Investigating the role of alexithymia in the association between cumulative childhood maltreatment and teen dating violence victimization.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment is increasingly recognized as an important risk factor for teen dating violence (TDV) victimization. However, far too little research has studied the mechanisms that could explain this higher risk of revictimization. The present study investigated the role of alexithymia in the association between cumulative childhood maltreatment, TDV victimization occurrence and chronicity, and TDV-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. METHODS: A total of 2780 adolescents, aged 13 to 19, completed measures of childhood maltreatment and alexithymia at Time 1 and TDV victimization and TDV-related PTSD symptoms at Time 2 (6 months later). Two mediational models were tested to examine the role of alexithymia as a risk factor for revictimization. One model assessed TDV occurrence as an outcome, while the other explored TDV chronicity and TDV-related PTSD symptoms as outcomes. RESULTS: Findings suggest that cumulative childhood maltreatment is associated with an increased probability of TDV occurrence through alexithymia. Cumulative childhood maltreatment and alexithymia are also associated with TDV chronicity and TDV-related PTSD symptoms. Notably, cumulative childhood maltreatment is associated with higher levels of alexithymia among adolescent victims of TDV, which, in turn, predicts higher TDV chronicity and TDV-related PTSD symptoms. LIMITATIONS: This study relied on abbreviated measures and did not include all forms of child maltreatment (e.g., emotional and physical neglect). CONCLUSIONS: Promoting emotional awareness and identification among youth victims of child maltreatment could reduce the risk of TDV occurrence, TDV chronicity, and TDV-related PTSD symptoms.

Can Emotion Dysregulation Explain the Association Between Attachment Insecurities and Teen Dating Violence Perpetration?

Attachment theory provides important insight regarding the etiology of teen dating violence perpetration (TDV-P). Attachment insecurities have been associated with TDV-P, but the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Furthermore, as of now, studies have failed to explore whether the relation between attachment insecurities and TDV-P varied according to its forms (i.e., psychological, physical or sexual) or to the perpetrator's gender. This study aimed to investigate if emotion dysregulation mediates the association between attachment insecurities and different forms of TDV-P among girls and boys. Adolescents (Mage = 16 years; n = 3,214; 60% girls) were recruited from a one-stage stratified cluster sample of 34 high schools in Quebec, Canada. Path analyses with probit regression models were conducted separately for girls and boys. Attachment anxiety and avoidance were associated with more emotion dysregulation. Emotion dysregulation was, in turn, associated with higher probabilities of physical TDV-P in girls and psychological TDV-P in girls and boys. Surprisingly, emotion dysregulation was not associated with sexual TDV-P. Attachment anxiety remained directly related to higher probabilities of perpetrating all forms of TDV. These findings support the hypotheses set forth by attachment theory and highlight the utility of this theory to understand and potentially prevent TDV-P. Practitioners should more specifically address adolescents' attachment anxiety, as it seems more related to TDV-P. Finally, this study underscores the necessity of considering gender and specific forms of TDV-P to understand the association between attachment insecurities, emotion dysregulation, and TDV-P.

Diversity of adaptation profiles in youth victims of child sexual abuse.

OBJECTIVE: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with long-term negative consequences in adolescents, but some survivors display resilience. The purpose of this study was to delineate profiles of adaptation in adolescent victims of CSA and to examine their associations with individual and environmental-systemic protective factors. METHOD: As part of a population-based survey, 8,230 high school students were questioned about CSA and completed measures assessing a host of protective factors and indicators of positive adaptation across 5 domains: self-perception, academic success, mental health, health risk behaviors and romantic relationships. RESULTS: Using a latent class analysis, a best fitting model of 4 classes was identified. This model included a reference group of nonsexually abused teenagers and 3 classes characterizing survivors of CSA: Resilient profile (33% of youth), Externalized profile (34% of youth) and Internalized profile (33% of youth). Sexually abused youth assigned to the Resilient profile were similar to nonsexually abused youth in terms of self-esteem, academic performance, absence of clinical levels of psychological distress and dating violence. Despite experiencing CSA of comparable severity, youth in the Resilient profile reported more optimism and were less likely to rely on avoidant or emotional strategies to cope with difficulties and more likely to report high maternal and paternal support. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the utility of a person-oriented approach to enhance our understanding of the diversity of adaptation profiles in youth victims of CSA. Results also underscore the importance of tailoring intervention efforts to efficiently tackle the diverse needs of teen victims of CSA. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

"When You're in a Relationship, You Say No, but Your Partner Insists": Sexual Dating Violence and Ambiguity Among Girls and Young Women.

Sexual dating violence (DV) is highly prevalent and associated with deleterious outcomes. Unfortunately, this form of violence remains poorly understood. Furthermore, the measures used to assess sexual DV may not account for the various manifestations of sexual DV, which limits our understanding of this problem. This study aimed to (a) explore how girls and young women describe their experiences of sexual DV and (b) explore whether the taxonomy on intimate partner sexual violence developed by Bagwell-Gray and colleagues could be applicable to girls and young women's experiences of sexual DV. A total of 71 adolescent girls and young women who identified themselves as heterosexual were recruited. Sexual DV was assessed using an adapted version of the Sexual Experiences Survey, followed by a semistructured interview. Findings revealed that 29.6% of participants reported sexual DV victimization in the past 12 months. A direct content analysis was performed based on the taxonomy of Bagwell-Gray and colleagues. Four manifestations of sexual DV were illustrated from the youth's narratives: (a) sexual coercion, (b) sexual assault, (c) sexual abuse, and (d) forced sexual activities. Our results underscore the ambiguity of sexual consent and definition of sexual DV among adolescent girls and young women. This research further supports the necessity to develop and implement prevention programs that specifically target sexual DV in this population.

Gender-Specific Patterns of Teen Dating Violence in Heterosexual Relationships and their Associations with Attachment Insecurities and Emotion Dysregulation.

Teen dating violence is a complex issue associated with several deleterious consequences. Previous studies emphasize the importance of considering the heterogeneity of teen dating violence experiences to better understand this issue and its correlates. In this perspective, the present study aimed to identify gender-specific patterns of teen dating violence in heterosexual relationships based on directionality (victimization and perpetration) and forms of violence (psychological, physical and sexual). In addition, this study aimed to investigate how these patterns are differentially associated with attachment insecurities and emotion dysregulation. A total of 3100 adolescents who reported being in a heterosexual romantic relationship (mean age = 15.92 years; 60% girls) completed questionnaires on teen dating violence, romantic attachment and emotion dysregulation. Latent class analyses revealed four distinct patterns of teen dating violence. The first three patterns, namely Low dating violence (40% of girls and 54% of boys), Mutual psychological dating violence (34% of girls and 33% of boys) and Mutual psychological and physical dating violence (14% of girls and 5% of boys), were found for both genders. The last pattern differed greatly based on gender and was labeled Mutual psychological dating violence and sexual victimization in girls (12%) and Multiple dating violence victimization in boys (8%). Higher levels of emotion dysregulation and attachment insecurities were found in adolescents experiencing more complex patterns of dating violence. This study contributes to the development of teen dating violence prevention and intervention programs by identifying gender-specific patterns of teen dating violence and documenting their associations with important trauma-informed correlates.