Sexual abuse as a correlate of women's alcohol abuse

Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory for 23 alcoholic women (22 white and one Hispanic) who had been molested as children and 20 alcoholic women (17 white and 3 black) who had no memory of being molested as a child were compared. Significant differences showed the abused group scored significantly higher on the depression scale than the nonabused group. No significant difference was found on age at which the 2 groups began drinking regularly. The implications of these results are discussed.