Citation

Smith DK, Leve LD, Chamberlain P. Child Maltreat. 2006; 11(4): 346-353.

Affiliation

Oregon Social Learning Center, Eugene, OR, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077559506291950

PMID

17043319

PMCID

PMC1904477

Abstract

Several studies have highlighted high levels of risk for girls who have been exposed to traumatic experiences, but little is known about the exact relationship between traumatic experiences and problems with delinquency and health-risking sexual behavior (e.g., precipitory and/or exacerbatory roles). However, numerous short- and long-term detrimental effects have been linked to trauma, delinquency, and health-risking sexual behavior. The utility of diagnostic and experiential trauma measures in predicting the greatest risk for poor outcomes for delinquent girls was examined in this study. Results indicate that the experiential measures of trauma (cumulative and composite trauma scores) significantly predicted adolescent offending and adolescent health-risking sexual behavior, whereas the diagnostic measures of trauma (full and partial diagnostic criteria) did not.

Language: en