No abstract

Latinas are nearly 3 times more likely to acquire AIDS than other women in the United States. It is critical to understand this vulnerability and to identify predictors of risk. Structural equation models were used to test predictors, mediators (including components of the health belief model), and sex-related outcomes and behavior. Interview data were collected from a random, cross-sectional community sample of 227 sexually active Latinas (M age = 32 years). Acculturation was associated with higher HIV-related risks within primary relationships. Older Latinas were less likely than younger Latinas to make behavior changes or use barrier methods of contraception to prevent HIV, and they had higher rates of unintended pregnancies. Marriage was related to greater relationship risk and less behavior change. Theoretical models must account for ethnicity, race, and culture to understand better unwanted sexual outcomes for Latinas, including HIV risks. Strategies are needed that specifically address these issues in HIV prevention and counseling programs.

This study examined the prevalence and circumstances of child sexual abuse in a community sample of Latina women, 18 to 50 years of age. Chi-square tests of independence and t-test procedures were used to assess the prevalence, characteristics of the victim, assault, perpetrator, disclosure, and long-term effects. One in three Latina women reported incidents of sexual abuse, regardless of acculturation or citizenship status. More than one third of the women also experienced revictimization, with more than 80% of initial incidents occurring from the age of 7 years. The majority of the experiences occurred in private locations, by young male perpetrators, known to the victim. Four women were forced to marry perpetrators of their abuse. Treatment implications and community-based interventions for Latina survivors of child sexual abuse are discussed.

A history of maltreatment during childhood (e.g., physical and sexual abuse, neglect) can threaten the fundamental human need to form and maintain relationships across development, which ensure safety and security. Furthermore, parental maltreatment history presents considerable risk for the emergence of disrupted parenting behaviors (i.e., contradictory communication, sexualized/role-reversed behavior, disorientation, intrusiveness/negativity, and severe withdrawal), which in turn are associated with children’s social-emotional development. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether experiences of childhood maltreatment during pregnancy can predict risk for disrupted parenting behavior before the birth of the child. Given the inherent variability in parenting behaviors, we were interested in how different types or combinations of experiences of maltreatment during childhood are associated with later parenting behaviors. Data were drawn from 120 women from a longitudinal study that spanned from the third trimester of pregnancy through 3-year postpartum. In the current study, mothers’ experiences of childhood maltreatment were assessed during pregnancy, and disrupted parenting behaviors were coded from videotaped mother–infant interactions 1-year postpartum. Four profiles of childhood maltreatment were identified using latent profile analysis: low exposure, high exposure, high sexual maltreatment, and high physical and emotional maltreatment. Results revealed that high exposure to multiple types of childhood maltreatment most strongly predicted later disrupted parenting behavior. Women with multiple exposures to different types of maltreatment during childhood may require more intense intervention during pregnancy to prevent risk for the development of disrupted parenting behavior.

Investigations of alcohol use in relation to cyber dating abuse (CDA) remain underdeveloped relative to alcohol-related face-to-face dating abuse research. A critical step toward advancing this area of research would include examining the applicability of alcohol-related partner abuse models to CDA perpetration. Existing models of alcohol-related partner abuse suggested that alcohol and partner abuse are more likely to co-occur in the presence of aggressogenic distal traits. We propose that this model may extend to CDA perpetration. Toward this end, the present study collected cross-sectional data from college students ( N = 258; 56.2% male) to investigate whether trait romantic jealousy moderated the association between alcohol problems and CDA perpetration, controlling for face-to-face dating abuse perpetration. We hypothesized that alcohol problems would positively relate to CDA perpetration among college students with high, but not low, romantic jealousy. We explored whether the interactive effect varied by sex. Results revealed a significant three-way interaction; the moderating role of romantic jealousy in the relation between alcohol problems and CDA perpetration varied by sex. Alcohol problems positively related to CDA perpetration for women with high, but not low, romantic jealousy. Alcohol problems did not relate to CDA perpetration regardless of men’s level of romantic jealousy. These preliminary results suggested that alcohol-related partner abuse models may be useful for conceptualizing CDA perpetration and identifying CDA intervention components.