Citation

Nagy S, Adcock AG, Nagy MC. Pediatrics 1994; 93(4): 570-575.

Affiliation

College of Education, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa 35487-0312.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, American Academy of Pediatrics)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8134211

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To report on rates of sexual abuse among a normative sample of adolescents and identify psychosocial correlates associated with sexual abuse. METHOD: An anonymous self-report survey examining an array of psychosocial items to which 3448 grade 8 and 10 students from rural and metropolitan school districts in a southern state responded. RESULTS: There was a 105 rate of sexual abuse among this normative sample. Victims of forced sex were disproportionately female and African-American, and were more likely to reside in single-parent households. These sexually abused girls reported significantly higher levels of risky health behaviors and risky attitudes on 11 (P < .001) of the 12 comparisons. Sexually abused boys showed a similar pattern on eight (P < .001) comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: Indications are that forced sex experiences are associated strongly with risky health behaviors in some adolescents, which should alert clinicians to the possibility of sexual abuse.

Language: en