Childhood maltreatment and adolescent sexual risk behaviors: Unique, cumulative and interactive effects.

Child maltreatment has been associated with sexual risk behaviors. Previous investigators have typically studied only one form of maltreatment, preventing them from exploring interrelations between forms of maltreatment and their impact on sexual risk behaviors. Thus, this study aims to examine the unique, cumulative, and interactive effects of four maltreatment forms (sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, and witnessing interparental violence) on sexual risk behaviors. The sample comprised 1940 sexually active adolescents (Mage=15.6; 60.8% girls) attending Quebec (Canada) high schools. Regression results showed that all maltreatment forms were associated with having a higher number of sexual partners, casual sexual behavior, and a younger age at first consensual intercourse. Physical abuse and witnessing interparental violence were associated with inconsistent condom use, and physical abuse was associated with sexually transmitted infections. After controlling for all forms of maltreatment (unique effects), analyses showed that sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect or witnessing interparental violence remained statistically associated depending on the sexual risk behavior. A greater number of forms of maltreatment was associated with more sexual risk behaviors (cumulative effect). When sexual abuse was not experienced, neglect was associated with a higher number of sexual partners (interactive effects). In general, associations between maltreatment and sexual risk behaviors were similar for both genders. The magnitude of the relationship between a specific form of child maltreatment and sexual risk behaviors may be inaccurately estimated when not controlling for other forms of maltreatment.

Patterns of cumulative abuse among female survivors of intimate partner violence: links to women's health and socioeconomic status.

Drawing on the Women's Health Effects Study, a community sample of women (N = 309) who recently left an abusive partner, this study examines patterns of cumulative abuse experiences over the life course, their socioeconomic correlates, and associations with a range of health outcomes. Latent class analysis identified four groups of women with differing cumulative abuse profiles: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Dominant, Child Abuse and IPV, All Forms, and All Forms Extreme. We find a relationship pattern between cumulative abuse and socioeconomic circumstances, and significantly worse health outcomes among women with the All Forms Extreme profile. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Fear of past abusive partner(s) impacts current posttraumatic stress among women experiencing partner violence.

This study examines the impact of fear of past abusive partner(s) on posttraumatic stress among 212 community-recruited women currently exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV). The path analysis model tested explained 60% of the variation in IPV-related posttraumatic stress. Findings revealed that fear of past abusive partner(s) was uniquely associated with the severity of current posttraumatic stress symptoms over and above the impact of current IPV or childhood abuse and neglect. Future research should continue examining women's subjective emotional experience of past and current victimization so as to further inform both clinical practice and intervention planning.

Vitimação múltipla feminina ao longo da vida: uma revisão sistemática da literatura / Lifetime multiple victimization among women:a systematic review of the literature

No contexto internacional assistimos a um crescente reconhecimento científico de que as mulheres, vítimas preferenciais de diferentes formas de vitimação, tendem a coo-experienciar outras formas de vitimação ao longo da vida. Neste artigo realizamos uma revisão sistemática da literatura existente sobre a vitimação múltipla de mulheres ao longo da vida. Conclui-se que predominam os estudos quantitativos de natureza transversal, retrospectivos e com designs descritivos correlacionais, centrados na vitimação múltipla interpessoal, nomeadamente, íntima. Os inventários de autorrelato e as entrevistas semiestruturadas são os instrumentos mais frequentes para avaliar o fenómeno, recorrendo, maioritariamente, a amostras por conveniência, recrutadas em contexto normativo (universitário) ou forense. A prevalência, embora elevada, oscila entre os estudos, reflexo das diferentes amostras e instrumentos utilizados. Quanto ao impacto, os estudos são consensuais na ideia de que quanto maior a vitimação cumulativa, maior o impacto (efeito dose). Finalmente, apresentamos os principais contributos e limitações que derivam desta revisão sistemática.(AU)

There is an increasing scientific recognition that women, primary victims of different forms of interpersonal victimization, tend to co-experience other forms of victimization throughout lifetime. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of publications on lifetime multiple victimization of women. We found predominantly cross-sectional studies, retrospective and correlational designs, directed to study multiple interpersonal violence, particularly intimate abuse. Self-report inventories and semi-structured interviews were the most commonly strategies used to evaluate the problem, and the most frequent sampling option was convenience samples, recruited in normative (university) or forensic contexts. The prevalence of multiple victimization reported by women, although high, varied between studies, reflecting the different samples and evaluation tools. In terms of impact, the studies were consensual on the idea that the greater the cumulative victimization the greater impact victimization would produce. Finally, we present the main contributions and limitations that draw from this systematic review.(AU)

Vitimação múltipla feminina ao longo da vida: uma revisão sistemática da literatura / Lifetime multiple victimization among women:a systematic review of the literature

No contexto internacional assistimos a um crescente reconhecimento científico de que as mulheres, vítimas preferenciais de diferentes formas de vitimação, tendem a coo-experienciar outras formas de vitimação ao longo da vida. Neste artigo realizamos uma revisão sistemática da literatura existente sobre a vitimação múltipla de mulheres ao longo da vida. Conclui-se que predominam os estudos quantitativos de natureza transversal, retrospectivos e com designs descritivos correlacionais, centrados na vitimação múltipla interpessoal, nomeadamente, íntima. Os inventários de autorrelato e as entrevistas semiestruturadas são os instrumentos mais frequentes para avaliar o fenómeno, recorrendo, maioritariamente, a amostras por conveniência, recrutadas em contexto normativo (universitário) ou forense. A prevalência, embora elevada, oscila entre os estudos, reflexo das diferentes amostras e instrumentos utilizados. Quanto ao impacto, os estudos são consensuais na ideia de que quanto maior a vitimação cumulativa, maior o impacto (efeito dose). Finalmente, apresentamos os principais contributos e limitações que derivam desta revisão sistemática.

There is an increasing scientific recognition that women, primary victims of different forms of interpersonal victimization, tend to co-experience other forms of victimization throughout lifetime. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of publications on lifetime multiple victimization of women. We found predominantly cross-sectional studies, retrospective and correlational designs, directed to study multiple interpersonal violence, particularly intimate abuse. Self-report inventories and semi-structured interviews were the most commonly strategies used to evaluate the problem, and the most frequent sampling option was convenience samples, recruited in normative (university) or forensic contexts. The prevalence of multiple victimization reported by women, although high, varied between studies, reflecting the different samples and evaluation tools. In terms of impact, the studies were consensual on the idea that the greater the cumulative victimization the greater impact victimization would produce. Finally, we present the main contributions and limitations that draw from this systematic review.