The Impact of Sexual Assault on Binge Drinking and Drunk Driving Among Young Women

Background:  Women who were exposed to childhood trauma have been found to be more likely to abuse substances later in life, presumably in an attempt to reduce anxiety and obtrusive thoughts.  “Childhood” has been variously measured in this literature and often includes adolescents.  Developmental differences within this age group, however, may affect the impact of sexual assault on substance misuse.  The current study examines the impact of one form of childhood and adolescent trauma—sexual assault—on two aspects of substance abuse among young women:  binge drinking and drunk driving. 

Method:  Data and sample:  The data come from the nationally representative Panel Study of Income Dynamics and include interviews with young women age 18-20, as well as biennial interviews with the heads of their households over the course of the girls’ lifetimes.  The sample consists of 1,182 young women who had never been sexually assaulted, 48 young women who had been sexually assaulted at age 12 or younger, and 58 young women who were first sexually assaulted between the ages of 13-17. 

Measures:  Young women age 18-20 were asked whether they had ever been raped or sexually assaulted, and if so, at what age it first occurred.  Binge drinking was measured in two ways:  whether the young woman had engaged in binge drinking (4+ drinks per occasion) in the previous year (yes/no) and how many times this had occurred in the previous year (range 0-365).  Drunk driving was measured by whether in the last 6 months she drove when “drunk or high on drugs” or rode with “a driver who had too much to drink” (yes/no).   Control variables were measured during interviews with the household heads that had taken place during the girl’s first 3 years of life and included family economic well-being, mother’s educational attainment, whether the family was headed by two parents, race, Hispanic ethnicity, and the household head’s drinking habits (does not drink, <2 drinks/day, 3+ drinks/day).

Analysis:  Logistic and OLS regressions were conducted with controls for background factors.

Results:  Childhood sexual assault survivors were more likely to binge drink than were adolescent survivors or never-assault young women (51% vs. 36% and 34% respectively) and they binge drank more frequently (36 times/year vs. 6 and 7 times/year respectively).   Controlling for background variables strengthened both the magnitude and the statistical significance of these relationships.  Both childhood and adolescent sexual assault survivors were more likely to drive while under the influence or ride with a drunk driver than were young women who had never been sexually assaulted (49%, 31% and 22% respectively).  The magnitude and statistical significance of these differences remained the same when controls were introduced. 

Conclusions:  Efforts to reduce the incidence of binge drinking and drunk driving are likely to be more successful if they include components that address the lasting negative impact of childhood trauma such as sexual assault.