title: Poly-victimization and psychopathology among Spanish adolescents in residential care.
abstract: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of poly-victimization on symptom severity among adolescents being cared for by the child welfare system in a southwestern European country. The sample consisted of 127 youths (62 males and 65 females) aged 12-17 years (M=14.60, SD=1.61) who were recruited from short- and long-term residential centers. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (Finkelhor, Hamby, Ormrod, & Turner, 2005) and the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) were used to assess interpersonal victimization experiences and psychopathology, respectively. Victim (n=68), low poly-victim (n=48), and high poly-victim (n=18) groups had comparable rates of psychopathology severity, with the exception of rule-breaking behavior, which was more severe among those with more victimization experiences (Cramer's V=.342). Poly-victimization was shown to be a significant predictor of clinically severe rule-breaking behavior, thought problems, and anxiety/depression symptoms. Among victimization types, sexual and electronic victimization significantly predicted withdrawn/depressed and aggressive behavior, and attention problems, respectively. The results of this study highlight the importance of assessing a wide range of victimization experiences among adolescents in care, since poly-victimization seems to underlie the serious psychological problems these youth present.
authors.affiliation: Grup de Recerca en Victimització Infantil i Adolescent (GReVIA), Universitat de Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Personalitat, Avaluació i Tractament Psicològics, Facultat de Psicologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: annasegura@ub.edu.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Segura
authors.affiliation: Grup de Recerca en Victimització Infantil i Adolescent (GReVIA), Universitat de Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Personalitat, Avaluació i Tractament Psicològics, Facultat de Psicologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Recerca en Cervell Cognició i Conducta, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Noemí
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pereda
authors.affiliation: Grup de Recerca en Victimització Infantil i Adolescent (GReVIA), Universitat de Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Metodologia de les Ciències del Comportament, Facultat de Psicologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Recerca en Cervell Cognició i Conducta, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Georgina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guilera
authors.affiliation: Grup de Recerca en Victimització Infantil i Adolescent (GReVIA), Universitat de Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Personalitat, Avaluació i Tractament Psicològics, Facultat de Psicologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Judit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abad
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000068216:Child Protective Services; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012112:Residential Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Adolescents; Child welfare; Poly-victimization; Psychopathology; Residential facilities