Women's Self-esteem: a Community Study of Women Who Report and Do Not Report Childhood Sexual Abuse

Background: The determinants of self-esteem have been little studied in non-clinic samples. It has been suggested recently that child sexual abuse (CSA) may be a major determinant of low self-esteem in adulthood.

Method: The psychosocial circumstances associated with low self-esteem in two random samples of women, one reporting CSA, the other not, were compared, with particular emphasis on characteristics of family of origin. A two-phase (postal-then-interview) random community study assessed self-esteem and related variables.

Results: Psychosocial variables predicting low self-esteem were the same in the two groups. They included being a follower or a loner, having an overcontrolling mother, being poorly qualified, giving a history of depressive disorder and displaying current psychiatric disorder. In addition, the subject's CSA status led to low self-esteem but only when it was of the most intrusive type. The CSA women had substantially lower mean total self-esteem score. However, not all aspects of self-esteem were diminished equally; 12/30 items differed between the two groups, and two of the five generated self-esteem factors, which we named Pessimism and Fatalism, which differed between the control group and the whole CSA group. There were no differences for Likeability and Determination.

Conclusions: Predictors of low self-esteem for women include childhood temperament, a poor relationship with the mother, low qualification attainment, psychiatric morbidity, both previous and current, and, only when it is the most intrusive, CSA.