Association of child sexual abuse and dating victimization with mental health disorder in a sample of adolescent girls

✍ Scribed by Martine Hébert; Francine Lavoie; Frank Vitaro; Pierre McDuff; Richard E. Tremblay

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 146 KB
• Volume: 21
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0894-9867
• DOI: 10.1002/jts.20314

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The study's aim was to assess the association between adolescent girls' recall of child sexual abuse (CSA) and prevalence of dating victimization in early romantic relationships and to explore the link between multiple trauma history and mental disorders. When demographics and teacher‐reported behavioral problems during childhood were controlled, the risk of presenting with at least one internalized or externalized mental health disorder was higher for adolescent girls with multiple victimization (history of CSA and dating victimization) than for adolescents with no multiple trauma history. Results highlight a strong association between reports of multiple traumatic experiences and mental health disorders of teenaged girls and the need to assess for a broader range of victimization experiences in the design of intervention services.