Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Teen Boys Who Attempt Suicide More Likely to Abuse as Adults

Men who attempted suicide before age 18 are much more likely to abuse their girlfriends or wives, according to a study from the Oregon Social Learning Center in Eugene.

The U.S. study included 153 males from relatively high-crime neighborhoods who were assessed annually from ages 10 to 32. The men's romantic partners were added to the study when the men were aged 18 to 25. Researchers found that 58 percent of males who tried to kill themselves before age 18 went on to injure a girlfriend or wife, compared with 23 percent of males who didn't attempt suicide when they were youths.

The association between attempted suicide and later aggression toward partners remained even after the researchers controlled for a number of other factors, including aggression, depression, substance abuse and a family history of abuse. The study documented partner abuse through several types of data, including domestic violence arrest records, women's and men's accounts of injuries and live observations of couples.

The findings, published online in the journal Psychological Medicine, offer evidence of the need for intervention programs for suicidal teens, said study co-author David Kerr, an assistant professor of psychology at Oregon State University (OSU).

"The study began when these men were kids, before anyone knew who was going to be violent," Kerr continued. That is quite different from research that starts with violent men, or women from a domestic violence shelter, and tries to look back in time for explanations."

Source: Businessweek
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/640054.html

20 Percent of Teen Girls Abused on Dates

A study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health found that one in five high school girls has been abused by a dating partner. Unfortunately, parents are often unaware their daughter is being abused.

More than 80 percent of parents do not even acknowledge teen dating violence as an issue. The majority of parents said they have never discussed dating violence with their child, and only 8 percent know of a student at their child's school who has been physically assaulted by someone they were dating.

Nearly 80 percent of girls who have been physically abused in their intimate relationships continue to date their abuser.

It's not always easy to recognize if a teen is in a violent relationship. Surprisingly, abusers are often charming in public, especially to the girl's parents -- so pay closer attention to how he treats your daughter and less to how polite he may be to you.

Source: Post-Tribune
http://www.post-trib.com/lifestyles/2293450,tween0521.article

Third of Juvenile Sex Offenders Target Other Kids

More than a third of sex crimes against juveniles are committed by juveniles, according to new research commissioned by the Justice Department.

Juveniles are 36% of all sex offenders who victimize children. Seven out of eight are at least 12 years old, and 93% are boys, says the study by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

The report comes as states toughen penalties for adult sex offenders and wrestle with how to handle juveniles.

"They are different from adult sex offenders," says study co-author David Finkelhor. They are more likely than adults to commit sex offenses in groups, and their victims are younger and more likely to be male.

Finkelhor says only about 10% of juvenile offenders have signs of "sexual preoccupation," an indicator of a pedophile. He says teen offenses include date rape. In the case of offenders age 12 or 13, it is often sexual experimentation with younger kids.

Early sex education is key to teaching boundaries and preventing such experimentation, Finkelhor says.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-01-03-kid-sex-offenders_N.htm

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