title: Health risk behaviors and attempted suicide in adolescents who report prior maltreatment.
abstract: We hypothesized that high school students who experienced prior maltreatment would be more likely than their peers to report health risk behaviors and suicide attempts. Before the establishment of a high school-based clinic, an anonymous needs assessment survey was completed by 600 adolescents (grades 9 to 12). Sociodemographic information was obtained and questions were asked about physical and sexual abuse, health-related behaviors and habits, and suicide attempts. Thirteen percent of the adolescents had been maltreated: 5.2% reported prior physical abuse, 5.4% sexual abuse, and 2.7% both physical and sexual abuse. Multivariate statistical techniques were used to clarify how previous abuse was related to adolescent risk-taking behaviors and suicide. Students with a history of physical abuse were three times more likely than non-abused peers to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes, almost twice as likely to use illicit drugs, six times more likely to self-induce vomiting, and five times more likely to attempt suicide. A student with a history of prior sexual abuse had a three and one-half times greater chance of being sexually active and was more than three times more likely to attempt suicide. These data on a nonclinical, nondeviant population of adolescents indicate that physical or sexual abuse in childhood may have a significant impact on adolescent health risk behaviors and suicide attempts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence 02903.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Riggs
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Alario
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McHorney
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005006:Ethnicity; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012237:Rhode Island / Q000453:epidemiology; D012572:School Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*