Childhood emotional abuse predicts late adolescent sexual aggression perpetration and victimization

Abstract

Childhood physical and sexual abuse are known risk factors for adult sexual aggression perpetration and victimization, but less is known about the role played by childhood emotional abuse. College sophomores were surveyed regarding their childhood physical, sexual, and emotional abuse victimization and their late-adolescent experiences of sexual aggression victimization and perpetration. Controlling for social desirability and childhood physical and sexual abuse, childhood emotional abuse was the strongest predictor of adolescent sexual perpetration for women and the strongest predictor of adolescent sexual victimization for men. Emotional abuse was a marginally reliable predictor of adolescent sexual victimization in women. These results show the importance of childhood emotional abuse victimization as a risk factor for sexual victimization and perpetration in adolescent intimate relationships. Copyright © Eileen L. Zurbriggen.