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The Impact of Multiple Types of Child Maltreatment on Subsequent Risk Behaviors Among Women During the Transition from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

  • Empirical Research
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how different types of child maltreatment, independently and collectively, impact a wide range of risk behaviors that fall into three domains: sexual risk behaviors, delinquency, and suicidality. Cumulative classification and Expanded Hierarchical Type (EHT) classification approaches were used to categorize various types of maltreatment. Data were derived from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Our sample consisted of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian females ages 18 to 27 (n = 7,576). Experiencing different kinds of maltreatment during childhood led to an extensive range of risk behaviors within the three identified domains. Women experiencing sexual abuse plus other maltreatment types had the poorest outcomes in all three domains. These findings illustrate that it may no longer be appropriate to assume that all types of maltreatment are equivalent in their potential contribution to negative developmental sequelae.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grant 1K01 MH 086366-01A1, Mentored Research Scientist Developmental Grant, from the National Institute of Mental Health. Authors would like to acknowledge Elizabeth Anne Porter and Dr. Maryann Amodeo for their valuable comments and suggestions for this paper. This research uses data from Add Health, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by grant P01-HD31921 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. Persons interested in obtaining data files from Add Health should refer to www.cpc.unc.edu/addhealth/contract.html or contact Add Health, Carolina Population Center, 123 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516-2524.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Hyeouk Chris Hahm & Michael J. Van Wert

  2. Department of Psychology, Brandies University, Waltham, MA, USA

    Yoona Lee

  3. School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Al Ozonoff

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  1. Hyeouk Chris Hahm
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  2. Yoona Lee
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  3. Al Ozonoff
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  4. Michael J. Van Wert
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Correspondence to Hyeouk Chris Hahm.

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Hahm, H.C., Lee, Y., Ozonoff, A. et al. The Impact of Multiple Types of Child Maltreatment on Subsequent Risk Behaviors Among Women During the Transition from Adolescence to Young Adulthood. J Youth Adolescence 39, 528–540 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9490-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9490-0

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