Adult Sexual Experiences as a Mediator Between Child Abuse and Current Secretory Immunoglobulin A Levels.
The current study investigated whether a history of child abuse is a predictor of adult immune status, with unwanted adult sexual experiences as a proximal mediator. Participants included 89 young adult women (M(age) = 19.24) who were classified as having experienced no child abuse, child physical abuse, or child sexual abuse, based upon self-reported victimization history before 14 years of age. Participants also reported on unwanted sexual experiences in young adulthood and provided four saliva samples, which were collected over two consecutive days to determine secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA). Age and negative life events were considered as covariates. The results indicated that adult sexual victimization partially mediated the relationship between child abuse (physical and sexual) and sIgA. Specifically, child abuse experiences predicted more adult sexual victimization experiences, which in turn predicted lower sIgA levels. These findings support long-term health effects of victimization, and suggest that the influence of child abuse on sIgA may be perpetuated through adult victimization. Prevention efforts should aim to empower child maltreatment survivors with skills to prevent adult re-victimization. By thwarting future unwanted sexual experiences in adulthood, individuals will be better protected from the health impairments associated with early abuse experiences.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA jwaldron22@vt.edu.
Jonathan C
JC
Waldron
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
Angela
A
Scarpa
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
Jungmeen
J
Kim-Spoon
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA.
Christopher L
CL
Coe
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
D007070:Immunoglobulin A
adult sexual victimization; child abuse; immune health