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Jennifer A. Livingston - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Dangerous Liaisons: The Role of Hookups and Heavy Episodic Drinking in College Sexual Victimization.
Violence and victims, 2019Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Jennifer A. Livingston, Weijun WangAbstract:Heavy episodic drinking (HED) and hookups increase college women's vulnerability to Sexual Victimization. We examined whether the effect of HED on first year college Sexual Victimization severity was mediated via hookups, that is, casual Sexual encounters between individuals not in a relationship. We also tested the hypothesis that greater Sexual limit-setting would attenuate the positive effect of hookups on Sexual Victimization. Freshman women (N = 335) were recruited by e-mail to complete an online survey regarding their college drinking and Sexual experiences. The effect of HED frequency on Sexual Victimization was completely mediated via hookups. There was a significant indirect path from HED to Victimization via alcohol-involved hookups; the path through sober hookups was not significant. We found some support for the hypothesis that Sexual limit-setting reduced the impact of hookups on Sexual Victimization severity. Findings suggest the importance of targeting Sexual behavior, which frequently occurs in conjunction with drinking, as a way of preventing college Sexual Victimization.
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Sexual Victimization and Associated Risks Among Lesbian and BiSexual Women
Violence against women, 2013Co-Authors: Amy L. Hequembourg, Jennifer A. Livingston, Kathleen A. ParksAbstract:This study examines relationships among childhood Sexual abuse (CSA), risky alcohol use, and adult Sexual Victimization among biSexual and lesbian women. Half (51.2%) of women reported CSA and 71.2% reported adult Sexual Victimization. Perpetrators were generally male, and 56.4% of women's most recent adult Sexual Victimization incidents occurred after coming out. Regression results indicated that adult Sexual Victimization severity was associated with a biSexual identity, more severe CSA history, more lifetime Sexual partners, and higher alcohol severity scores. Compared to lesbians, biSexual women reported more severe adult Sexual Victimization experiences, greater reVictimization, riskier drinking patterns, and more lifetime male Sexual partners.
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Intergenerational transmission of Sexual Victimization vulnerability as mediated via parenting
Child abuse & neglect, 2011Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Joseph H. Hoffman, Jennifer A. LivingstonAbstract:Abstract Objectives Previous research suggests that women's early Sexual Victimization experiences may influence their parenting behaviors and increase the vulnerability of their children to being Sexually victimized. The current study considered whether mother's Sexual Victimization experiences, in childhood and after age 14, were associated with the Sexual Victimization experiences reported by their adolescent daughters, and if so, whether these effects were mediated via parenting behaviors. Methods The proposed model was examined using a community sample of 913 mothers and their college-bound daughters, recruited by telephone at the time of the daughter's high school graduation. Daughters reported on their experiences of adolescent Sexual Victimization and perceptions of mothers’ parenting in four domains: connectedness, communication effectiveness, monitoring, and approval of sex. Mothers provided self-reports of their lifetime experiences of Sexual Victimization. Results Consistent with hypotheses, mothers’ Victimization was positively associated with their daughters’ Victimization. The effect of mothers’ childhood Sexual abuse was direct, whereas the effect of mothers’ Victimization after age 14 was mediated via daughters’ perceptions of mothers’ monitoring and greater approval of adolescent Sexual activity. Comparison of the prevalence of specific Victimization experiences indicated that mothers were more likely to report forcible rape over their lifetimes; however, daughters were more likely to report unwanted contact and incapacitated rape. Conclusions Findings suggest that even in a highly functional community sample, mothers’ Sexual Victimization experiences are significantly associated with aspects of their parenting behavior and with their daughters’ own experiences of adolescent Sexual Victimization.
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alcohol and Sexual risk behaviors as mediators of the Sexual Victimization reVictimization relationship
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2010Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Joseph H. Hoffman, Jennifer A. LivingstonAbstract:Numerous studies demonstrate a strong relationship between Sexual Victimization and reVictimization. Women who are victimized Sexually, whether in childhood (Merrill et al., 1999), adolescence (Hines, 2007; Humphrey & White, 2000) or adulthood (Kilpatrick, Acierno, Resnick, Saunders, & Best, 1997) are at elevated risk of being victimized again. Although several possible explanations for this persistent finding have been offered, there have been few prospective examinations of the proposed mediational mechanisms and hence limited support for any of these models. The current longitudinal study was designed to address this gap by examining the indirect effect of adolescent Sexual Victimization on later Sexual Victimization, specifically focusing on risky alcohol use and Sexual behavior as potential mediating mechanisms. The empirical link between Victimization and reVictimization is robust and widely replicated across samples and ages but not well understood. Although empirical tests show a direct relationship, the actual relationship is much more likely to be indirect. That is, early Victimization is likely to result in consequences for the woman that increase her vulnerability to later assault. Several integrative reviews have considered a variety of possibilities to explain the robust Victimization – reVictimization relationship (see Breitenbecher, 2001; Gold, Sinclair, & Balge, 1999; Messman-Moore & Long, 2003; Polusny & Follette, 1995). One explanation is that victims have difficulty assessing or responding to risky situations, and these impaired responses to risky situations increase vulnerability to Sexual assault (see Gidycz, McNamara, & Edwards, 2006 for a review). Another explanation is that psychological trauma resulting from early Victimization, such as post-traumatic stress, mediates the relationship between initial and later Victimization (Hedtke et al., 2008; Risser, Hetzel-Riggin, Thomsen, & McCanne, 2006). Trauma symptoms, such as hyperarousal, may interfere with the ability to correctly recognize danger or may alert potential perpetrators to the woman's vulnerability (see Messman-Moore & Long, 2003). Another proposed mechanism involves self-medication of trauma symptoms through use of alcohol or drugs (see Stewart, Pihl, Conrod, & Dongier, 1998) or engaging in Sexual activity as a way of regulating negative affect (Briere, 2005). Both substance use and elevated Sexual activity may subsequently increase vulnerability to later Victimization. It is this mechanism that is the focus of the current investigation. Numerous studies demonstrate that childhood and adolescent Victimization are associated with increased substance use and abuse in adolescence and adulthood (Champion et al., 2004; Epstein, Saunders, Kilpatrick, & Resnick, 1998; Kendler et al., 2000; Kilpatrick, Acierno, Resnick, Best, & Schnurr, 2000; Nelson et al., 2002; Wilsnack, Vogeltanz, Klassen, & Harris, 1997; see Sartor, Agrawal, McCutcheon, Duncan, & Lynskey, 2008 for a review). In turn, women's substance use has been identified as a risk factor for subsequent Sexual Victimization (Mohler-Kuo, Dowdall, Koss, & Wechsler, 2004; Parks, Hsieh, Bradizza, & Romosz, 2008; Testa, VanZile-Tamsen, & Livingston, 2007). Increased vulnerability associated with alcohol use may stem from several potential mechanisms. First, acute intoxication impairs a women's ability to recognize Sexual assault risk while increasing willingness to engage in risk-enhancing behaviors (e.g., Testa, VanZile-Tamsen, Livingston, & Buddie, 2006). At higher levels of intoxication, incapacitation or unconsciousness can result, leaving the woman unable to resist unwanted Sexual advances (Kilpatrick, Resnick, Ruggierio, Conoscenti, & McCauley, 2007; Testa, Livingston, VanZile-Tamsen, & Frone, 2003). Among college students, rape while incapacitated is considerably more common than forcible rape (Mohler-Kuo et al, 2004). In addition, young people typically consume alcohol in social settings such as parties and bars where others are drinking (Single & Wortley, 1993). These settings, which include intoxicated males and females in a Sexually-laden context (see Norris, Nurius, & Dimeff, 1996) pose risks for Sexual Victimization independent of alcohol consumption (Copenhaver & Grauerholz, 1991; Parks & Zetes-Zanatta, 1999). Another risk behavior that has been associated with Sexual Victimization is increased Sexual activity. Numerous studies show that childhood Sexual abuse (CSA) survivors initiate sex earlier and have more Sexual partners than non-survivors (see Arriola, Louden, Doldren, & Fortenberry, 2005; Senn, Carey, & Vanable, 2008 for reviews). Prospective studies have implicated higher levels of consensual Sexual activity as a risk factor for later Sexual Victimization (Messman-Moore, Coates, Gaffey, & Johnson, 2008; Parks, Romosz, Bradizza, & Hsieh, 2008; Raghavan, Bogart, Elliott, Vestal, & Schuster, 2004). The increased vulnerability associated with having more Sexual partners may reflect the fact that with exposure to more men, there is a statistically increased chance of encountering an aggressive man. However, it may also reflect greater exposure to parties and other locations that facilitate Sexual activity or “hookups, ” just as the Sexual vulnerability associated with drinking alcohol may reflect risk associated with the settings in which alcohol is consumed. Flack et al. (2007) found that hookups, that is, brief Sexual encounters outside of intimate or dating relationships, were the most common context in which Sexual Victimization occurred in their sample of college women. Frequency of alcohol intoxication is strongly associated with hooking up (Paul, McManus, & Hayes, 2000). Although mediated models explaining the link between initial and later Sexual Victimization are often implied (see Filipas & Ullman, 2006; Siegel & Williams, 2003), there are few empirical tests of such models. Gidycz, Hanson and Layman (1995) tested, but failed to find that alcohol or Sexual partners mediated the relationship between prior and subsequent Victimization in a college sample. However, Orcutt, Cooper, and Garcia (2005) found that the strength of the relationship between prior and subsequent Victimization in a community sample was reduced when Sexual behavior was considered as a mediator. Substance use was not considered in this study. Thus, a primary goal of this study was to test a mediated model, whereby the relationship between adolescent Sexual Victimization and college Victimization is presumed to be mediated via two types of risky behaviors: Sexual and alcohol-related. The transition from high school to college is a particularly appropriate time to examine the mediating influences of risky behaviors on Sexual Victimization, given that the college setting, with its inherently greater freedoms, offers increased availability and opportunity to engage in risky behavior if one so desires (Fromme, Corbin, & Kruse, 2008). Accordingly, there are well-documented increases in alcohol consumption from high school to college (Schulenberg & Maggs, 2002; White et al., 2006) and some evidence that the likelihood of having sex with multiple partners increases during this transition as well (Fromme et al, 2008). Moreover, the first year of college is a particularly high risk time for Sexual Victimization relative to later college years (Humphrey & White, 2000). For college students, Sexual and alcohol-related risk behaviors are likely to be particularly important (and related) predictors of Sexual vulnerability given that heavy episodic drinking and “hookups” occur within the drinking contexts that also pose a risk for Sexual Victimization. Based on these research findings, we propose and test a prospective, mediated model of reVictimization among first year college students (see Figure 1). Consistent with much prior research (e.g., Humphrey & White, 2000), we hypothesize that adolescent Sexual Victimization will increase risk of experiencing Sexual Victimization during the first year of college. However, we also expect the Victimization-reVictimization relationship to be at least partially mediated by alcohol-related and Sexual risk behaviors in the first semester of college. Thus, we expect a significant path from high school Victimization to college risk behaviors and a significant path from college risk behaviors to college Victimization. The proposed model accounts for the expected positive association, at baseline, of adolescent Victimization and drinking and Sexual activity in the last year of high school. Moreover, the model accounts for the significant association of high school risk behaviors and college risk behaviors (e.g. Fromme et al, 2008; Sher & Rutledge, 2007), with high school HED and Sexual activity as additional mediators of the effects of adolescent Victimization on college risk exposure. Figure 1 Conceptual prospective model of first semester college risk behaviors as mediators of Sexual reVictimization during first year of college. T0 is the baseline at the end of senior year in high school; T1 is the end of the first fall semester in college; ...
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Alcohol Consumption and Women's Vulnerability to Sexual Victimization: Can Reducing Women's Drinking Prevent Rape?
Substance use & misuse, 2009Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Jennifer A. LivingstonAbstract:Before effective prevention interventions can be developed, it is necessary to identify the mechanisms that contribute to the targeted negative outcomes. A review of the literature on women's substance use and Sexual Victimization points to women's heavy episodic drinking as a proximal risk factor, particularly among college samples. At least half of Sexual Victimization incidents involve alcohol use and the majority of rapes of college women occur when the victim is too intoxicated to resist ("incapacitated rape"). Despite the importance of women's heavy episodic drinking as being a risk factor, existing rape prevention programs have rarely addressed women's alcohol use and have shown little success in reducing rates of Sexual Victimization. We argue that given the strength of the association between heavy episodic drinking and Sexual Victimization among young women, prevention programs targeting drinking may prove more efficacious than programs targeting Sexual vulnerability. Applications of existing drinking prevention strategies to reducing women's Sexual Victimization are discussed.
Maria Testa - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Dangerous Liaisons: The Role of Hookups and Heavy Episodic Drinking in College Sexual Victimization.
Violence and victims, 2019Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Jennifer A. Livingston, Weijun WangAbstract:Heavy episodic drinking (HED) and hookups increase college women's vulnerability to Sexual Victimization. We examined whether the effect of HED on first year college Sexual Victimization severity was mediated via hookups, that is, casual Sexual encounters between individuals not in a relationship. We also tested the hypothesis that greater Sexual limit-setting would attenuate the positive effect of hookups on Sexual Victimization. Freshman women (N = 335) were recruited by e-mail to complete an online survey regarding their college drinking and Sexual experiences. The effect of HED frequency on Sexual Victimization was completely mediated via hookups. There was a significant indirect path from HED to Victimization via alcohol-involved hookups; the path through sober hookups was not significant. We found some support for the hypothesis that Sexual limit-setting reduced the impact of hookups on Sexual Victimization severity. Findings suggest the importance of targeting Sexual behavior, which frequently occurs in conjunction with drinking, as a way of preventing college Sexual Victimization.
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Intergenerational transmission of Sexual Victimization vulnerability as mediated via parenting
Child abuse & neglect, 2011Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Joseph H. Hoffman, Jennifer A. LivingstonAbstract:Abstract Objectives Previous research suggests that women's early Sexual Victimization experiences may influence their parenting behaviors and increase the vulnerability of their children to being Sexually victimized. The current study considered whether mother's Sexual Victimization experiences, in childhood and after age 14, were associated with the Sexual Victimization experiences reported by their adolescent daughters, and if so, whether these effects were mediated via parenting behaviors. Methods The proposed model was examined using a community sample of 913 mothers and their college-bound daughters, recruited by telephone at the time of the daughter's high school graduation. Daughters reported on their experiences of adolescent Sexual Victimization and perceptions of mothers’ parenting in four domains: connectedness, communication effectiveness, monitoring, and approval of sex. Mothers provided self-reports of their lifetime experiences of Sexual Victimization. Results Consistent with hypotheses, mothers’ Victimization was positively associated with their daughters’ Victimization. The effect of mothers’ childhood Sexual abuse was direct, whereas the effect of mothers’ Victimization after age 14 was mediated via daughters’ perceptions of mothers’ monitoring and greater approval of adolescent Sexual activity. Comparison of the prevalence of specific Victimization experiences indicated that mothers were more likely to report forcible rape over their lifetimes; however, daughters were more likely to report unwanted contact and incapacitated rape. Conclusions Findings suggest that even in a highly functional community sample, mothers’ Sexual Victimization experiences are significantly associated with aspects of their parenting behavior and with their daughters’ own experiences of adolescent Sexual Victimization.
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alcohol and Sexual risk behaviors as mediators of the Sexual Victimization reVictimization relationship
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2010Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Joseph H. Hoffman, Jennifer A. LivingstonAbstract:Numerous studies demonstrate a strong relationship between Sexual Victimization and reVictimization. Women who are victimized Sexually, whether in childhood (Merrill et al., 1999), adolescence (Hines, 2007; Humphrey & White, 2000) or adulthood (Kilpatrick, Acierno, Resnick, Saunders, & Best, 1997) are at elevated risk of being victimized again. Although several possible explanations for this persistent finding have been offered, there have been few prospective examinations of the proposed mediational mechanisms and hence limited support for any of these models. The current longitudinal study was designed to address this gap by examining the indirect effect of adolescent Sexual Victimization on later Sexual Victimization, specifically focusing on risky alcohol use and Sexual behavior as potential mediating mechanisms. The empirical link between Victimization and reVictimization is robust and widely replicated across samples and ages but not well understood. Although empirical tests show a direct relationship, the actual relationship is much more likely to be indirect. That is, early Victimization is likely to result in consequences for the woman that increase her vulnerability to later assault. Several integrative reviews have considered a variety of possibilities to explain the robust Victimization – reVictimization relationship (see Breitenbecher, 2001; Gold, Sinclair, & Balge, 1999; Messman-Moore & Long, 2003; Polusny & Follette, 1995). One explanation is that victims have difficulty assessing or responding to risky situations, and these impaired responses to risky situations increase vulnerability to Sexual assault (see Gidycz, McNamara, & Edwards, 2006 for a review). Another explanation is that psychological trauma resulting from early Victimization, such as post-traumatic stress, mediates the relationship between initial and later Victimization (Hedtke et al., 2008; Risser, Hetzel-Riggin, Thomsen, & McCanne, 2006). Trauma symptoms, such as hyperarousal, may interfere with the ability to correctly recognize danger or may alert potential perpetrators to the woman's vulnerability (see Messman-Moore & Long, 2003). Another proposed mechanism involves self-medication of trauma symptoms through use of alcohol or drugs (see Stewart, Pihl, Conrod, & Dongier, 1998) or engaging in Sexual activity as a way of regulating negative affect (Briere, 2005). Both substance use and elevated Sexual activity may subsequently increase vulnerability to later Victimization. It is this mechanism that is the focus of the current investigation. Numerous studies demonstrate that childhood and adolescent Victimization are associated with increased substance use and abuse in adolescence and adulthood (Champion et al., 2004; Epstein, Saunders, Kilpatrick, & Resnick, 1998; Kendler et al., 2000; Kilpatrick, Acierno, Resnick, Best, & Schnurr, 2000; Nelson et al., 2002; Wilsnack, Vogeltanz, Klassen, & Harris, 1997; see Sartor, Agrawal, McCutcheon, Duncan, & Lynskey, 2008 for a review). In turn, women's substance use has been identified as a risk factor for subsequent Sexual Victimization (Mohler-Kuo, Dowdall, Koss, & Wechsler, 2004; Parks, Hsieh, Bradizza, & Romosz, 2008; Testa, VanZile-Tamsen, & Livingston, 2007). Increased vulnerability associated with alcohol use may stem from several potential mechanisms. First, acute intoxication impairs a women's ability to recognize Sexual assault risk while increasing willingness to engage in risk-enhancing behaviors (e.g., Testa, VanZile-Tamsen, Livingston, & Buddie, 2006). At higher levels of intoxication, incapacitation or unconsciousness can result, leaving the woman unable to resist unwanted Sexual advances (Kilpatrick, Resnick, Ruggierio, Conoscenti, & McCauley, 2007; Testa, Livingston, VanZile-Tamsen, & Frone, 2003). Among college students, rape while incapacitated is considerably more common than forcible rape (Mohler-Kuo et al, 2004). In addition, young people typically consume alcohol in social settings such as parties and bars where others are drinking (Single & Wortley, 1993). These settings, which include intoxicated males and females in a Sexually-laden context (see Norris, Nurius, & Dimeff, 1996) pose risks for Sexual Victimization independent of alcohol consumption (Copenhaver & Grauerholz, 1991; Parks & Zetes-Zanatta, 1999). Another risk behavior that has been associated with Sexual Victimization is increased Sexual activity. Numerous studies show that childhood Sexual abuse (CSA) survivors initiate sex earlier and have more Sexual partners than non-survivors (see Arriola, Louden, Doldren, & Fortenberry, 2005; Senn, Carey, & Vanable, 2008 for reviews). Prospective studies have implicated higher levels of consensual Sexual activity as a risk factor for later Sexual Victimization (Messman-Moore, Coates, Gaffey, & Johnson, 2008; Parks, Romosz, Bradizza, & Hsieh, 2008; Raghavan, Bogart, Elliott, Vestal, & Schuster, 2004). The increased vulnerability associated with having more Sexual partners may reflect the fact that with exposure to more men, there is a statistically increased chance of encountering an aggressive man. However, it may also reflect greater exposure to parties and other locations that facilitate Sexual activity or “hookups, ” just as the Sexual vulnerability associated with drinking alcohol may reflect risk associated with the settings in which alcohol is consumed. Flack et al. (2007) found that hookups, that is, brief Sexual encounters outside of intimate or dating relationships, were the most common context in which Sexual Victimization occurred in their sample of college women. Frequency of alcohol intoxication is strongly associated with hooking up (Paul, McManus, & Hayes, 2000). Although mediated models explaining the link between initial and later Sexual Victimization are often implied (see Filipas & Ullman, 2006; Siegel & Williams, 2003), there are few empirical tests of such models. Gidycz, Hanson and Layman (1995) tested, but failed to find that alcohol or Sexual partners mediated the relationship between prior and subsequent Victimization in a college sample. However, Orcutt, Cooper, and Garcia (2005) found that the strength of the relationship between prior and subsequent Victimization in a community sample was reduced when Sexual behavior was considered as a mediator. Substance use was not considered in this study. Thus, a primary goal of this study was to test a mediated model, whereby the relationship between adolescent Sexual Victimization and college Victimization is presumed to be mediated via two types of risky behaviors: Sexual and alcohol-related. The transition from high school to college is a particularly appropriate time to examine the mediating influences of risky behaviors on Sexual Victimization, given that the college setting, with its inherently greater freedoms, offers increased availability and opportunity to engage in risky behavior if one so desires (Fromme, Corbin, & Kruse, 2008). Accordingly, there are well-documented increases in alcohol consumption from high school to college (Schulenberg & Maggs, 2002; White et al., 2006) and some evidence that the likelihood of having sex with multiple partners increases during this transition as well (Fromme et al, 2008). Moreover, the first year of college is a particularly high risk time for Sexual Victimization relative to later college years (Humphrey & White, 2000). For college students, Sexual and alcohol-related risk behaviors are likely to be particularly important (and related) predictors of Sexual vulnerability given that heavy episodic drinking and “hookups” occur within the drinking contexts that also pose a risk for Sexual Victimization. Based on these research findings, we propose and test a prospective, mediated model of reVictimization among first year college students (see Figure 1). Consistent with much prior research (e.g., Humphrey & White, 2000), we hypothesize that adolescent Sexual Victimization will increase risk of experiencing Sexual Victimization during the first year of college. However, we also expect the Victimization-reVictimization relationship to be at least partially mediated by alcohol-related and Sexual risk behaviors in the first semester of college. Thus, we expect a significant path from high school Victimization to college risk behaviors and a significant path from college risk behaviors to college Victimization. The proposed model accounts for the expected positive association, at baseline, of adolescent Victimization and drinking and Sexual activity in the last year of high school. Moreover, the model accounts for the significant association of high school risk behaviors and college risk behaviors (e.g. Fromme et al, 2008; Sher & Rutledge, 2007), with high school HED and Sexual activity as additional mediators of the effects of adolescent Victimization on college risk exposure. Figure 1 Conceptual prospective model of first semester college risk behaviors as mediators of Sexual reVictimization during first year of college. T0 is the baseline at the end of senior year in high school; T1 is the end of the first fall semester in college; ...
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Alcohol Consumption and Women's Vulnerability to Sexual Victimization: Can Reducing Women's Drinking Prevent Rape?
Substance use & misuse, 2009Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Jennifer A. LivingstonAbstract:Before effective prevention interventions can be developed, it is necessary to identify the mechanisms that contribute to the targeted negative outcomes. A review of the literature on women's substance use and Sexual Victimization points to women's heavy episodic drinking as a proximal risk factor, particularly among college samples. At least half of Sexual Victimization incidents involve alcohol use and the majority of rapes of college women occur when the victim is too intoxicated to resist ("incapacitated rape"). Despite the importance of women's heavy episodic drinking as being a risk factor, existing rape prevention programs have rarely addressed women's alcohol use and have shown little success in reducing rates of Sexual Victimization. We argue that given the strength of the association between heavy episodic drinking and Sexual Victimization among young women, prevention programs targeting drinking may prove more efficacious than programs targeting Sexual vulnerability. Applications of existing drinking prevention strategies to reducing women's Sexual Victimization are discussed.
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Does Sexual Victimization Predict Subsequent Alcohol Consumption? A Prospective Study among a Community Sample of Women
Addictive behaviors, 2007Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Jennifer A. Livingston, Joseph H. HoffmanAbstract:Although rape and Sexual Victimization experiences have been hypothesized to contribute to subsequent heavy drinking and alcohol problems among women, little prospective evidence exists. The present prospective study examined whether Sexual Victimization contributes to subsequent heavy drinking among a community sample of women, 18-30 years of age (n=927). Using three waves of data, 12 months apart, we examined the impact of T1 Sexual Victimization on T2 heavy drinking, and of T2 Sexual Victimization on T3 heavy drinking. There were significant bivariate differences between Sexually victimized and non-victimized women on heavy drinking both concurrently and prospectively. However, after controlling for prior heavy drinking and demographic variables, most differences disappeared. We also tested the hypothesis that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms would mediate the relationship between T2 Sexual Victimization and T3 heavy drinking. Although T2 Sexual Victimization predicted T2 PTSD symptoms, PTSD did not contribute to subsequent heavy drinking. Findings suggest that heavy drinking is relatively stable over time and that Sexual Victimization does not make a substantial independent contribution to heavy drinking among women in the general population.
Ana Mari Cauce - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Risk Factors for Sexual Victimization Among Male and Female Homeless and Runaway Youth
Journal of interpersonal violence, 2004Co-Authors: Kimberly A Tyler, Danny R. Hoyt, Les B. Whitbeck, Ana Mari CauceAbstract:Risk factors associated with the likelihood of being Sexually victimized by a stranger or friend/acquaintance since being on the street was examined among 372 homeless and runaway youth. Young people were interviewed on the streets and in shelters by outreach workers using a systematic sampling strategy. Youth who engaged in more high-risk behaviors were expected to be at greater risk for Sexual Victimization by both known and unknown assailants. Results indicated that for females, running from home for the first time at an earlier age was associated with Sexual Victimization by both a stranger and friend/acquaintance. However, engaging in deviant subsistence strategies, survival sex, and grooming predicted being Sexually victimized by a friend/acquaintance. For males, survival sex and grooming predicted stranger Sexual Victimization, whereas Sexual orientation was associated with Sexual Victimization by a friend/acquaintance. Overall,35% of the sample had been Sexually victimized.
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The Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Later Sexual Victimization among Runaway Youth.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, 2001Co-Authors: Kimberly A Tyler, Danny R. Hoyt, Les B. Whitbeck, Ana Mari CauceAbstract:Path analysis was used to investigate the impact of childhood Sexual abuse on later Sexual Victimization among 372 homeless and runaway youth in Seattle. Young people were interviewed directly on the streets and in shelters by outreach workers in youth service agencies. High rates of both childhood Sexual abuse and street Sexual Victimization were reported, with females experiencing much greater rates compared with their male counterparts. Early Sexual abuse in the home increased the likelihood of later Sexual Victimization on the streets indirectly by increasing the amount of time at risk, deviant peer affiliations, participating in deviant subsistence strategies, and engaging in survival sex. These findings suggest that exposure to dysfunctional and disorganized homes place youth on trajectories for early independence. Subsequently, street life and participation in high-risk behaviors increases their probability of Sexual Victimization.
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The effects of a high-risk environment on the Sexual Victimization of homeless and runaway youth
Violence and victims, 2001Co-Authors: Kimberly A Tyler, Danny R. Hoyt, Les B. Whitbeck, Ana Mari CauceAbstract:Based on the structural-choice theory of Victimization, the current study examines the effects of a high-risk environment on the Sexual Victimization of 311 homeless and runaway youth. Results from logistic regression revealed that survival sex, gender, and physical appearance were significantly associated with Sexual Victimization. Results from a series of interactions also revealed that the effects of deviant behaviors on Sexual Victimization varied by gender and age. Although males and females engaged in similar activities, young women were more likely to be victims of Sexual assault. These findings suggest that engaging in high-risk behaviors predispose some people to greater risks but it is the combination of these behaviors with gender and/or age that determines who will become victimized. Language: en
Kimberly A Tyler - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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alcohol expectancy drinking behavior and Sexual Victimization among female and male college students
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2017Co-Authors: Kimberly A Tyler, Rachel M Schmitz, Scott A AdamsAbstract:College students have high rates of heavy drinking, and this dangerous behavior is strongly linked to Sexual Victimization. Although research has examined risk factors for Sexual assault, few studies have simultaneously studied the various pathways through which risks may affect Sexual assault and how these pathways may be uniquely different among females and males. As such, the current study uses path analyses to examine whether alcohol expectancies mediate the relationship between social factors (e.g., hooking up, amount friends drink) and drinking behavior and experiencing Sexual Victimization, and whether drinking behavior mediates the relationship between alcohol expectancies and Sexual Victimization among a college sample of 704 males and females from a large Midwestern university. For both females and males, Sexual Victimization was positively associated with child Sexual abuse, hooking up more often, and heavier drinking, whereas greater alcohol expectancies were associated with Sexual victimizati...
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A Comparison of Risk Factors for Sexual Victimization Among Gay, Lesbian, BiSexual, and HeteroSexual Homeless Young Adults
Violence and victims, 2008Co-Authors: Kimberly A TylerAbstract:Although high rates of Sexual Victimization have been reported among homeless youth, less is known about whether the risk factors vary for gay, lesbian, and biSexual youth compared to heteroSexual youth. Based on a sample of 172 homeless young adults ages 19 to 26, results revealed that depressive symptoms, prostitution, and having friends who traded sex were significantly associated with higher levels of Sexual Victimization. Gay, lesbian, and biSexual young adults experienced more Sexual Victimization compared to heteroSexual young adults. A test for interactions revealed that the effect of Sexual orientation on Sexual Victimization was moderated by trading sex and having friends who traded sex. Finally, there is support for partial mediation of the effects of Sexual abuse, neglect, and depressive symptoms on Sexual Victimization through other risk factors. Language: en
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Risk Factors for Sexual Victimization Among Male and Female Homeless and Runaway Youth
Journal of interpersonal violence, 2004Co-Authors: Kimberly A Tyler, Danny R. Hoyt, Les B. Whitbeck, Ana Mari CauceAbstract:Risk factors associated with the likelihood of being Sexually victimized by a stranger or friend/acquaintance since being on the street was examined among 372 homeless and runaway youth. Young people were interviewed on the streets and in shelters by outreach workers using a systematic sampling strategy. Youth who engaged in more high-risk behaviors were expected to be at greater risk for Sexual Victimization by both known and unknown assailants. Results indicated that for females, running from home for the first time at an earlier age was associated with Sexual Victimization by both a stranger and friend/acquaintance. However, engaging in deviant subsistence strategies, survival sex, and grooming predicted being Sexually victimized by a friend/acquaintance. For males, survival sex and grooming predicted stranger Sexual Victimization, whereas Sexual orientation was associated with Sexual Victimization by a friend/acquaintance. Overall,35% of the sample had been Sexually victimized.
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The Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Later Sexual Victimization among Runaway Youth.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, 2001Co-Authors: Kimberly A Tyler, Danny R. Hoyt, Les B. Whitbeck, Ana Mari CauceAbstract:Path analysis was used to investigate the impact of childhood Sexual abuse on later Sexual Victimization among 372 homeless and runaway youth in Seattle. Young people were interviewed directly on the streets and in shelters by outreach workers in youth service agencies. High rates of both childhood Sexual abuse and street Sexual Victimization were reported, with females experiencing much greater rates compared with their male counterparts. Early Sexual abuse in the home increased the likelihood of later Sexual Victimization on the streets indirectly by increasing the amount of time at risk, deviant peer affiliations, participating in deviant subsistence strategies, and engaging in survival sex. These findings suggest that exposure to dysfunctional and disorganized homes place youth on trajectories for early independence. Subsequently, street life and participation in high-risk behaviors increases their probability of Sexual Victimization.
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The effects of a high-risk environment on the Sexual Victimization of homeless and runaway youth
Violence and victims, 2001Co-Authors: Kimberly A Tyler, Danny R. Hoyt, Les B. Whitbeck, Ana Mari CauceAbstract:Based on the structural-choice theory of Victimization, the current study examines the effects of a high-risk environment on the Sexual Victimization of 311 homeless and runaway youth. Results from logistic regression revealed that survival sex, gender, and physical appearance were significantly associated with Sexual Victimization. Results from a series of interactions also revealed that the effects of deviant behaviors on Sexual Victimization varied by gender and age. Although males and females engaged in similar activities, young women were more likely to be victims of Sexual assault. These findings suggest that engaging in high-risk behaviors predispose some people to greater risks but it is the combination of these behaviors with gender and/or age that determines who will become victimized. Language: en
Joseph H. Hoffman - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Intergenerational transmission of Sexual Victimization vulnerability as mediated via parenting
Child abuse & neglect, 2011Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Joseph H. Hoffman, Jennifer A. LivingstonAbstract:Abstract Objectives Previous research suggests that women's early Sexual Victimization experiences may influence their parenting behaviors and increase the vulnerability of their children to being Sexually victimized. The current study considered whether mother's Sexual Victimization experiences, in childhood and after age 14, were associated with the Sexual Victimization experiences reported by their adolescent daughters, and if so, whether these effects were mediated via parenting behaviors. Methods The proposed model was examined using a community sample of 913 mothers and their college-bound daughters, recruited by telephone at the time of the daughter's high school graduation. Daughters reported on their experiences of adolescent Sexual Victimization and perceptions of mothers’ parenting in four domains: connectedness, communication effectiveness, monitoring, and approval of sex. Mothers provided self-reports of their lifetime experiences of Sexual Victimization. Results Consistent with hypotheses, mothers’ Victimization was positively associated with their daughters’ Victimization. The effect of mothers’ childhood Sexual abuse was direct, whereas the effect of mothers’ Victimization after age 14 was mediated via daughters’ perceptions of mothers’ monitoring and greater approval of adolescent Sexual activity. Comparison of the prevalence of specific Victimization experiences indicated that mothers were more likely to report forcible rape over their lifetimes; however, daughters were more likely to report unwanted contact and incapacitated rape. Conclusions Findings suggest that even in a highly functional community sample, mothers’ Sexual Victimization experiences are significantly associated with aspects of their parenting behavior and with their daughters’ own experiences of adolescent Sexual Victimization.
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alcohol and Sexual risk behaviors as mediators of the Sexual Victimization reVictimization relationship
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2010Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Joseph H. Hoffman, Jennifer A. LivingstonAbstract:Numerous studies demonstrate a strong relationship between Sexual Victimization and reVictimization. Women who are victimized Sexually, whether in childhood (Merrill et al., 1999), adolescence (Hines, 2007; Humphrey & White, 2000) or adulthood (Kilpatrick, Acierno, Resnick, Saunders, & Best, 1997) are at elevated risk of being victimized again. Although several possible explanations for this persistent finding have been offered, there have been few prospective examinations of the proposed mediational mechanisms and hence limited support for any of these models. The current longitudinal study was designed to address this gap by examining the indirect effect of adolescent Sexual Victimization on later Sexual Victimization, specifically focusing on risky alcohol use and Sexual behavior as potential mediating mechanisms. The empirical link between Victimization and reVictimization is robust and widely replicated across samples and ages but not well understood. Although empirical tests show a direct relationship, the actual relationship is much more likely to be indirect. That is, early Victimization is likely to result in consequences for the woman that increase her vulnerability to later assault. Several integrative reviews have considered a variety of possibilities to explain the robust Victimization – reVictimization relationship (see Breitenbecher, 2001; Gold, Sinclair, & Balge, 1999; Messman-Moore & Long, 2003; Polusny & Follette, 1995). One explanation is that victims have difficulty assessing or responding to risky situations, and these impaired responses to risky situations increase vulnerability to Sexual assault (see Gidycz, McNamara, & Edwards, 2006 for a review). Another explanation is that psychological trauma resulting from early Victimization, such as post-traumatic stress, mediates the relationship between initial and later Victimization (Hedtke et al., 2008; Risser, Hetzel-Riggin, Thomsen, & McCanne, 2006). Trauma symptoms, such as hyperarousal, may interfere with the ability to correctly recognize danger or may alert potential perpetrators to the woman's vulnerability (see Messman-Moore & Long, 2003). Another proposed mechanism involves self-medication of trauma symptoms through use of alcohol or drugs (see Stewart, Pihl, Conrod, & Dongier, 1998) or engaging in Sexual activity as a way of regulating negative affect (Briere, 2005). Both substance use and elevated Sexual activity may subsequently increase vulnerability to later Victimization. It is this mechanism that is the focus of the current investigation. Numerous studies demonstrate that childhood and adolescent Victimization are associated with increased substance use and abuse in adolescence and adulthood (Champion et al., 2004; Epstein, Saunders, Kilpatrick, & Resnick, 1998; Kendler et al., 2000; Kilpatrick, Acierno, Resnick, Best, & Schnurr, 2000; Nelson et al., 2002; Wilsnack, Vogeltanz, Klassen, & Harris, 1997; see Sartor, Agrawal, McCutcheon, Duncan, & Lynskey, 2008 for a review). In turn, women's substance use has been identified as a risk factor for subsequent Sexual Victimization (Mohler-Kuo, Dowdall, Koss, & Wechsler, 2004; Parks, Hsieh, Bradizza, & Romosz, 2008; Testa, VanZile-Tamsen, & Livingston, 2007). Increased vulnerability associated with alcohol use may stem from several potential mechanisms. First, acute intoxication impairs a women's ability to recognize Sexual assault risk while increasing willingness to engage in risk-enhancing behaviors (e.g., Testa, VanZile-Tamsen, Livingston, & Buddie, 2006). At higher levels of intoxication, incapacitation or unconsciousness can result, leaving the woman unable to resist unwanted Sexual advances (Kilpatrick, Resnick, Ruggierio, Conoscenti, & McCauley, 2007; Testa, Livingston, VanZile-Tamsen, & Frone, 2003). Among college students, rape while incapacitated is considerably more common than forcible rape (Mohler-Kuo et al, 2004). In addition, young people typically consume alcohol in social settings such as parties and bars where others are drinking (Single & Wortley, 1993). These settings, which include intoxicated males and females in a Sexually-laden context (see Norris, Nurius, & Dimeff, 1996) pose risks for Sexual Victimization independent of alcohol consumption (Copenhaver & Grauerholz, 1991; Parks & Zetes-Zanatta, 1999). Another risk behavior that has been associated with Sexual Victimization is increased Sexual activity. Numerous studies show that childhood Sexual abuse (CSA) survivors initiate sex earlier and have more Sexual partners than non-survivors (see Arriola, Louden, Doldren, & Fortenberry, 2005; Senn, Carey, & Vanable, 2008 for reviews). Prospective studies have implicated higher levels of consensual Sexual activity as a risk factor for later Sexual Victimization (Messman-Moore, Coates, Gaffey, & Johnson, 2008; Parks, Romosz, Bradizza, & Hsieh, 2008; Raghavan, Bogart, Elliott, Vestal, & Schuster, 2004). The increased vulnerability associated with having more Sexual partners may reflect the fact that with exposure to more men, there is a statistically increased chance of encountering an aggressive man. However, it may also reflect greater exposure to parties and other locations that facilitate Sexual activity or “hookups, ” just as the Sexual vulnerability associated with drinking alcohol may reflect risk associated with the settings in which alcohol is consumed. Flack et al. (2007) found that hookups, that is, brief Sexual encounters outside of intimate or dating relationships, were the most common context in which Sexual Victimization occurred in their sample of college women. Frequency of alcohol intoxication is strongly associated with hooking up (Paul, McManus, & Hayes, 2000). Although mediated models explaining the link between initial and later Sexual Victimization are often implied (see Filipas & Ullman, 2006; Siegel & Williams, 2003), there are few empirical tests of such models. Gidycz, Hanson and Layman (1995) tested, but failed to find that alcohol or Sexual partners mediated the relationship between prior and subsequent Victimization in a college sample. However, Orcutt, Cooper, and Garcia (2005) found that the strength of the relationship between prior and subsequent Victimization in a community sample was reduced when Sexual behavior was considered as a mediator. Substance use was not considered in this study. Thus, a primary goal of this study was to test a mediated model, whereby the relationship between adolescent Sexual Victimization and college Victimization is presumed to be mediated via two types of risky behaviors: Sexual and alcohol-related. The transition from high school to college is a particularly appropriate time to examine the mediating influences of risky behaviors on Sexual Victimization, given that the college setting, with its inherently greater freedoms, offers increased availability and opportunity to engage in risky behavior if one so desires (Fromme, Corbin, & Kruse, 2008). Accordingly, there are well-documented increases in alcohol consumption from high school to college (Schulenberg & Maggs, 2002; White et al., 2006) and some evidence that the likelihood of having sex with multiple partners increases during this transition as well (Fromme et al, 2008). Moreover, the first year of college is a particularly high risk time for Sexual Victimization relative to later college years (Humphrey & White, 2000). For college students, Sexual and alcohol-related risk behaviors are likely to be particularly important (and related) predictors of Sexual vulnerability given that heavy episodic drinking and “hookups” occur within the drinking contexts that also pose a risk for Sexual Victimization. Based on these research findings, we propose and test a prospective, mediated model of reVictimization among first year college students (see Figure 1). Consistent with much prior research (e.g., Humphrey & White, 2000), we hypothesize that adolescent Sexual Victimization will increase risk of experiencing Sexual Victimization during the first year of college. However, we also expect the Victimization-reVictimization relationship to be at least partially mediated by alcohol-related and Sexual risk behaviors in the first semester of college. Thus, we expect a significant path from high school Victimization to college risk behaviors and a significant path from college risk behaviors to college Victimization. The proposed model accounts for the expected positive association, at baseline, of adolescent Victimization and drinking and Sexual activity in the last year of high school. Moreover, the model accounts for the significant association of high school risk behaviors and college risk behaviors (e.g. Fromme et al, 2008; Sher & Rutledge, 2007), with high school HED and Sexual activity as additional mediators of the effects of adolescent Victimization on college risk exposure. Figure 1 Conceptual prospective model of first semester college risk behaviors as mediators of Sexual reVictimization during first year of college. T0 is the baseline at the end of senior year in high school; T1 is the end of the first fall semester in college; ...
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Does Sexual Victimization Predict Subsequent Alcohol Consumption? A Prospective Study among a Community Sample of Women
Addictive behaviors, 2007Co-Authors: Maria Testa, Jennifer A. Livingston, Joseph H. HoffmanAbstract:Although rape and Sexual Victimization experiences have been hypothesized to contribute to subsequent heavy drinking and alcohol problems among women, little prospective evidence exists. The present prospective study examined whether Sexual Victimization contributes to subsequent heavy drinking among a community sample of women, 18-30 years of age (n=927). Using three waves of data, 12 months apart, we examined the impact of T1 Sexual Victimization on T2 heavy drinking, and of T2 Sexual Victimization on T3 heavy drinking. There were significant bivariate differences between Sexually victimized and non-victimized women on heavy drinking both concurrently and prospectively. However, after controlling for prior heavy drinking and demographic variables, most differences disappeared. We also tested the hypothesis that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms would mediate the relationship between T2 Sexual Victimization and T3 heavy drinking. Although T2 Sexual Victimization predicted T2 PTSD symptoms, PTSD did not contribute to subsequent heavy drinking. Findings suggest that heavy drinking is relatively stable over time and that Sexual Victimization does not make a substantial independent contribution to heavy drinking among women in the general population.
