Sexual victimization and anxiety and mood disorders: a case-control study based on the Danish registry system

Aims This study aimed to examine the relationship between rape and the subsequent psychiatric diagnosis of any anxiety or mood disorder.

Data from the Danish Civil Registration System and the Danish Psychiatric Central Register were used to identify a sample of female victims who had visited a centre for rape victims during an index year and their subsequent psychiatric records were compared with a matched control group.

While controlling for demographic variables and previous psychiatric disorders, the effect of sexual victimization increased the likelihood of a subsequent diagnosis of an anxiety disorder but not a mood disorder.

Sexual victimization significantly increases the likelihood of experiencing an anxiety disorder, and therefore victims require post-assault information and support.