Introduction
Child sexual abuse remains a worldwide concern with devastating consequences on an
individual's life. This longitudinal study investigates the associations between child
sexual abuse (official reports versus retrospective self-reports) and subgroups by
perpetrator identity (intrafamilial and extrafamilial), severity (penetration/attempted
penetration, fondling/touching, noncontact), and chronicity (single, multiple episodes)
and employment earnings in adulthood in a cohort followed for over 30 years.
Methods
The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children database was linked to child
protection services (official reports of sexual abuse) and to Canadian government
tax returns (earned income). The sample included 3,020 individuals in Quebec French-language
school kindergartens in 1986/1988, followed until 2017, and assessed with retrospective
self-reports at age 22 years. Tobit regressions were used for associations with earnings
(ages 33–37 years), adjusting for sex and family socioeconomic characteristics in
2021–2022.
Results
Individuals who experienced child sexual abuse had lower annual earnings. Those with
retrospective self-reported sexual abuse (n=340) earned $4,031 (95% CI= –7,134, –931) less annually at ages 33–37 years than
nonabused individuals (n=1,320), with pronounced differences for those with official reports (n=20), earning $16,042 (95% CI= –27,465, –4,618) less. Individuals self-reporting intrafamilial
sexual abuse earned $4,696 (95% CI= –9,316, –75) less than those who experienced extrafamilial
sexual abuse, whereas those self-reporting penetration/attempted penetration earned
$6,188 (95% CI= –12,248, –129) less than those who experienced noncontact sexual abuse.
Conclusions
Earnings gaps were highest for severest child sexual abuse (official reports, intrafamilial,
penetrative). Future studies should investigate the underlying mechanisms. Improving
support for victims of child sexual abuse could yield socioeconomic returns.
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Published online: February 25, 2023
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