TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Adolescent maltreatment in the child welfare system and developmental patterns of sexual risk behaviors
JO  - Child maltreatment
A1  - Fowler, Patrick J.
A1  - Motley, Darnell
A1  - Zhang, Jinjin
A1  - Rolls-Reutz, Jennifer
A1  - Landsverk, John
SP  - 50
EP  - 60
VL  - 20
IS  - 1
N2  - In this longitudinal study, we tested whether adolescent maltreatment and out-of-home placement as a response to maltreatment altered developmental patterns of sexual risk behaviors in a nationally representative sample of youth involved in the child welfare system. Participants included adolescents aged 13 to 17 (M = 15.5, SD = 1.49) at baseline (n = 714), followed over 18 months. Computer-assisted interviews were used to collect self-reported sexual practices and experiences of physical and psychological abuse at both time points. Latent transition analyses were used to identify three patterns of sexual risk behaviors: abstainers, safe sex with multiple partners, and unsafe sex with multiple partners. Most adolescents transitioned to safer sexual behavior patterns over time. Adolescents exhibiting the riskiest sexual practices at baseline were most likely to report subsequent abuse and less likely to be placed into out-of-home care. <br><br>FINDINGS provide a more nuanced understanding of sexual risk among child welfare-involved adolescents and inform practices to promote positive transitions within the system.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1077-5595
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077559514548701
ID  - ref1
ER  -