Physical Abuse, Sexual Victimization and Illicit Drug Use: Replication of a Structural Analysis Among a New Sample of High Risk Youths

• NCJ Number: 114900
• Author(s): R Dembo; L Williams; E Berry; E D Wish; L: La Voie; A Getreau; J Schmeidler; M Washburn
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 43 pages
• Grant Number(s): 86-IJ-CX-0050
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Mounting evidence of the serious adverse consequences of childhood physical and sexual abuse, including lowered self-esteem and a greater incidence of illicit drug use, has important implications for public health officials and care providers.

Abstract

This study, based on a 1986-1987 sample of 399 youth at a Florida detention center, replicated Dembo et al's (1987) finding of an acceptable fit across gender groups of a structural model that specifies the influence of child sexual and physical abuse on self-derogation and illicit drug use. Results suggest that for both gender groups, physical abuse and sexual victimization had a direct effect on self-derogation and illicit drug use and an indirect effect on drug use that was mediated by self-derogation. Moreover, structural coefficients for the model were identical across gender. Subsequent analysis demonstrated the equivalence of the structural model across two study cohorts. Implications of this validation of the model of childhood abuse and drug use across gender, time, and cohorts are discussed with reference to theory and research on the etiology of drug use and the identification and treatment of high-risk youth. 3 tables, 2 footnotes, and 47 references. (Author abstract modified) ABI jp