Adolescent Risk Factors for Sexual Victimization

Abstract

Longitudinal data were used to examine riskfactors for sexual victimization among 237 young adult rural women. In this sample, 8% reported experiencing forced sex (i.e., physically violent experiences) and a separate 22% reported experiencing coerced sex(i.e., external psychological manipulation, substance-related coercion, or internal psychological pressure.) Women who had more educated mothers had a greater probability of reporting forced sex. In addition, mothers’ education moderated the relationship between individual riskfactors and the probability of reporting forced sex. For women with less educated mothers, higher frequency of sexual activity during adolescence was related to an increased probability of reporting forced sex. For women with more educated mothers, higher frequency of sexual activity was related to a decreased probability of reporting forced sex. Frequency of sexual activity during adolescence was also related to coerced sex, with higher frequency of sexual activity predicting a greater probability of reporting coerced sex.