title: Brief report: the influence of posttraumatic stress on unprotected sex among sexually active adolescent girls and boys involved in the child welfare system of the United States.
abstract: While posttraumatic stress (PTS) has been positively associated with risky sexual behavior (RSB) among adult women, there is a paucity of research examining PTS in relation to RSB among adolescent girls and boys. This study aimed to replicate findings among adult women with sexually active adolescents (179 females and 106 males) involved in a national study of children in the United States child welfare system. After controlling for age and the complex study design, sexually active adolescent girls with clinically significant PTS symptoms were more than seven times more likely than those without such symptoms to report unprotected intercourse. In contrast, sexually active adolescent boys with clinically significant PTS symptoms were less likely than those without such symptoms to report unprotected intercourse. Research is needed to 1) understand the mechanisms linking PTS and RSB, 2) further explore gender differences reported here, and 3) inform RSB interventions in this high-risk population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, 311 North Fifth Street, Camden, NJ 08102, United States. Electronic address: cocavana@camden.rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: Courtenay E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Cavanaugh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D009511:New England; D012649:Self Concept; D012946:Social Welfare; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Adolescents; Child welfare system; Gender differences; Posttraumatic stress; Sexual risk taking