Self-destructive and delinquent behaviors of adolescent female victims of child sexual abuse: rates and covariates in clinical and nonclinical samples.
Self-destructive and delinquent behaviors were assessed in three samples of adolescent females. The first sample (N=140) were substantiated victims of sexual abuse recruited from clinical settings. They were contrasted to a second sample (N=430) of secondary school students, and a third sample from the same school setting (N=94), that reported that they had been sexually abused. Few differences were found between the two groups of sexually abused girls, and both groups reported significantly more at-risk behaviors than nonabused girls. Family adversity was a consistent predictor of both self-destructive and delinquent behaviors. However, violence during the abuse, lower quality mother-daughter relationships, and depression were also related to self-destructive behaviors, while family economic problems and self-blame for the abuse were the only correlates of delinquent behavior.
Wright
John
J
Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal Montreal, Quebec, Canada. john.wright@umontreal.ca
Friedrich
William
W
Cinq-Mars
Caroline
C
Cyr
Mireille
M
McDuff
Pierre
P
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003710:Demography; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012650:Self Disclosure; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires