychiatric disorders. However, there was no clear pattern relating characteristics of the assault to the risk of specific psychiatric disorders.