There is considerable debate regarding the effects of childhood sexual abuse on an individual's subsequent adjustment. To determine which variables are most useful in predicting subsequent adjustment of individuals who were involved in sexual experiences as children or adolescents, 59 female and 17 male undergraduates who reported having had a childhood sexual experience were compared to 76 undergraduates who reported no such experience. Comparison subjects were matched for age, sex, race, marital status, socioeconomic status, and religion. Subjects completed self-report measures assessing psychological, social/interpersonal, and sexual adjustment. A revised learned helplessness model served as the basis for examining individuals' cognitive interpretations of childhood and/or adolescent sexual experiences. The results of a discriminant analysis revealed four variables which contributed to discriminating good from poor adjustment. These variables, in order of importance, were: (1) whether the individual made stable or unstable attributions about the causes of the experience; (2) whether there was a single or multiple perpetrators; (3) whether the child was male or female; and (4) the amount of force in the experience. In general, individuals were more likely to be poorly adjusted if they made stable attributions regarding their experiences, had experience with multiple perpetrators, were male, and had experienced a greater amount of force in the incident. (NRB)