RESUMEN
This study examines associations between childhood maltreatment and developmental trajectories of sexual risk behaviors (SRBs) in a sample of 882 sexually active adolescent girls, predominantly Hispanic or Black, assessed every 6 months between 13 and 23 years. Latent profile analyses revealed four distinct maltreatment profiles: Low Maltreatment (76%), Moderate Emotional Neglect Only (15%), Severe Physical/Emotional Abuse (3%), and Severe Sexual Abuse (6%). Multilevel growth analyses showed the Moderate Emotional Neglect Only and Severe Sexual Abuse profiles exhibited more SRBs starting in late adolescence, and the Severe Sexual Abuse profile also exhibited a faster increase than the Low Maltreatment profile. Understanding heterogeneity within maltreated populations may have important implications for healthy sexual development.
Asunto(s)
Maltrato a los Niños , Etnicidad , Adolescente , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Grupos Minoritarios , Asunción de Riesgos , Conducta SexualRESUMEN
Salivary alpha amylase (sAA) has been proposed as a marker of autonomic nervous system activity. Few studies have examined sAA basal activity and reactivity in naturalistic settings, or developmental changes in sAA. In 50 adolescents, diary-reported moods and sAA levels were gathered across two typical weekdays. As in adults, basal sAA levels were low at waking and increased across the day. More advanced pubertal development was associated with higher waking sAA levels; males had smaller sAA increases across the day. High arousal positive emotions (feeling strong, active, excited) were associated with acute sAA increases; high arousal negative emotions (angry, stressed, nervous, worried) predicted sAA increases among youth with high average levels of these emotions. Findings suggest that basal sAA levels increase with puberty, and that acute sAA increases may reflect levels of emotional arousal, including high arousal positive emotions, rather than being specific to stress or emotions of negative valence.