The study was done by Otago University in New Zealand. (H/T Glenn Peoples of Beretta blog)
Excerpt:
Otago University researcher associate professor Elisabeth Wells has looked at the connection between adverse childhood events and sexuality and found those who experienced trauma were significantly more likely to be non-heterosexual.
The study used results from the New Zealand Mental Health Survey, which surveyed almost 13,000 people aged over 16 between 2003 and 2004.
Participants were asked whether they thought of themselves as bisexual, heterosexual or homosexual and if they had same-sex sexual experiences or relationships.
Less than one per cent of people identified themselves as homosexual, but three per cent had a same-sex encounter.
Wells said the more “adverse events” experienced in childhood – including sexual assault, rape and domestic violence – the more likely the person identified with one of the non-exclusively heterosexual groups.
She said most people from disturbed backgrounds were heterosexual.
However, the study showed a clear relationship between negative events in childhood and homosexual or bisexual relationships later in life.
This Otagu University seems to be doing a lot of cutting edge research on social issues. Last year, I blogged about their study about the mental harm suffered by women after their abortions. I actually got hold of that paper (using my Wintery powers) in case I ever needed to use it while discussing abortion.
I actually studied the issue of what causes homosexuality and whether it can be repaired using therapy a while back using books by medical doctors like Jeffrey Satinover and Joseph Nicolosi. (Nicolosi’s new book is here) It turns out that there are some genetic factors that make homosexuality more likely, but the real causes are environmental, e.g. – sexual abuse during childhood or failure to bond emotionally with the same-sex parent.
I wonder how many people actually go after the research when forming their opinions on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage? I always head straight for the research and debates. I think that my opponents prefer personal attacks and speech codes!
Comments to this post will be strictly filtered to stay clear of Obama’s laws restricting free speech on controversial issues.
WINTERY KNIGHT 
Interesting study. Reminds me of a quote from gay activist / journalist Tammy Bruce from her book “The Death of Right and Wrong”:
You know. I never watch the view on my own. But sometimes I see it because of the homes I visit for my job.
Anyway, some time ago, I saw good ol’ Rosie talking about her and her wife expecting a baby. And they wanted a girl.
But it turned out to be a boy. And Rosie was talking about how she wasn’t sure she could love a boy after what she had experienced by the hands of men. (She determined that she could, but she struggled with the idea for a bit.)
All I could think was, so homosexuality is in the genes, huh? Well, maybe. But in all truth, Rosie, you just told on yourself.
Just saying.
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Hey, check this out. Someone just sent this to me… I wonder if I should blog on that?
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Well, good research stands out. Unfortunately, Otago also produces a lot of crap too.
But the funny thing is, I’ve seen Otago academics deny the existence of studies contradicting their position, when studies doing exactly that were produced in the next building.
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I am 40 and have been fighting living as a lesbian for as long as I can remember. I am a childhood abuse victim and survivor. I was penetrated at a very young age and so my body, my emotions, and my mentality HATES IT. I’ve been with women secretly and enjoy in tremendously and feel liberated. I’ve recently been coming out to close family and friends and once a few matters are clear up in my life I plan to live openly. I cannot express how good I feel acknowledging who I am for the first time since I began to develop romantic feelings for females. Anyhow, I just want to say I do believe there is some truth to it. I was molested by 6 men from the age of 4-14 and I hate sex with men. Been doing it because I was told it was the right thing to do. All that did is drive me deeper and deeper into depression. Now that I am being who I am, the feeling is amazing. I’m not forcing it down anyone’s throat. I’m just sharing my story.
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Carol I am so sorry for your experiences. Stories like yours are the things that cause me to avoid all pre-marital sex. I have this odd personality quirk where I think that if something can be abused by other people, (as in your case), then I shouldn’t do it at all. So in my case, I drink only 1 drink on special occasions (usually drink once a year) because of drunk driving, and I am saving even my first kiss for when (if) I become engaged. So for all of my seemingly judgmental moral rules you have to understand that the guys like me who are social conservatives are not saying these things to make you FEEL BAD. We are saying them to put into place moral boundaries that stand against the kinds of things that were done to you by EVIL PEOPLE when you were young. What happened to you was morally wrong, it was not your fault, and the people who did it are evil. We need to do more as a society to protect children.
One thing I just want to say is that one of the reasons why social conservatives defend traditional marriage is BECAUSE traditional marriage is one of the safest places for children.
Here’s the data:
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2004/03/Marriage-Still-the-Safest-Place-For-Women-and-Children
So I am naturally opposed to things like co-habitation, no-fault divorce, single mother welfare, IVF, or anything else that causes children to be deprived of having two biological parents. Also, I think we are a sex-saturated culture and I would like to see more respect for chastity and marriage – in the culture and in the tax code. I want incentives for the good behaviors, and harsher punishments for child abuse. I just don’t think that sex should be recreational – I think I just oppose the idea that other people are for recreation – I think we should have a moral obligation to love other people and not to use them to make ourselves feel good.
Normally, I feel a bit worried about replying to homosexual commenters out of concern that I will offend them, so please don’t be offended. I just want you to understand why we have these rules around marriage and sexuality – it’s to protect children and give them what they need to flourish. And this is something I do in my personal life. I may be one of the few virgins left in my mid-thirties, but I don’t care. I am keeping sex for marriage. I think that people need to value that sort of self-control in their romantic partners so that children are never exposed to the predatorial behavior that you experienced. I think that we really need to have some sort of voucher program for pre-marital counseling so that adults who are considering marriage will understand how their behavior affects children and what children need. Maybe instead of having so much sex education in the schools, we should have education about what children need, and the terrible things that can happen to them when they are not raised carefully.
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Carol, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. If anything makes me angry it’s when people abuse children. I haven’t experienced what you have, but I could sense the pain in what you wrote and it brought tears to my eyes. My heart really does go out to you. I pray that you will experience healing and compassion.
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