Unwanted sexual experiences in young men: evidence from a survey of university students in Chile.

The public health problem of unwanted sexual experiences (USE) in male youths has received little attention. In this study, we examined prevalence of USE, risk factors, contexts, and barriers to disclosure with data from a quantitative survey of students enrolled in General Education courses at a public university in Chile. This study focused on the male sample (N = 466). Approximately 20.4 % of participants reported some form of USE since age 14. Forced sex through physical coercion, forced sex through verbal coercion or while intoxicated, attempted forced sex, and less severe forms of USE were reported by 0.2, 10.1, 1.4, and 8.7 % of participants, respectively. USE before age 14 was reported by 9.4 % of participants and was a significant predictor of USE since age 14 (AOR 6.38, 95 % CI 3.22-12.65, p < .01). The perpetrator of USE since age 14 was most commonly identified as a date/partner or friend/acquaintance; other findings on contexts and barriers to disclosure were also generally consistent with previous results in the literature. In addition, we found substantial co-occurrence of USE since age 14 with two other forms of coercion: physical dating violence victimization and coerced condom non-use. The study findings indicate a need for further attention to these public health problems and have implications for the development of violence and HIV/STI prevention programs for adolescent boys and young adult men in Chile and elsewhere.

Sexual and dating violence among adolescents and young adults in Chile: a review of findings from a survey of university students.

This paper synthesises and discusses results from the 2005 Survey of Student Well-Being, a closed-ended questionnaire administered to students attending general education courses at a major public university in Santiago (n = 484 women, 466 men). The survey included questions on sexual violence (SV) and dating violence (DV), public health problems that have received little attention in Chile and other Latin-American countries. This paper highlights key findings from a series of papers based on these data, noting lessons learned in the Chilean context that may be useful for other Latin-American countries. Important gaps in the international literature on SV and DV are also discussed. A central finding is the high prevalence of SV and DV in this sample of university students, warranting further public health attention to these problems. Potentially, the findings will contribute to changes in awareness, policy and practice along similar lines to efforts that transformed the US landscape regarding SV and DV on college campuses in the 1980s.

Physical dating violence victimization in college women in Chile.

OBJECTIVES: There are no published studies on physical dating violence in college students in Chile, and campuses across the country currently lack systematized programs to prevent or respond to this public health problem. This is the first study to examine prevalence and predictors of physical dating violence victimization with a sample of female college students in Chile. METHODS: A closed-ended questionnaire was administered to students enrolled in general education courses at a major public university. The prevalence of women's physical dating violence victimization was calculated, and generalized ordered logit models were used to estimate risk factors for such victimization (n = 441). Ancillary analyses examined associations of dating violence victimization with experiences of unwanted sexual contact and forced condom nonuse. RESULTS: Approximately 21% of subjects reported one or more incidents of physical dating violence not involving physical injury since age 14, and another 5% reported at least one incident resulting in physical injury during this time period. Risk factors identified in five sequential models were sexual abuse and witnessing of domestic violence in childhood, low parental education, residence away from the parental home, urban residence, and having had sexual intercourse. Maternal employment and religious participation had protective effects. Dating violence victimization was found to be significantly associated with experiences of unwanted sexual contact and forced condom nonuse. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings show a high prevalence of physical dating violence, strong associations between several sociodemographic factors and dating violence, and links between dating violence and sexual/reproductive risk. Our results indicate a need to expand attention to this public health problem in Chile as well as other developing countries, where research and prevention/response initiatives have generally been similarly limited. The findings also have important implications for the content of dating violence, HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI), and pregnancy prevention programs for adolescents and young adults.

[Sexual violence in young men and women in Chile: results from a 2005 survey of university students]. / Violencia sexual en hombres y mujeres jóvenes en Chile: Resultados de una encuesta (año 2005) a estudiantes universitarios.

BACKGROUND: Experiences of sexual violence in adolescence and young adulthood have received little attention in Chilean public health research and practice. AIM: To describe the prevalence and contexts of sexual violence victimization in a sample of university students in Chile. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A self-administered, quantitative survey including items on sexual violence was completed by 484 female and 466 male students at a public university in Chile in 2005. RESULTS: Thirty-one percent of women and 21 % of men reported having experienced at least one incident of sexual violence since age 14; the corresponding percentages for the past 12 months were 17% and 12%, respectively. The perpetrators were identified predominantly as an acquaintance; another important fraction corresponded to a partner or a date. Alcohol or other substances were involved in most cases. Among students who indicated having been assaulted, the incident was reported to the police by none of the men and 2% of women. Twenty one percent of women and 9% of men reported having experienced sexual violence before age 14. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of sexual violence found in this study indicates that this issue merits further public health attention in Chile.

Violencia sexual en hombres y mujeres jóvenes en Chile: resultados de una encuesta (año 2005) a estudiantes universitarios / Sexual violence in young men and women in Chile: results from a 2005 survey of university student

Background: Experiences of sexual violence in adolescence and young adulthood have received little attention in Chilean public health research and practice. Aim: To describe the prevalence and contexts of sexual violence victimization in a sample of university students in Chile. Material and Methods: A self-administered, quantitative survey including items on sexual violence was completed by 484 female and 466 male students at a public university in Chile in 2005. Results: Thirty-one percent of women and 21 percent of men reported having experienced at least one incident of sexual violence since age 14; the corresponding percentages for the past 12 months were 17 percent and 12 percent, respectively. The perpetrators were identified predominantly as an acquaintance; another important fraction corresponded to a partner or a date. Alcohol or other substances were involved in most cases. Among students who indicated having been assaulted, the incident was reported to the police by none of the men and 2 percent of women. Twenty one percent of women and 9 percent of men reported having experienced sexual violence before age 14. Conclusions: The high prevalence of sexual violence found in this study indicates that this issue merits further public health attention in Chile.

Physical and psychological dating violence in young men and women in Chile: results from a 2005 survey of university students.

Numerous studies have documented high levels of intimate partner violence in Chile. Yet to date, research and prevention/ response programs have focused almost exclusively on cohabiting and married couples. This study presents a comparative analysis of dating violence prevalence in a sample of male and female college students in Chile and describes the contexts in which such violence takes place. On the basis of a survey of students enrolled in general education courses at a large, public university in Santiago during the Winter 2005 term (n = 484 women, 466 men), we find a high prevalence of physical and psychological dating violence, with patterns resembling those documented for other countries. We also find a high prevalence of having witnessed inter-parental violence during childhood. Our results present a compelling case for not continuing to neglect dating violence in Chile and other Latin-American countries; further research in this area and the development and evaluation of prevention programs for youth, could go far in reducing the opportunity for aggression to become an established style of conflict resolution.

Forgone health care among U.S. adolescents: associations between risk characteristics and confidentiality concern.

PURPOSE: To examine risk characteristics associated with citing confidentiality concern as a reason for forgone health care, among a sample of U.S. adolescents who reported having forgone health care they believed was necessary in the past year. METHODS: The study used data from Wave I home interviews of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The generalized estimating equations method was used to account for the clustered nature of the data. RESULTS: Prevalence of several risk characteristics was significantly higher among boys and girls who reported confidentiality concern, as compared with those who did not report this concern. Regression analyses for boys (n = 1123), which adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, parental education and insurance type showed that high depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempt were each associated with increased odds of reporting confidentiality concern as a reason for forgone health care. In multivariate analyses for girls (n = 1315), having ever had sexual intercourse, birth control nonuse at last sex, prior sexually transmitted infection, past-year alcohol use, high and moderate depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and unsatisfactory parental communication were each associated with increased odds of citing confidentiality concern as a reason for forgone care. CONCLUSION: The population of U.S. adolescents who forgo health care due to confidentiality concern is particularly vulnerable and in need of health care services. Adolescents who report health risk behaviors, psychological distress and/or unsatisfactory communication with parents have an increased likelihood of citing confidentiality concern as a reason for forgone health care, as compared with adolescents who do not report these factors. Findings of this study suggest that if restrictions to confidentiality are increased, health care use may decrease among adolescents at high risk of adverse health outcomes.

Prevalence of and risk factors for sexual victimization in college women in Chile.

CONTEXT: To date, no quantitative studies have examined the prevalence or correlates of sexual violence among college students in Chile. METHODS: An anonymous survey with questions on gender-based violence, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and childhood experiences with violence was administered to students at a major public university in Santiago. Descriptive statistics were generated to determine the prevalence and context of sexual victimization experienced by female students, and ordered logit models were used to identify associated risk factors. RESULTS: Nine percent of subjects reported that the most severe form of undesired sexual contact they had experienced since age 14 was rape; 6% indicated attempted rape and 16% another form of sexual victimization. Seventeen percent of subjects reported having experienced some form of undesired sexual contact in the past 12 months alone. Alcohol or other drugs had been used in most cases of rape or attempted rape, by the victim (6%), the perpetrator (9%) or both (56%). In four sequential models, factors associated with increased odds of victimization included low parental education (Model 1) and childhood sexual abuse (Models 3 and 4); the association between witnessing domestic violence and victimization attained marginal significance (Model 2). Attending religious services during adolescence was associated with reduced odds of victimization (Models 1 and 2). Childhood sexual abuse was the only factor associated with victimization when all variables were included. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of young women in the sample reported experiences of rape, attempted rape or other forms of forced sexual contact, indicating a need for further attention to this public health problem in Chile.

Depressive symptoms as a longitudinal predictor of sexual risk behaviors among US middle and high school students.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine whether depressive symptoms are predictive of subsequent sexual risk behavior in a national probability sample of US middle and high school students. METHODS: Sexually active, unmarried, middle and high school students (n = 4152) participated in home interviews in waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, at an approximately 1-year interval. Associations between baseline depressive symptoms and sexual risk behaviors over the course of the following year were examined separately for boys and girls, adjusting for demographic variables, religiosity, same-sex attraction/behavior, sexual intercourse before age 10, and baseline sexual risk behavior. RESULTS: In adjusted models, boys and girls with high depressive symptom levels at baseline were significantly more likely than those with low symptom levels to report > or = 1 of the examined sexual risk behaviors over the course of the 1-year follow-up period. For boys, high depressive symptom levels were specifically predictive of condom nonuse at last sex, birth control nonuse at last sex, and substance use at last sex; these results were similar to those of parallel analyses with a continuous depression measure. For girls, moderate depressive symptoms were associated with substance use at last sex, and no significant associations were found between high depressive symptom levels and individual sexual risk behaviors. Parallel analyses with the continuous depression measure found significant associations for condom nonuse at last sex, birth control nonuse at last sex, > or = 3 sexual partners, and any sexual risk behavior. CONCLUSION: In this study, depressive symptoms predicted sexual risk behavior in a national sample of male and female middle and high school students over a 1-year period.

Depressive symptomatology as a predictor of exposure to intimate partner violence among US female adolescents and young adults.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether depressive symptomatology is predictive of subsequent intimate partner violence victimization among a national prospective sample of female adolescents and young adults. DESIGN: Home interview data from 2 waves of the school-based National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to examine whether baseline depressive symptomatology was associated with increased risk of past-year exposure to physical abuse by a current partner at 5-year follow-up, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, parental education, retrospective childhood physical and sexual abuse, and baseline dating violence and forced sex. SETTING: A stratified random sample of 80 US high schools and 52 middle schools. PARTICIPANTS: All young women (n = 1659) were in a current opposite-sex relationship at follow-up. MAIN EXPOSURE: Baseline past-week depressive symptomatology, measured as both a dichotomous and continuous variable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Past-year exposure to mild and moderate to severe physical abuse by a current intimate partner. RESULTS: In adjusted models with dichotomous depressive symptoms, high baseline symptom levels were associated with 1.86 times the odds of subsequent exposure to moderate to severe partner violence (95% confidence interval, 1.05-3.29). In adjusted models with continuous depressive symptoms, an increase of 1 SD in baseline symptom levels was associated with a 24% increase in odds of exposure to mild partner violence and a 24% increase in the odds of exposure to moderate to severe partner violence. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that depressive symptomatology among girls during adolescence is associated with increased risk of subsequent exposure to physical partner violence. Prevention, identification, and treatment of depressive symptomatology among adolescent girls may help to reduce the likelihood of subsequent victimization.