Adolescent sexual abuse is predictive of serious problems among adolescents in middle school and high school. Many studies have demonstrated that sexually abused adolescents are at risk for depressive disorders as well as for the abuse of drugs and/or alcohol. They also have an increased risk for suicide.

In one study of sexual victimization among adolescent women, reported in a 2004 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, the researchers studied adolescents in 1995 and again in 1996. They found that 7% of their sample (of more than 7,000 adolescent women) was forced into sexual intercourse. Some predictive factors for sexual victimization were alcohol use in the past year, marijuana use in the past 30 days and having been exposed to violence in the past year. Other risk factors for sexual victimization were parental heavy drinking and/or drug use, living away from both parents before age 16, the permanent physical disability of the adolescent and living in poverty.

Of the sexually abused females, 8% were revictimized within the next year. Some predictors of revictimization were alcohol use, recent cocaine use and increasing levels of emotional distress.

A study reported in the American Journal of Public Health in 2005 studied adults who injected illegal drugs. These subjects had a higher rate of childhood or adolescent sexual abuse (14.3%) than among subjects in the general population (about 8%). The researchers found that childhood and adolescent sexual abuse was significantly associated with an early initiation of injection drug use.

The researchers found that among those sexually abused before age 13, the average age of starting injection drug use was 17.4 years. Of those who were sexually abused between the ages of 13 and 17 years, the average age of starting injection drug use was 18 years. (Of the subjects who injected drugs but were not sexually abused, the average age when they started injecting illegal drugs was 19.1 years.)

The researchers also found that women were more likely to have been sexually abused before they began injecting illegal drugs.

Said the researchers,

Although further investigation is needed to fully elucidate the association between sexual abuse and the initiation of substance use, we can conclude that childhood sexual abuse is strongly associated with early initiation of injection drug use and vulnerability to HIV infection among those young injection drug users. Furthermore, we observed, as have other researchers, that sexual abuse is associated with higher rates of trading sex for money or drugs. Whether or not the relation between sexual abuse and the initiation of injection drug use is causal, childhood sexual abuse can be considered a valuable marker of risk for behaviors that comprise the health of young adults. The integration of substance abuse interventions with postvictimization and protective services for children and adolescents is warranted.

In another study reported in the Journal of American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the researchers sampled students from 27 high schools in Australia. They found that sexual abuse was linked to the risk for suicide as a result of feelings of hopelessness and/or depressive symptoms. Feelings of hopelessness correlated with a high suicide risk, while depression was associated with both a high suicide risk and suicide attempts.

The researchers found that hopelessness was more strongly associated with the sexual abuse of boys than among girls, while depressive symptoms were more prominent among sexually abused girls. Said the researchers about childhood and adolescent sexual abuse (CSA), "CSA should be considered a risk factor for suicidal behavior even in the apparent absence of other psychopathology, although depressive symptoms may further increase its likelihood." In addition, they stated, "Sexually abused adolescents may also be more likely to make more frequent and more severe [suicide] attempts, requiring prompt interventions and persistent follow-up."

A Canadian study reported in a 1997 issue of Development and Psychopathology looked at the impact of perceived and actual abuse among adolescents and the victims' subsequent adjustment. Researchers studied 160 children (70 boys and 90 girls) ages 11-17, with a mean age of about 14 years. Most (96%) were white, with a small percentage of blacks and Native Canadians. Most of the children (68%) came from families receiving public assistance and most (about 69%) had been in child services custody more than once.

All the children had experienced abuse, as documented by child protective services. About one-third had been sexually abused and about two-thirds had experienced physical abuse. Most (87%) had also experienced neglect or psychological maltreatment (92%). The researchers interviewed and tested the children, reviewed the child protective service records and also interviewed and tested caretakers.

The researchers found that psychological maltreatment had the most significant impact on the negative behavior of the adolescents studied, and it also seemed to make the effects of physical or sexual abuse worse.

One interesting finding was that when there was a discrepancy between the adolescent's perception of sexual abuse and documented abuse in social service records, greater maladjustment then occurred. For example, the best adjustment occurred when both the adolescent and the record reflected no sexual abuse. However, the next best level of adjustment occurred when the adolescent and the record reflected that sexual abuse did occur. In contrast, the poorest levels of adjustment occurred when sexual abuse was documented in the record but it was denied by the adolescent or when abuse was not documented in the record but it was reported by the adolescent.

Interestingly, these findings for sexual abuse did not also hold in the case of psychological maltreatment. Instead, as the perception of actual psychological maltreatment increased, so did the stress and maladjustment of the adolescent. Thus, learning about and accepting psychological maltreatment caused greater maladjustment than learning about and accepting sexual abuse.

Said the researchers, "One might speculate that as youths' 'eyes are opened' to a harsh emotional family climate, their attachment system comes under new strain--the resulting conflict produces acute inner pain. If this finding is borne out in future research, one implication is that clinicians must tread carefully when helping youth recognize ongoing psychological maltreatment."

Why did stress and acting-out behavior decrease with the acceptance of previous sexual abuse but increase with acceptance of psychological abuse? The researchers said, "One might speculate that a psychical experience such as sexual abuse is more difficult to deny or minimize, and that such denial would result in more serious affective and behavioral distortion."

The researchers also found gender differences, in that females were more likely to exhibit behavior problems than were males in response to psychological maltreatment, and they speculated that females might have a "developmentally greater vulnerability to parental criticism and hostility."

References:

1)         Bensley, Lillian Southwick, et al. "Self-Reported Abuse History and Adolescent Problem Behaviors, I. Antisocial and Suicidal Behaviors." Journal of Adolescent Health 24, no. 3 (1999): 163-172.

2)         Bergen, Helen A., et al. "Sexual Abuse and Suicidal Behavior: A Model Constructed from a Large Community Sample of Adolescents." Journal of American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 42, no. 11 (November 2003): 1,301-1,309.

3)         McGee, Robin A., et al. "Multiple Maltreatment Experiences and Adolescent Behavior Problems: Adolescents' Perspectives." Development and Psychopathology 9, no. 1 (1977): 131-149.

4)         Ompad, Danielle C., et al. "Childhood Sexual Abuse and Age at Initiation of Injection Drug Use." American Journal of Public Health 95 (2005): 703-709.

5)         Raghavan, Ramesh, et al. "Sexual Victimization among a National Probability Sample of Adolescent Women." Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 36, no. 6 (2004): 225-232.

6)         Wolfe, David A., et al. "Factors Associated with Abusive Relationships among Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Youth." Development and Psychopathology 10, no. 1 (1998): 61-85.

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on Child Abuse at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to Child Abuse and other relevant topics.