title: Contamination in the Prospective Study of Child Maltreatment and Female Adolescent Health.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the impact of contamination, or the presence of child maltreatment in a comparison condition, when estimating the broad, longitudinal effects of child maltreatment on female health at the transition to adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Female Adolescent Development Study (N = 514; age range: 14-19 years) used a prospective cohort design to examine the effects of substantiated child maltreatment on teenage births, obesity, major depression, and past-month cigarette use. Contamination was controlled via a multimethod strategy that used both adolescent self-report and Child Protective Services records to remove cases of child maltreatment from the comparison condition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Substantiated child maltreatment significantly predicted each outcome, relative risks = 1.47-2.95, 95% confidence intervals: 1.03-7.06, with increases in corresponding effect size magnitudes, only when contamination was controlled using the multimethod strategy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contamination truncates risk estimates of child maltreatment and controlling it can strengthen overall conclusions about the effects of child maltreatment on female health.
authors: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, Division of Child Abuse Pediatrics, The Pennsylvania State University Hershey Medical Center, ces140@psu.edu.
authors: Chad E
authors: CE
authors: Shenk
authors: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University.
authors: Jennie G
authors: JG
authors: Noll
authors: Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, and Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
authors: James L
authors: JL
authors: Peugh
authors: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University.
authors: Amanda M
authors: AM
authors: Griffin
authors: Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, and.
authors: Heather E
authors: HE
authors: Bensman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D000067697:Adolescent Health; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: child maltreatment; cigarette use; contamination; depression; obesity; teenage births