A longitudinal study of the effects of early abuse on later victimization among high-risk adolescents.

Although previous research on adolescents finds a link between early abuse and later victimization, the majority of this research is cross-sectional and based on samples of currently homeless adolescents. Therefore, factors that predict the likelihood of victimization have not been systematically examined. As such, the current study longitudinally examines the effects of early abuse and poor parenting on victimization via running away, delinquency, and early sexual onset among a sample of over 700 currently housed high-risk adolescents. Results revealed that having experienced sexual and physical abuse, as well as lower levels of parental monitoring and closeness, significantly predicted running away at wave 1. Adolescents who had run at wave 1 were significantly more likely to run again, more likely to engage in delinquency, and more likely to have had an early sexual onset at wave 3, all of which significantly predicted victimization at wave 4.