Childhood Sexual Abuse and Rates of Loneliness in Adulthood

Is childhood sexual abuse associated with adult loneliness in the US population?In this cross-sectional study of 53 444 US adults, childhood sexual abuse was associated with substantially higher adjusted probabilities of adult loneliness in a graded dose-response pattern; the probability of always feeling lonely increased from 2.1% among unexposed adults to 5.3% after repeated exposure. This pattern was consistent across sex, racial and ethnic groups, and age groups.These findings suggest that early-life sexual trauma may be associated with long-term social isolation and support the integration of trauma-informed strategies into public health prevention and population health initiatives.

Corresponding Author: Oluwasegun Akinyemi, MD, PhD, The Clive O. Callender Outcomes Research Center, Howard University College of Medicine, 2041 Georgia Ave NW, 4002, Washington, DC 20060 (oluwasegun.akinyemi@howard.edu).

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