An examination of associations between sexual assault and health problems, depression or suicidal ideation in a large nationally representative cohort of male and female 20-30-year-olds.

BACKGROUND: A long line of research has examined whether being the victim of sexual assault is associated with negative and maladaptive outcomes, but has mainly focused on women and girls. AIMS: To replicate and extend prior research by examining whether various measures of sexual assault are related to physical ill-health, depression and/or suicidal ideation, regardless of sex or age of victim. Our research questions were (1) is sexual assault related to health problems, depression and suicidal ideation and (2) do these associations differ between men and women? METHOD: We analyse data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a longitudinal study of a US nationally representative sample of nearly 21,000 young people recruited for the first wave of interviews when most of the participants were between ages 12 and 18 years. We used Wave 4 data, collected for participants who were in their 20s and 30s, on experience of both physical sexual assault and non-physical sexual assault and mental state, allowing for some characteristics measured in Wave 1. Allowing for missing data, sample sizes were between 6868 and 10,489 for the women and 6024 and 10,263 for the men. RESULTS: Statistically significant associations were revealed between the physical and non-physical measures of sexual assault and the health problems scale, the depression scale and the measure of suicidal ideation. These associations remained statistically significant even after controlling for key covariates measured at Wave 1, including exposure to delinquent peers, poverty and demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual assault at some time and of whatever kind, although more commonly reported by women than men, is similarly associated with serious physical and mental health problems during their 20s and 30s. More sequencing detail is required for better prevention of harms.

Examining the Longitudinal Connection Between Adolescent Delinquency and Risky Sexual Behaviors in a Sample of Males and Females.

Adolescence is a time period that is highlighted by widespread involvement in delinquent behaviors. The long-term consequences associated with engaging in such behaviors is not entirely understood. There is some research showing, though, that adolescents who are involved in delinquency are at-risk for also engaging in an assortment of risky sexual behaviors. Whether this association is causal or the result of selection/confounding remains unclear. The current study sought to add to the literature on this topic by examining whether measures of adolescent delinquency predict later-life involvement in risky sexual behaviors (number of sexual partners, number of one-night stands, and being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection) in a sample from the United States. To do so, data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were analyzed (N ranging from 5018 to 5964). The results revealed statistically significant associations between adolescent delinquency and risky sexual behaviors for males and females even after controlling for levels of self-control, exposure to peer substance use, parental socialization, and neighborhood disadvantage. These results suggest that the association between delinquent involvement and risky sexual behaviors is robust and future research should begin to systematically examine the developmental nature of this association.

Adolescent Delinquency and Adulthood Economic Disadvantage and Job Benefits: Results From a Longitudinal Sample of Males and Females.

There is a long history of examining the connection between crime and delinquency and economic well-being and employment quality. Despite this vast literature, there still remains unanswered questions surrounding these associations, including whether the timing of adolescent delinquency is associated with adulthood economic disadvantage and job quality, whether different types of adolescent delinquency maintain differential associations with measures of economic disadvantage and employment quality in adulthood, and whether any associations between delinquency and economics/employment are invariant between males and females. The current study sought to address these issues by exploring the associations between adolescent involvement in nonviolent and violent delinquency (measured at two times in adolescence) and adulthood economic disadvantage and job quality. To do so, data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health were analyzed. The results revealed consistently null associations between the measures of adolescent delinquency and economic disadvantage and job quality for males. For females, however, the results were consistently significant, indicating that females who self-reported greater involvement in delinquency were more likely to be economically disadvantaged as adults and to have lower quality jobs. These results indicate that the associations between delinquency and economic disadvantage and job benefits differs between males and females, with females, in comparison with males, paying a significantly greater toll for engaging in acts of violent and nonviolent delinquency.