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Action on Smoking and Health
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New Report: Sexual Abuse Linked to Smoking in Women [01/27-2]
Excerpts from: Sexual Abuse Linked to Smoking in Women
Dr. Koop.com [01/27/05]
A new study shows women who were sexually abused as children are nearly
four-times more likely to be current smokers than women who didn't report sexual
abuse. They were also two-times more likely to have started smoking before age
14.
The overall rate of cigarette smoking has been declining over past decades. However, smoking in adolescent and adult women has been increasing over recent years. Now researchers say the increase in smoking for girls and women may be due to mental anguish by sexual abuse.
Colmar De Von Figueroa-Moseley, Ph.D., director of the Mayo Clinic's Office of Diversity in Clinical Research, led the investigation, which is published in the February 2004 issue of the journal Addictive Behaviors. The study was performed at California State University, San Bernardino.
For the study, Figueroa-Moseley and colleagues reviewed anonymous written surveys of 296 women. The women ranged in age from 18 to 74 years, and were racially, economically and socially diverse. Researchers defined childhood sexual abuse as sexual fondling, attempted rape, or rape before age 17.
In all analyses of the study, researchers found childhood sexual abuse was a better predictor of smoking than social variables of income, age and ethnicity. The direct relationship between past sexual abuse and smoking in adult women was so great that researchers didn't consider the amount of abuse an important variable. They say the women most likely picked up smoking as a coping mechanism in response to the trauma of experiencing childhood sexual abuse.
Click here to view the abstract of this study from Addictive Behaviors
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