Journal of interpersonal violence
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J Interpers Violence · Feb 2011
Comparative StudyNonconsensual sexual experiences and alcohol consumption among women entering college.
The authors investigated the relationship between precollege nonconsensual sexual experiences (NSEs) and drinking among women entering college. College women (N = 797) at a midwestern university participated. ⋯ Having a precollege NSE was associated with recent drinking, binge drinking, and negative drinking consequences. The authors discuss implications for intervention and prevention programs targeting college women.
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J Interpers Violence · Feb 2011
Maternal distress explains the relationship of young African American mothers' violence exposure with their preschoolers' behavior.
Adolescent mothers and their children are particularly susceptible to witnessing or directly experiencing violence. Such violence exposure predicts maternal distress, parenting, and child behavior problems. The current study examined how mothers' depressive symptoms, aggression, harsh disciplinary practices, and home environment independently explain the association between mothers' violence exposure and children's externalizing and internalizing behavior, controlling for their children's violence exposure. ⋯ However, neither harsh discipline nor stimulation in the home environment acted as significant mediators, and there were no direct or indirect effects of mothers' witnessed violence on child behavior. This study builds on previous work by identifying an association between maternal violence exposure and children's behavior, independent of children's own violence exposure that is explained by mothers' increased distress but not their parenting. These findings suggest that a potential means of preventing behavior problems in minority children born to adolescent mothers is to identify mothers who have been directly exposed to violence and treat their depressive symptoms and aggressive behaviors.