Sexual molestation of males: associations with psychological disturbance

There are no epidemiological data in Europe on associations between sexual molestation in males and psychological disturbance.

To investigate whether sexual molestation in males is a significant predictor of psychological disturbance.

We recruited men attending general practice and genitourinary medicine services. Participants took part in a computerised interview about sexual molestation as children or adults. We ranked reported sexual experiences into three categories of decreasing severity. Each category was treated as an independent predictor in a multivariate analysis predicting different types of psychological disturbance.

Men who reported child sexual abuse were more likely to report any type of psychological disturbance. Men who reported sexual molestation in adulthood were 1.7 (1.0-2.8) times more likely to have experienced a psychological disorder, but self-harm was the single most likely problem to occur (odds ratio=2.6, range=1.3-5.2). Men reporting 'consenting' sexual experiences when aged under 16 years also were more likely to report acts of self-harm (odds ratio=1.7, range=0-2.8).

Sexual abuse as a child or adult is associated with later psychological problems. All forms of sexual molestation were predictive of deliberate self-harming behaviour in men.