Rape, child sexual abuse and mental health in a Brazilian national sample

Alessandra Diehl, Roberto Molina De Souza, Clarice Sandi Madruga, Ronaldo Laranjeira, Christopher Wagstaff, Sandra Cristina Pillon

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Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of self-reported rape and its associations with other forms of violence and mental health outcomes. The Brazilian National Alcohol and Drugs Survey is a probabilistic household survey that collected data from 4,283 Brazilians aged 14 years and older in 2012. The prevalence of rape was 2.3% (n = 107) and the majority (n = 81) of rapes were reported by women. Female gender increased the chances of rape (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.7, 4.3]). Adults aged 35 to 46 years (AOR = 2.0, 95% CI = [1.2, 4.4]) and being without religion (AOR = 2.2, 95% CI = [1.3, 3.8]) were also associated with increased chances of rape. Participants with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) were 16.5 times (95% CI = [10.1, 26.7]) more likely to report having been raped. Other outcomes related to been raped were history of child prostitution (AOR = 5.1, 95% CI = [2.1, 13.4]) and witnesses of violence during childhood (AOR = 2.4, 95% CI = [1.5, 3.8]). People without social support (AOR≅3, 95% CI = [1.8, 4.3]), victims of multiple recent negative events (AOR = 3.7, 95% CI = [2.4, 5.8]), people with depression (AOR = 2.6, 95% CI = [1.7, 3.9]), history of suicidal ideation (AOR = 3.8, 95% CI = [2.0, 7.1]), and history of suicide attempts (AOR = 2.2, 95% CI = [1.1, 4.3]) are other outcomes related to having been raped. In this sample, rape was related to gender and to other forms of violence and victimization. Self-reports of rape appear to underestimate the true prevalence as the figures obtained from the survey were low. Other methods should be used to investigate this issue.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Interpersonal Violence
Early online date13 Mar 2020
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 13 Mar 2020

Keywords

  • child abuse
  • gender
  • mental health
  • rape
  • sexual
  • violence

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