Experience of sexual violence and satisfaction with life: a 20-year prospective cohort study

ABSTRACT This Danish prospective cohort study assessed associations between exposure to any kind of sexual violence (SV), exposure to labelled SV (self-labelled as rape, sexual abuse, or incest), and satisfaction with life (SWL) in young adulthood (approximately 32 years) (N = 688) and at midlife (up-to-20 years later) (n = 230). Data are from the Prenatal Development Project (a subsample of the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort). Nearly 20% of participants reported experiencing some kind of SV before young adulthood. Exposure to any kind of SV before young adulthood was not significantly associated with the initial SWL assessment or with SWL at the up to 20-year follow-up. However, exposure to SV participants labelled as rape, incest, and/or serious sexual abuse was significantly associated with lower SWL during young adulthood but not at the midlife follow-up. These results could indicate that exposure to SV may not severely influence SWL over the long term. PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT The present research findings indicate that exposure to sexual violence before age 35, that the victim/survivor has labelled as rape, incest, and/or serious sexual abuse can negatively affect satisfaction with life during young adulthood. However, for many these associations were were not enduring. This finding suggests resilience among those exposed to sexual violence, and that exposure to sexual violence does not necessarily imply diminished life satisfaction across the life course.