NCJ Number:
169143
Title:
Childhood Sexual Abuse, Adolescent Sexual Behaviors and Sexual Revictimization
Journal:
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume:21 Issue:8 Dated:August 1997 Pages:789-803
Author(s):
David M. Fergusson; L. John Horwood; Michael T. Lynskey
Date Published:
August 1997
Page Count:
15
Sponsoring Agency:
New Zealand Health Research Council Auckland, 1141, New Zealand
Type:
Report (Study/Research)
Format:
Article
Language:
English
Country:
United States of America
Annotation:
Data from a birth cohort of 520 young women born in New Zealand formed
the basis of an analysis of the extent to which exposure to childhood
sexual abuse was associated with increased rates of sexual risk-taking
behaviors and sexual revictimization during adolescence.
Abstract:
The research studied the participants at regular intervals from
birth to age 18 and gathered retrospective reports of child sexual abuse
when the participants were age 18. Over the course of the 18 years the
research also gathered information on childhood, family, and related
circumstances. Young women who reported child
sexual abuse, especially severe child sexual abuse involving
intercourse, had significantly higher rates of early-onset consensual
sexual activity, teenage pregnancy, multiple sexual partners,
unprotected intercourse, sexually transmitted disease, and sexual
assault after age 16. Logistic regression analyses suggested that the
association between child sexual abuse and sexual outcomes in
adolescence arose by two routes. First, exposure to child sexual abuse
was associated with a series of childhood and family factors, including
social disadvantage, family instability, impaired parent-child
relationships, and parental adjustment difficulties that were also
associated with increased sexual vulnerability n adolescence. Second, a
causal chain relationship appeared to link childhood sexual abuse and
sexual experiences in that childhood sexual abuse was associated with
early-onset sexual activity, which, in turn, led to heightened risk of
other adverse outcomes in adolescence. Findings suggested that those
exposed to childhood sexual abuse have greater sexual vulnerability
during adolescence. Tables and 47 references (Author abstract modified)
Main Term(s):
Juvenile victims
Index Term(s):
Adolescent attitudes; Adolescent pregnancy; Adolescents at risk; Crime in foreign countries; New Zealand; Psychological victimization effects; Risk taking behavior; Sex offense causes; Sexual assault victims; Sexual behavior; Sexually abused adolescents; Sexually transmitted diseases
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=169143