Sexual violence in young men and women in Chile: Results from a 2005 survey of university students Violencia sexual en hombres y mujeres jóvenes en Chile: Resultados de una encuesta (año 2005) a estudiantes universitarios

Background: Experiences of sexual violence in adolescence and young adulthood have received little attention in Chilean public health research and practice. Aim: To describe the prevalence and contexts of sexual violence victimization in a sample of university students in Chile. Material and Methods: A self-administered, quantitative survey including items on sexual violence was completed by 484 female and 466 male students at a public university in Chile in 2005. Results: Thirty-one percent of women and 21% of men reported having experienced at least one incident of sexual violence since age 14; the corresponding percentages for the past 12 months were 17% and 12%, respectively. The perpetrators were identified predominantly as an acquaintance; another important fraction corresponded to a partner or a date. Alcohol or other substances were involved in most cases. Among students who indicated having been assaulted, the incident was reported to the police by none of the men and 2% of w

Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Predicts Intimate Partner Victimization in Young Women

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with interpersonal dysfunction during childhood and adolescence, yet little is known about the romantic relationships of young women with childhood ADHD. In the present study, we draw from a longitudinal sample of girls followed prospectively into young adulthood, comparing those with (n = 114) and without (n = 79; comparisons) childhood ADHD in terms of their risk for physical victimization by an intimate partner (physical IPV; e.g., slapping, punching) by 17–24 years of age. We examined ADHD both diagnostically and dimensionally, at the same time establishing reliable indicators of young adult physical IPV. Externalizing and internalizing problems, and academic achievement during adolescence, were tested as potential mediators. Overall, participants with a childhood diagnosis of ADHD experienced more physical IPV than did comparisons (30.7% vs. 6.3%). In parallel, IPV was associated with higher levels of childhood ADHD symptomatology (d = .73). Young women with persistent ADHD stood the highest risk of experiencing IPV (37.3%), followed by those with transient ADHD (19.0%) and those never-diagnosed (5.9%). Academic achievement measured during adolescence was a significant partial mediator of the childhood ADHD symptomatology-young adult IPV relationship, even with control of sociodemographic, psychiatric, and cognitive factors, including childhood reading and math disorders. Findings indicate that in young women, childhood ADHD is a specific and important predictor of physically violent victimization in their intimate relationships. This vulnerable population requires IPV prevention and intervention, with academic empowerment as a key target