Objectives: Increased residential mobility has been proposed as an undesirable consequence for the victims of sexual victimization. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that serious sexual victimization predicted high levels of residential mobility after controlling for previous levels of residential mobility.
Study design: A case-control design was used. Data were from the Danish civil registry system.
Methods: All females who had visited a centre for rape victims over a 1-year period were identified, and demographic information was collected based on the Danish civil registry number. A control group of 20 women for each rape victim with the same age and living in the same municipality in the year of the rape was also used.
Results: The results indicate that attendance at the centre for rape victims, higher previous levels of residential mobility and being single significantly increase the likelihood of subsequent high residential mobility.
Conclusions: Sexual victimization has a unique and significant role in predicting residential mobility, above and beyond the influence of previous residential mobility.