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Adolescent girls who had been sexually abused were more likely than those with no history of abuse to report having had intercourse before age 15, not using contraception at last intercourse and having had more than one sexual partner, a northwest state survey shows. Sexual abuse is strongly linked to teenage pregnancy primarily through the contribution of abuse to these sexual risk-taking behaviors, according to a new study, "Adolescent Pregnancy and Sexual Risk-Taking Among Sexually Abused Girls," by Jacqueline Stock of Battelle Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation, Seattle, and Michelle Bell, Debra Boyer and Frederick Connell of the University of Washington, Seattle.
Based on the self-reported experience of 3,128 young women in eighth, 10th and 12th grades in a 1992 Washington State school survey, the study found that overall, 23% of adolescent girls had been sexually abused (with or without physical abuse). Eighteen percent of eighth-grade girls had been sexually abused; the proportion increased to 24% among 10th graders and 28% among 12th graders. (Note: Sexual abuse was defined in the study as "when someone in your family or someone else touches you in a sexual way in a place you did not want to be touched, or does something to you sexually which they shouldn't have done.")
The study is published in the September/October 1997 issue of The Alan Guttmacher Institute's peer-reviewed, professional journal, Family Planning Perspectives. It goes beyond previous research in exploring the paths by which sexual abuse at young ages leads to teenage pregnancy, by comparing the pregnancy experiences of girls who have been sexually and physically abused with those of girls with no history of abuse.
The analysis examines links between reported sexual abuse and a young woman's parental supervision; number of school and sports activities; frequency of missing school; current grades and their importance to her; plans to attend college; thoughts of dropping out of school; body image; sexual experience; ethnicity; age at first intercourse; number of sexual partners; usage of birth control during last intercourse; and thoughts of suicide or attempts to commit suicide.
Girls who had been sexually abused were more likely to report: a lack of parental supervision; a history of physical abuse; missing a lot of school; less involvement in extracurricular activities and lower grades than girls with no history of abuse. They were also more likely to consider grades unimportant, to have thoughts of dropping out, and to report that they definitely or probably would not go to college. Alcohol and drug use were also linked with sexual abuse, as were having thought about or attempted suicide and having a poor body image.
The authors comment on the findings: "Adolescent pregnancy is a multidimensional public health problem. Therefore, successful preventive strategies must address its many, complex aspects, including the important role of sexual abuse. Policy directives at the national level must set the stage for recognizing the costly consequences of sexual abuse."
A related study, "Sexual Abuse History and Number of Sex Partners Among Female Adolescents," by Tom Luster, Michigan State University, and Stephen Small, University of Wisconsin at Madison, found that teenagers with a history of sexual abuse are more likely to have more sexual partners than other teenagers. Based on a survey completed in 1996 of nearly 11,000 adolescent girls in grades 7-12 in one Midwestern state, this study found that those who had also experienced physical abuse were at further increased risk of having had multiple sexual partners. (Note: Sexual abuse in this study was defined as when someone in your family or another person does sexual things to you or makes you do sexual things to them that you don't want to do.")
The study also found that regardless of sexual abuse history, adolescent girls whose activities were closely monitored by their parents, who received high levels of parental support and whose parents disapproved of teenagers having sex had fewer sexual partners than other teenagers. In addition, those who had experienced sexual abuse seemed to benefit from a supportive family environment, particularly in its ability to mitigate the negative consequences linked to abuse.
The anonymous, self-reported questionnaire on which the study was based assessed a variety of teenagers' beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. The purpose of the study was to provide information that could be used to guide program development and local policy decisions and to educate parents and other community members about the needs, interests and behavior of local youths.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute is a non-profit organization for reproductive health research, policy analysis and public education, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C.
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