Linking childhood sexual abuse and early adolescent risk behavior: The intervening role of internalizing and externalizing problems

Author
Jones, D.J.Lewis, T.
Litrownik, A.
Thompson, R.
Proctor, L.J.
Isbell, P.
Dubowitz, H.
English, D.
Jones, B.
Nagin, D.
Runyan, D.
Date
2013Journal
Journal of Abnormal Child PsychologyPublisher
International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent PsychopathologyType
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
A robust literature links childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to later substance use and sexual risk behavior; yet, relatively little empirical attention has been devoted to identifying the mechanisms linking CSA to risky behavior among youth, with even less work examining such processes in boys. With the aim of addressing this gap in the literature, the current study examined the indirect effect of childhood sexual abuse (CSA; from age 2 to 12) trajectory group on risky behavior at age 14 (alcohol use & sexual intercourse) via the intervening role of caregiver-reported internalizing and externalizing problems at age 12. Analyses were conducted with a subsample of youth (n = 657 sexual intercourse; n = 667 alcohol use) from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN), a multisite prospective study of youth at risk for maltreatment. For boys and girls, there was an indirect effect from CSA to sexual intercourse through externalizing problems. The same pattern emerged for alcohol use, but only for girls. Findings did not support an indirect path through internalizing problems for either boys or girls for either outcome. Findings suggest more focal targets for prevention efforts aimed at maintaining the health and safety of maltreated boys and girls during the adolescent transition. Copyright 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.Sponsors
Funding for the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) is provided by grants from the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, the Children�s Bureau, Office of Child Abuse and Neglect Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, and National Institutes of Health. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the funding agencies.Keyword
AdolescenceChildhood sexual abuse
Externalizing problems
Gender
Internalizing problems
Risk behavior
Identifier to cite or link to this item
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84872416300&doi=10.1007%2fs10802-012-9656-1&partnerID=40&md5=44b7ce556bdcd354d1e4d607ca69cd0f; http://hdl.handle.net/10713/11830ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/s10802-012-9656-1
Scopus Count
Collections
Related articles
- Gender differences in pathways from child physical and sexual abuse to adolescent risky sexual behavior among high-risk youth.
- Authors: Yoon S, Voith LA, Kobulsky JM
- Issue date: 2018 Apr
- Does the impact of child sexual abuse differ from maltreated but non-sexually abused children? A prospective examination of the impact of child sexual abuse on internalizing and externalizing behavior problems.
- Authors: Lewis T, McElroy E, Harlaar N, Runyan D
- Issue date: 2016 Jan
- Trajectories of childhood sexual abuse and early adolescent HIV/AIDS risk behaviors: the role of other maltreatment, witnessed violence, and child gender.
- Authors: Jones DJ, Runyan DK, Lewis T, Litrownik AJ, Black MM, Wiley T, English DE, Proctor LJ, Jones BL, Nagin DS
- Issue date: 2010
- Trajectories of psychopathology and risky behaviors associated with childhood abuse and neglect in low-income urban African American girls.
- Authors: Wilson HW, Samuelson SL, Staudenmeyer AH, Widom CS
- Issue date: 2015 Jul
- Child maltreatment and age of alcohol and marijuana initiation in high-risk youth.
- Authors: Proctor LJ, Lewis T, Roesch S, Thompson R, Litrownik AJ, English D, Arria AM, Isbell P, Dubowitz H
- Issue date: 2017 Dec