OBJECTIVE: Maltreated female adolescents are at risk for engaging in sexual behaviors consistent with HIV infection and teen pregnancy. The current study applied a model positing the key role of psychological dysregulation in the development of adolescent females' sexual behavior. METHODS: The sample consisted of adolescent females aged 14-17 years who had experienced substantiated childhood maltreatment (n = 275) and a demographically matched, non-maltreated comparison group (n = 210). RESULTS: Multiple mediator analysis revealed that, when in company with a host of plausible mechanisms, sexual preoccupation mediated the relationship between psychological dysregulation and risky sexual behaviors. CONCLUSION: Maltreated females may have difficulty regulating emotions, cognitions, and behaviors, which, when coupled with a propensity to entertain sexual thoughts and consume sexually explicit materials, may increase the likelihood that they act on sexual impulses and engage in high-risk sexual behaviors.
OBJECTIVE: Maltreated female adolescents are at risk for engaging in sexual behaviors consistent with HIV infection and teen pregnancy. The current study applied a model positing the key role of psychological dysregulation in the development of adolescent females' sexual behavior. METHODS: The sample consisted of adolescent females aged 14-17 years who had experienced substantiated childhood maltreatment (n = 275) and a demographically matched, non-maltreated comparison group (n = 210). RESULTS: Multiple mediator analysis revealed that, when in company with a host of plausible mechanisms, sexual preoccupation mediated the relationship between psychological dysregulation and risky sexual behaviors. CONCLUSION: Maltreated females may have difficulty regulating emotions, cognitions, and behaviors, which, when coupled with a propensity to entertain sexual thoughts and consume sexually explicit materials, may increase the likelihood that they act on sexual impulses and engage in high-risk sexual behaviors.
Authors: R A Crosby; R J DiClemente; G M Wingood; B K Cobb; K Harrington; S L Davies; E W Hook; M K Oh Journal: Prev Med Date: 2001-09 Impact factor: 4.018
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Authors: Richard Thompson; Terri Lewis; Elizabeth C Neilson; Diana J English; Alan J Litrownik; Benyamin Margolis; Laura Proctor; Howard Dubowitz Journal: Child Maltreat Date: 2016-10-24
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