Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

1 in 3 U.K. Teenage Girls Tell of Sexual Abuse by Their Boyfriends

One in three U.K. teenage girls has suffered sexual abuse from a boyfriend and one in four has experienced violence in a relationship, according to an in-depth study published recently.

The survey, by the NSPCC and Bristol University, found that of the 1,353 teenage girls and boys questioned across the UK, nearly 90% of girls aged 13 to 17 had been in an intimate relationship. A similar number of boys had been in relationships.

A quarter of girls had suffered physical violence, including being slapped, punched or beaten by their boyfriends, according to the study.

Source: The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/sep/01/teenage-sexual-abuse-nspcc-report

Early Sexual Activity Linked to Abuse and Neglect

Children who are neglected or physically or psychologically abused are more likely to have sex at an early age, and sexually active adolescents should be evaluated for possible maltreatment, a new study found.
At 14 years of age, adolescents with a history of maltreatment other than sexual abuse were 2.15 times more likely to report having had sexual intercourse than teens with no maltreatment history, according to a study published online Aug. 10 in Pediatrics.

The study found that 16-year-olds who had suffered physical or psychological abuse or neglect were 2.03 times more likely to have had sex.

"Although there is previous evidence that maltreatment other than sexual abuse predicts engagement in sexual activity and sexual risk behavior, our study is one of the first to use a prospective methodology to demonstrate that other forms of maltreatment increase the likelihood of sexual intercourse by 14 and 16 years of age in a high-risk sample," Maureen M. Black, PhD, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote.

Source: Medpage Today
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/DomesticViolence/15452