Psychology, Department of
Date of this Version
November 2002
Abstract
Longitudinal data were used to examine risk factors 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 risk factors 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.
Comments
Published in Journal of Adolescent Research 17:6 (November 2002), pp. 586–603. DOI: 10.1177/074355802237465 Copyright © 2002 Sage Publications. Used by permission. http://jar.sagepub.com/