43 research outputs found
Childhood Sexual Abuse and Early Timing of Puberty
AbstractPurposeThe purpose was to examine whether the timing of puberty, indexed by breast development and pubic hair development, was earlier for sexually abused females compared with a matched comparison group of nonabused females, controlling for key alternative confounds.MethodsA cohort of sexually abused females and matched comparisons was followed longitudinally at mean ages 11 through 20 years. Sexually abused participants (N = 84) were referred by protective services. Comparison participants (N = 89) were recruited to be comparable in terms of age, ethnicity, income level, family constellation, zip codes, and nonsexual trauma histories. Stage of puberty was indexed at each assessment by nurse and participant ratings of breast and pubic hair development using Tanner staging—the gold standard for assessing pubertal onset and development. Cumulative logit mixed models were used to estimate the association between sexual abuse status and the likelihood of transitioning from earlier to later Tanner stage categories controlling for covariates and potential confounds.ResultsSexual abuse was associated with earlier pubertal onset: 8 months earlier for breasts (odds ratio: 3.06, 95% CI: 1.11–8.49) and 12 months earlier for pubic hair (odds ratio: 3.49, 95% CI: 1.34–9.12). Alternative explanations including ethnicity, obesity, and biological father absence did not eradicate these findings.ConclusionsThis study confirms an association between exposure to childhood sexual abuse and earlier pubertal onset. Results highlight the possibility that, due to this early onset, sexual abuse survivors may be at increased risk for psychosocial difficulties, menstrual and fertility problems, and even reproductive cancers due to prolonged exposure to sex hormones
Morningness/eveningness and menstrual symptoms in adolescent females
Photograph of the exterior of the Cox Convention Center
Adolescent Peer Victimization and Internalizing Symptoms During Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Online and Offline Social Support
Developmental pathways from maltreatment to risk behavior: Sexual behavior as a catalyst
The Influence of Online-Only Friends on the Substance Use of Young Adults with a History of Childhood Maltreatment
Performance metrics for the three machine learning approaches.
Performance metrics for the three machine learning approaches.</p
Individual predictor variables (features), domains, and descriptives.
Individual predictor variables (features), domains, and descriptives.</p
Plot of individual predictors selected by model ranked by coefficient for a) Child Welfare and b) non-Child Welfare groups.
Plot of individual predictors selected by model ranked by coefficient for a) Child Welfare and b) non-Child Welfare groups.</p
Plot of individual predictors selected by model ranked by Permutation Feature Importance value for a) Child Welfare and b) non-Child Welfare groups.
Plot of individual predictors selected by model ranked by Permutation Feature Importance value for a) Child Welfare and b) non-Child Welfare groups.</p