The Prevalence of Coercive Sexual Experience Among Teenage Mothers

Abstract

This study examined the prevalence of coercive sexual experience in a population of teenage mothers. In total, 61% of the respondents reported such experiences; one-third had experienced unwanted sexual intercourse. The victims generally knew the perpetrators. Nearly 30% had been abused by a family member. Nonfamily perpetrators tended to be boyfriends, dates, and friends of the young mothers. The prevalence rates are roughly equivalent to those reported by Russell and by Wyatt.