Background: Women who have experienced sexual abuse as children are more likely to experience abuse as adults (revictimization) compared to other women. Thus, this project was a review of available literature to explore the most commonly discussed risk factors child sexual assault survivors’ acquire. 

Methods: Research article were identified using the search terms sexual revictimization, theory, and child sexual abuse in google Scholar, in order to identify important risk factors related to revictimization in child sexual assault survivors. Additionally, common theories of revictimization were reviewed. We identified the most comprehensive theoretical model to identify the links between risk factors, CSA and revictimization.

Results: Concept saturation was reached at 18 articles. The common risk factors were grouped as either internal or external. Common internal risk factors include low self-esteem, substance abuse, and lack of self-protective skills. External risk factors include lack of education and low socioeconomic status (SES). Two common models that were discussed in the literature include the Traumagenic Dynamics model and “vulnerability hypothesis.” Of these, the Traumagenic Dynamics model was is able to explain the short and long-term effects sexual abuse has on a child.

Discussion: The literature reviewed were mostly cross-sectional studies conducted to determine whether or not the rate of victimization is higher in women who experience child sexual abuse compared to women who did not. In this project, we have categorized several studied risk factors and presented a model that has some efficacy in this area. Future research can build off this work to begin to test the importance of these factors leading to identification of important intervention components. The literature was deficient in exploring how child sexual abuse puts adults at greater risk for revictimization. These gaps need to be addressed if an intervention is to be developed.