A Comparison of Violence Victimization and Polyvictimization Experiences Among Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Adolescents and Young Adults.

Despite recent civil rights advances for sexual minority communities in the United States, disparities in violence victimization have increased in recent years. Polyvictimization, the experience of multiple types of violence, is common in the United States and may result in mental and physical health consequences above and beyond single-type victimization. However, disparities in polyvictimization among sexual minority young people remain understudied. The purpose of this article was to determine whether there were disparities in monovictimization and polyvictimization among sexual minority young people compared with their heterosexual peers. Data for this article were from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, a nationally representative cohort study started in 1994. Participants reported their experiences with eight types of violence across child abuse, criminal assault, intimate partner violence (IPV), and sexual assault domains. We categorized individuals with no violence victimization as nonvictims, individuals with one form of victimization as monovictims, and individuals with multiple types of victimization as polyvictims. We then compared experiences of each type of victimization and overall monovictimization and polyvictimization by sexual orientation (n = 9,828). Among females, the proportions of individuals experiencing victimization by sexual orientation were significantly different for all forms of violence. Among males, criminal assault, IPV resulting in injury, and nonphysically and physically forced sexual assault differed by sexual orientation. Compared with 100% heterosexual peers, individuals who were mostly heterosexual had significantly increased odds of monovictimization and polyvictimization compared with no victimization. Bisexual individuals had significantly increased odds of polyvictimiztion, and mostly/100% homosexual individuals had significantly increased odds of monovictimization. Multiple victimization experiences may be a pathway to lifetime health disparities, so our findings may explain many of the health disparities experienced in sexual minority communities. It will be critical to develop and evaluate intervention and prevention programs to eliminate these disparities.

Differential impacts of participation in organized activities and maltreatment types on adolescent academic and socioemotional development.

Participation in organized activities has been largely regarded as beneficial for academic and socioemotional development for adolescents, but the impacts of various types of organized activities for adolescents at risk for maltreatment have been rarely tested. In this study, we investigated the differential impacts of five types of maltreatment exposure (physical maltreatment, sexual maltreatment, neglect, other type, and multiple types) on the associations between four types of organized activities (mentored groups, art and music clubs, sport clubs, and academic clubs) and academic and socioemotional development (school engagement, delinquency, depressive symptoms, and trauma symptoms) of adolescents who were investigated by Child Protective Services (CPS) for maltreatment exposure. Data came from a national, longitudinal sample of 790 adolescents in contact with CPS in the U.S. After controlling for demographic characteristics of participants and prior levels of each outcome, multiple linear regression models were fitted to the data with interactions between the organized activities and the maltreatment types. The main findings of this study included: 1) adolescents who participated in mentored groups, sport clubs, and academic clubs reported higher levels of school engagement; 2) adolescents who participated in academic clubs reported fewer depressive symptoms; 3) adolescents who participated in art and music clubs reported more trauma symptoms compared to non-participants; and 4) the effects of participation in mentored groups on delinquency and trauma symptoms differed by maltreatment type. These results indicate both possible benefits and risks of organized activity participation for adolescents with certain maltreatment exposures.

Post-traumatic stress symptom development as a function of changing witnessing in-home violence and changing peer relationship quality: Evaluating protective effects of peer relationship quality.

In the present study, witnessing in-home violence and peer relationship quality are evaluated as to their relative impact on Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) symptoms among children aged 8 to 17 investigated by child protective services (CPS) for maltreatment exposure. The sample included 2151 children from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II (NSCAW II). Linear growth models were estimated to assess associations between changes in PTS symptoms, witnessing in-home violence, and peer relationship quality over time. Greater frequency of witnessing in-home violence at baseline (i.e. wave 1) was associated with higher baseline PTS symptoms (ß = 0.44). Increases in witnessing in-home violence frequency over time (average annual change across three years) had a strong association with increases in PTS symptoms over time (ß = 0.88). Baseline peer relationship quality was associated with fewer PTS symptoms at baseline (ß = -0.45). Increases in peer relationship quality over time were strongly associated with declines in PTS symptoms over time (ß = -0.68). Peer relationship quality at baseline did not moderate baseline or over time associations between witnessing in-home violence and PTS symptoms. The average decline in PTS symptoms due to decreases in witnessing in-home violence and increases in peer relationship quality was 0.51 and 0.65 standard deviations respectively, over the three-year study period. Reducing chronic witnessing in-home violence and promoting the development of healthy social relationships with peers are critical for PTS symptom recovery.