Victimization and Sexual Risk-Taking in a Diverse Sample of Serious Adolescent Offenders

• In Event: Noncriminal Life Outcomes of At-Risk Youth

Abstract

A large body of literature has focused on the predictors of sexual risk-taking behavior across the life course. However, little is known about the effect of victimization when it occurs in multiple developmental stages, and even less is known about the temporal aspects of the victimization-sexual risk-taking association. The present study refers to a sample of 1,354 serious juvenile offenders to examine the cumulative, short-, and long-term effects of victimization on a range of sexual risk-taking behaviors in adolescence and adulthood. The preventative implications of these findings are discussed.

Author

• Matthew Larson, Wayne State University