Citation

Segura A, Pereda N, Guilera G, Abad J. Child Abuse Negl. 2016; 55: 40-51.

Affiliation

Grup de Recerca en Victimització Infantil i Adolescent (GReVIA), Universitat de Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Personalitat, Avaluació i Tractament Psicològics, Facultat de Psicologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.03.009

PMID

27082753

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of poly-victimization on symptom severity among adolescents being cared for by the child welfare system in a southwestern European country. The sample consisted of 127 youths (62 males and 65 females) aged 12-17 years (M=14.60, SD=1.61) who were recruited from short- and long-term residential centers. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (Finkelhor, Hamby, Ormrod, & Turner, 2005) and the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) were used to assess interpersonal victimization experiences and psychopathology, respectively. Victim (n=68), low poly-victim (n=48), and high poly-victim (n=18) groups had comparable rates of psychopathology severity, with the exception of rule-breaking behavior, which was more severe among those with more victimization experiences (Cramer's V=.342). Poly-victimization was shown to be a significant predictor of clinically severe rule-breaking behavior, thought problems, and anxiety/depression symptoms. Among victimization types, sexual and electronic victimization significantly predicted withdrawn/depressed and aggressive behavior, and attention problems, respectively. The results of this study highlight the importance of assessing a wide range of victimization experiences among adolescents in care, since poly-victimization seems to underlie the serious psychological problems these youth present.

Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en