Links between sisters' sexual and dating victimization: The roles of neighborhood crime and parental controls.

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which a sister’s prior sexual and dating victimization is a risk factor for young women being similarly victimized and the possible factors underlying a co-occurrence. The sample involved 122 young adult Latina or African American sister pairs (244 women; ages 16–25) who resided in low-income, urban neighborhoods. Results indicated that women whose sisters had been victimized had increased risk of victimization even after controlling for neighborhood crime, parental controls, age and race–ethnicity (odds ratios were 4.0 for unwanted touching, 6.2 for a forced sex act, and 16.7 for dating violence). In high-crime neighborhoods, the presence of two adult parent figures in the home was associated with women’s reduced likelihood of unwanted touching, and mothers’ high monitoring during adolescence was associated with women’s lower risk of dating aggression. Survival analysis results showed that the risk period of a second sister being victimized lasts between 7 and 10 years after a first sister’s victimization. The prevention implications of study findings are discussed.

Neighborhood Factors and Dating Violence Among Youth

“…To assess DV, five studies used modified versions of the Conflict Tactics Scales, 8,38,40,43,48 four used the Safe Dates Scale, 6,37,39,49 and nine used one- or two-item queries about aggressive acts. 9,34–36,42,44–47 The remaining two studies used the Abusive Behavior Inventory 41 and the Abuse Assessment Screening Tool. 20 Eleven studies examined demographic and structural characteristics, 8,20,37,38,43–49 12 examined neighborhood disorder, 6,8,9,20,35,36,39–43,49 and eight examined social disorganization.…”

“…9,34–36,42,44–47 The remaining two studies used the Abusive Behavior Inventory 41 and the Abuse Assessment Screening Tool. 20 Eleven studies examined demographic and structural characteristics, 8,20,37,38,43–49 12 examined neighborhood disorder, 6,8,9,20,35,36,39–43,49 and eight examined social disorganization. 6,8,9,34,35,43,48,49 …”

“…In all of those studies, authors used multiple items to inquire about perceived disorder. 6,8,9,35,36,39–43,49 No modal index was used, and authors used different terms and concepts for neighborhood disorder, including “community violence” and “deviant behavior.”…”

Predicting the Emergence of Sexual Violence in Adolescence

“…At the family level, a lack of parental monitoring is implicated, at least in terms of dating aggression among females living in high-crime communities (East, Chien, Adams, Hokoda, & Maier, 2010), as is exposure to conflict between parents (Vagi et al, 2013; Ybarra, Mitchell, Hamburger, Diener-West, & Leaf, 2011). A poor emotional bond between caregiver and child is also associated with sexually aggressive behavior (Ybarra et al, 2011).…”

Risk and Protective Factors for Sexual and Dating Violence Victimization: A Longitudinal, Prospective Study of Latino and African American Adolescents

“…Others have suggested that parents’ attitudinal conventionality also represents a social control, wherein parents’ conservative attitudes set a standard of what constitutes allowable and tolerated behavior in their children (Jessor, 1998). Indeed, attentive parental monitoring has been linked with adolescents’ lesser likelihood of dating violence victimization (Brooks-Russell et al, 2013; Chapple, 2003; Foshee et al, 2004), and the presence of two adult parental figures in the home, presumably an index of parental monitoring and supervision, has also been associated with young adult women’s reduced likelihood of sexual (East, Chien, Adams, Hokoda, & Maier, 2010) and dating violence victimization (Gover, 2004; Halpern et al, 2009). …”