Citation

Ihongbe TO, Masho SW. J. Child Sex. Abus. 2018; 27(1): 53-69.

Affiliation

Institute for Women's Health , Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond , Virginia , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10538712.2017.1361496

PMID

28972456

Abstract

Child sexual abuse is a major public health concern in the United States with devastating sequelae. Although the relationship between child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence victimization in adulthood is known, little is known about the mediating influence of the age of sexual initiation on the association, or whether sex differences exist. Using data from waves I, III, and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 1,163), we aimed to examine the mediating influence of age of sexual initiation on the association between child sexual abuse and intimate partner violence victimization in adulthood and identify sex differences.

FINDINGS reveal that in female survivors, age of sexual initiation partially mediated the association between child sexual abuse and physical intimate partner violence victimization in adulthood. In male survivors, no mediational effect was observed. Public health practitioners should be aware of sex differences in the effect of early sexual initiation on intimate partner violence victimization in adulthood among child sexual abuse survivors.

Language: en

Keywords

adolescents; age of sexual initiation; child sexual abuse; intimate partner violence victimization; sex difference; young adults