Original articlePathway From Child Sexual and Physical Abuse to Risky Sex Among Emerging Adults: The Role of Trauma-Related Intrusions and Alcohol Problems
Section snippets
Participants
Participants were 1,169 racially diverse college students (72.9% female) at a large, public, urban Southeastern university where most of the student body (64%) is ethnic minority. More than 90% of students receive some financial aid and more than 50% receive needs-based grants or scholarships. The average age was 20.7 (standard deviation, 4.65). Of the sample, 37.6% (n = 439) were black/African-American, 33.6% (n = 393) were white, and 14.5% (n = 169) were Asian/Asian-American.
Childhood Trauma Questionnaire
The Childhood
Results
Table 1 presents descriptive information overall and by gender. Skewness for the SRB variables ranged from 1.1 to 3.8; a base-10 log transformation was applied to the four subscales with skewness between 1.1 and 2.9; an inverse transformation was applied to the fifth subscale, which had a skewness value of 3.8. Approximately 32% (n = 374) of participants screened positive for CSA and 41.5% (n = 483) screened positive for physical abuse. The sexual abuse item “Someone tried to touch me in a
Discussion
The current study is the first, of which the authors are aware, to test a path model specifying that traumatic intrusions and alcohol problems help to explain relationships between child physical and sexual abuse and various forms of SRB in a sample of male and female college students. Unique aspects of this study included a racially diverse sample of male and female college students and assessment of sexual and physical abuse experiences, as well as a variety of SRB in relation to both
References (39)
- et al.
Alcohol-related sexual consequences during the transition from high school to college
Addict Behav
(2012) - et al.
Relationship of childhood sexual, physical, and combined sexual and physical abuse to adult victimization and posttraumatic stress disorder
Child Abuse Negl
(1998) - et al.
PTSD as a mediator between childhood rape and alcohol use in adult women
Child Abuse Negl
(1998) - et al.
Development and validation of a brief screening version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire
Child Abuse Negl
(2003) - et al.
Long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse by gender of victim
Am J Prev Med
(2005) - United States (US) Department of Health and Human Services. Topics, indicators, and objectives, 2011. Available at:...
Sexually transmitted disease surveillance 2011
(2012)- et al.
Sexually transmitted diseases among American youth: Incidence and prevalence estimates, 2000
Perspect Sex Reprod Health
(2004) - et al.
Emotion dysregulation and risky sexual behavior in revictimization
Child Abuse Negl
(2010) Childhood sexual abuse, dissociation, and adult self-destructive behavior
J Child Sex Abuse
(2001)
Child maltreatment and women's adult sexual risk behavior: Child sexual abuse as a unique risk factor
Child Maltreatment
An examination of risky sexual behavior and HIV in victims of child abuse and neglect: A 30-year follow-up
Health Psychol
Adverse childhood experiences and sexually transmitted diseases in men and women: A retrospective study
Pediatrics
The traumatic impact of child sexual abuse: A conceptualization
Am J Orthopsychiatry
Alcohol use disorders among US college students and their non-college-attending peers
Arch Gen Psychiatry
Alcohol use and risky sexual behavior among college students and youth: Evaluating the evidence
J Stud Alcohol
Child sexual abuse and alcohol use among women: Setting the stage for risky sexual behavior
The role of sexual assault and sexual dysfunction in alcohol/other drug use disorder
Alcohol Treat Q
The cumulative effects of acute alcohol consumption, individual differences and situational perceptions on sexual decision making
J Stud Alcohol
Cited by (67)
Sexual violence history predicts changes in vaginal immune parameters during sexual arousal
2022, Brain, Behavior, and ImmunityThe relations between early-life stress and risk, time, and prosocial preferences in adulthood: A meta-analytic review
2020, Evolution and Human BehaviorEffect of child abuse and neglect on risk behaviors in inner-city minority female adolescents and young adults
2020, Child Abuse and NeglectRisky Sexual Behavior, Paraphilic Interest, and Sexual Offending: The Study of a Community Sample of Young Adults in Hong Kong
2023, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions of this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.