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Family Violence Exposure and Sexual Risk-Taking Among Latino Emerging Adults: The Role of Posttraumatic Stress Symptomology and Acculturative Stress

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Abstract

This study proposes that posttraumatic stress symptomology and acculturative stress may further explain the relationship between family violence exposure and sexual risk-taking behaviors among Latino emerging adults (N = 1,100). A moderated mediation analysis indicated that lifetime rates of family violence exposure were positively associated with sexual risk-taking via posttraumatic stress symptomology, and this mediation significantly varied as a function of acculturative stress. Overall, the findings of the current study underscore a need for a better understanding of how family violence exposure puts Latino emerging adults at risk for aversive health outcomes and suggest the use of an ecological systemic framework that examines the interactions between family, individual, and cultural systems in relation to health risk-taking behaviors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family and Child Sciences, Florida State University, 225 Sandels Building, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-1491, USA

    Peter M. Rivera & Melinda A. Gonzales-Backen

  2. Green Chimney’s Children’s Services, 400 Doansburg Road, PO Box 719, Brewster, NY, 10509, USA

    Jennifer Yedlin

  3. St. John’s University, 8000 Utopia Pkwy, Jamaica, NY, 11439, USA

    Elissa J. Brown

  4. University of Miami, 1320 S Dixie Hwy, Coral Gables, FL, 33124, USA

    Seth J. Schwartz

  5. University of South Dakota, 414 E Clark St, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA

    S. Jean Caraway

  6. California State University-Monterey Bay, 100 Campus Center, Seaside, CA, 93955, USA

    Robert S. Weisskirch

  7. University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Su Yeong Kim

  8. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA

    Lindsay S. Ham

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  1. Peter M. Rivera
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  2. Melinda A. Gonzales-Backen
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  3. Jennifer Yedlin
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  7. Robert S. Weisskirch
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  8. Su Yeong Kim
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  9. Lindsay S. Ham
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Correspondence to Peter M. Rivera.

Additional information

Latino is used in the current study to indicate ethnic minority groups within the United States that share a heritage originating from a Spanish speaking country within Latin America.

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Rivera, P.M., Gonzales-Backen, M.A., Yedlin, J. et al. Family Violence Exposure and Sexual Risk-Taking Among Latino Emerging Adults: The Role of Posttraumatic Stress Symptomology and Acculturative Stress. J Fam Viol 30, 967–976 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9735-5

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