Sexual revictimization among Iraq and Afghanistan war era veterans

Research in both civilian and military populations has demonstrated that females who experience childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are more likely to experience sexual assault in adulthood than females who did not experience CSA. Among veteran samples, however, little research has examined previous sexual assault as a risk factor of military sexual assault and post-military sexual assault, and very little research has examined revictimization in male veterans. The purpose of this study was to examine risk of sexual revictimization in a sample of veterans who served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A sample of 3106 veterans (80.4% male) completed a measure of lifetime exposure to traumatic events, including sexual abuse and sexual assault. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine previous sexual abuse/assault as predictors of later sexual assault; analyses were conducted separately for males and females. In general, previous sexual abuse/assault was associated with later sexual assault in both male and female veterans. These findings have important assessment and treatment implications for clinicians working with veterans.