Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T05:45:09.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Predicting sexual coercion in early adulthood: The transaction among maltreatment, gang affiliation, and adolescent socialization of coercive relationship norms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Thao Ha ,
Hanjoe Kim ,
Caroline Christopher ,
Allison Caruthers  and
Thomas J. Dishion
Thao Ha*
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
Hanjoe Kim
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
Caroline Christopher
Affiliation:
Arizona State University Vanderbilt University
Allison Caruthers
Affiliation:
University of Oregon, Eugene
Thomas J. Dishion
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Thao Ha, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 South McAllister, Tempe, AZ 85287; E-mail: thaoha@asu.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study tested a transactional hypothesis predicting early adult sexual coercion from family maltreatment, early adolescent gang affiliation, and socialization of adolescent friendships that support coercive relationship norms. The longitudinal study of a community sample of 998 11-year-olds was intensively assessed in early and middle adolescence and followed to 23–24 years of age. At age 16–17 youth were videotaped with a friend, and their interactions were coded for coercive relationship talk. Structural equation modeling revealed that maltreatment predicted gang affiliation during early adolescence. Both maltreatment and gang affiliation strongly predicted adolescent sexual promiscuity and coercive relationship norms with friends at age 16–17 years. Adolescent sexual promiscuity, however, did not predict sexual coercion in early adulthood. In contrast, higher levels of observed coercive relationship talk with a friend predicted sexual coercion in early adulthood for both males and females. These findings suggest that peers have a socialization function in the development of norms prognostic of sexual coercion, and the need to consider peers in the promotion of healthy relationships.

Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 28 , Special Issue 3: Longitudinal Transactional Models of Development and Psychopathology , August 2016 , pp. 707 - 720
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbey, A., & McAuslan, P. (2004). A longitudinal examination of male college students’ perpetration of sexual assault. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 747–756.Google Scholar
Abbey, A., Zawacki, T., Buck, P. O., Clinton, A. M., & McAuslan, P. (2001). Alcohol and sexual assault. Alcohol Research and Health, 25, 43–51.Google Scholar
Ageton, S. S. (1983). Sexual assault among adolescents. Lexington, MA: Heath.Google Scholar
Archer, J. (2000). Sex differences in aggression between heterosexual partners: A meta-analytic review. Psychological bulletin, 126, 651–680.Google Scholar
Arriola, K. R., Louden, T., Doldren, M. A., & Fortenberry, R. M. (2005). A meta-analysis of the relationship of child sexual abuse to HIV risk behavior among women. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 725–746.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Baumeister, R. F., Catanese, K. R., & Wallace, H. M. (2002). Conquest by force: A narcissistic reactance theory of rape and sexual coercion. Review of General Psychology, 6, 92–135.Google Scholar
Bennett, S. E., & Assefi, N. P. (2005). School-based teenage pregnancy prevention programs: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36, 72–81.Google Scholar
Blakemore, S. J., & Choudhury, S. (2006). Development of the adolescent brain: Implications for executive function and social cognition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 296–312.Google Scholar
Bolger, K. E., & Patterson, C. J. (2001). Developmental pathways from child maltreatment to peer rejection. Child Development, 72, 549–568.Google Scholar
Botvin, G. J., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Personal and social skills training: Cognitive–behavioral approaches to substance abuse prevention. In Bell, C. & Battles, R. (Series Eds.), Prevention research: Deterring drug abuse among children and adolescents (pp. 8–49). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Bouffard, J. A., Bouffard, L. A., & Miller, H. A. (2015). Examining the correlates of women's use of sexual coercion proposing an explanatory model. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Advance online publication.Google Scholar
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1989). Ecological systems theory. In Vasta, R. (Ed.), Annals of child development: Vol. 6. Six theories of child development: Revised reformulations and current issues (pp. 187–249). London: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Capaldi, D. M., Dishion, T. J., Stoolmiller, M., & Yoerger, K. (2001). Aggression toward female partners by at-risk young men: The contribution of male adolescent friendships. Developmental Psychology, 37, 61–73.Google Scholar
Capaldi, D. M., Knoble, N. B., Shortt, J. W., & Kim, H. K. (2012). A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence. Partner Abuse, 3, 231–280.Google Scholar
Capaldi, D. M., Stoolmiller, M., Clark, S., & Owen, L. D. (2002). Heterosexual risk behaviors in at-risk young men from early adolescence to young adulthood: Prevalence, prediction, and association with STD contraction. Developmental Psychology, 38, 394–406.Google Scholar
Caruthers, A. S., Van Ryzin, M. J., & Dishion, T. J. (2014). Preventing high-risk sexual behavior in early adulthood with family interventions in adolescence: Outcomes and developmental processes. Prevention Science, 15, 59–69.Google Scholar
Chapple, C. L., Tyler, K. A., & Bersani, B. E. (2005). Child neglect and adolescent violence: Examining the effects of self-control and peer rejection. Violence and Victims, 20, 39–53.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2005). Child maltreatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 409–438.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dishion, T. J., Bullock, B., & Granic, I. (2002). Pragmatism in modeling peer influence: Dynamics, outcomes, and change processes. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 969–981.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., Ha, T., & Véronneau, M. H. (2012). An ecological analysis of the effects of gang affiliation on sexual promiscuity, problem behavior, and childbearing from early adolescence to adulthood: An enhancement of the life history framework. Developmental Psychology, 48, 703–717.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., & Kavanagh, K. (2003). Intervening in adolescent problem behavior: A family-centered approach. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., Nelson, S. E., & Kavanagh, K. (2003). The family check-up with high-risk young adolescents: Preventing early-onset substance use by parent monitoring. Behavior Therapy, 34, 553–571.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., Nelson, S. E., & Yasui, M. (2005). Predicting early adolescent gang involvement from middle school adaptation. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34, 62–73.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., & Owen, L. D. (2002). A longitudinal analysis of friendships and substance use: Bidirectional influence from adolescence to adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 38, 480–491.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., & Patterson, G. R. (2006). The development and ecology of antisocial behavior. In Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 3. Risk, disorder, and adaptation (rev. ed., pp. 503–541). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., Peterson, J., Piehler, T. F., Winter, C., & Woodworth, D. (2006). Peer Interaction Task Coder Impressions Questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, University of Oregon, Child and Family Center.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., Spracklen, K. M., Andrews, D. W., & Patterson, G. R. (1996). Deviancy training in male adolescent friendships. Behavior Therapy, 27, 373–390.Google Scholar
Dishion, T. J., & Tipsord, J. M. (2011). Peer contagion in child and adolescent social and emotional development. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 189–214.Google Scholar
Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1994). Effects of physical maltreatment on the development of peer relations. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 43–55.Google Scholar
Ehrensaft, M. K., Moffitt, T. E., & Caspi, A. (2004). Clinically abusive relationships in an unselected birth cohort: Men's and women's participation and developmental antecedents. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113, 258–270.Google Scholar
Ellis, W. E., & Zarbatany, L. (2007). Peer group status as a moderator of group influence on children's deviant, aggressive, and prosocial behavior. Child Development, 78, 1240–1254.Google Scholar
Enders, C. K. (2010). Applied missing data analysis (methodology in the social sciences). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Foshee, V. A., Reyes, H. L. M., Ennett, S. T., Suchindran, C., Mathias, J. P., Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., et al. (2011). Risk and protective factors distinguishing profiles of adolescent peer and dating violence perpetration. Journal of Adolescent Health, 48, 344–350.Google Scholar
French, D. C., & Dishion, T. J. (2003). Predictors of early initiation of sexual intercourse among high-risk adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence, 23, 295–315.Google Scholar
Ge, X., Brody, G. H., Conger, R. D., Simons, R. L., & Murry, V. M. (2002). Contextual amplification of pubertal transition effects on deviant peer affiliation and externalizing behavior among African American children. Developmental Psychology, 38, 42–54.Google Scholar
Gilbert, R., Widom, C. S., Browne, K., Fergusson, D., Webb, E., & Janson, S. (2009). Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries. Lancet, 373, 68–81.Google Scholar
Goetz, A. T., & Shackelford, T. K. (2006). Sexual coercion and forced in-pair copulation as sperm competition tactics in humans. Human Nature, 17, 265–282.Google Scholar
Goldberg, L. R., & Freyd, J. J. (2006). Self-reports of potentially traumatic experiences in an adult community sample: Gender differences and test-retest stabilities of the items in a Brief Betrayal-Trauma Survey. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 7, 39–63.Google Scholar
Granic, I., & Dishion, T. J. (2003). Deviant talk in adolescent friendships: A step toward measuring a pathogenic attractor process. Social Development, 12, 314–334.Google Scholar
Ha, T., Overbeek, G., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2010). Effects of attractiveness and social status on dating desire in heterosexual adolescents: An experimental study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 1063–1071.Google Scholar
Ha, T., van den Berg, J. E., Engels, R. C. M. E., & Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A. (2012). Effects of attractiveness and status in dating desire in homosexual and heterosexual men and women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 673–682.Google Scholar
Hall, G. C. N., & Barongan, C. (1997). Prevention of sexual aggression: Sociocultural risk and protective factors. American Psychologist, 52, 5–14.Google Scholar
Hall, G. C. N., DeGarmo, D. S., Eap, S., Teten, A. L., & Sue, S. (2006). Initiation, desistance, and persistence of men's sexual coercion. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 732–742.Google Scholar
Hickman, L. J., Jaycox, L. H., & Aronoff, J. (2004). Dating violence among adolescents: Prevalence, gender distribution, and prevention program effectiveness. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 5, 123–142.Google Scholar
Jones, D. J., Runyan, D. K., Lewis, T., Litrownik, A. J., Black, M. M., Wiley, T., et al. (2010). Trajectories of childhood sexual abuse and early adolescent HIV/AIDS risk behaviors: The role of other maltreatment, witnessed violence, and child gender. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 39, 667–680.Google Scholar
Kandel, D. B. (1978). Homophily, selection, and socialization in adolescent friendships. American Journal of Sociology, 84, 427–436.Google Scholar
Kim, J., & Cicchetti, D. (2010). Longitudinal pathways linking child maltreatment, emotion regulation, peer relations, and psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51, 706–716.Google Scholar
Klein, M. W. (2006). Peer effects in naturally occurring groups: The case of street gangs. In Dodge, K. A., Dishion, T. J., & Lansford, J. E. (Eds.), Deviant peer influences in programs for youth: Problems and solutions (pp. 234–250). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Ladd, G. W. (1983). Social networks of popular, average, and rejected children in school settings. Merrill–Palmer Quarterly, 29, 283–307.Google Scholar
Lansford, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., Bates, J. E., Crozier, J., & Kaplow, J. (2002). A 12-year prospective study of the long-term effects of early child physical maltreatment on psychological, behavioral, and academic problems in adolescence. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 156, 824–830.Google Scholar
Lansford, J. E., Miller-Johnson, S., Berlin, L. J., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (2007). Early physical abuse and later violent delinquency: A prospective longitudinal study. Child Maltreatment, 12, 233–245.Google Scholar
MacKinnon, D. P. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman, J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, V. (2002). A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychological Methods, 7, 83–104.Google Scholar
Magdol, L., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., & Silva, P. A. (1998). Developmental antecedents of partner abuse: A prospective-longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 375–389.Google Scholar
Malamuth, N. M. (2003). Criminal and noncriminal sexual aggressors: Integrating psychopathy in a hierarchial–mediational confluence model. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 989, 33–58.Google Scholar
Malamuth, N. M., Linz, D., Heavey, C. L., Barnes, G., & Acker, M. (1995). Using the confluence model of sexual aggression to predict men's conflict with women: A 10-year follow-up study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 353–369.Google Scholar
Miller, S., Gorman-Smith, D., Sullivan, T., Orpinas, P., & Simon, T. R. (2009). Parent and peer predictors of physical dating violence perpetration in early adolescence: Tests of moderation and gender differences. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 38, 538–550.Google Scholar
Millsap, R. E. (2011). Statistical approaches to measurement invariance. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Moberg, D. P., & Piper, D. L. (1998). The Healthy for Life Project: Sexual risk behavior outcomes. AIDS Education and Prevention, 10, 128–148.Google Scholar
Monahan, K. C., Steinberg, L., & Cauffman, E. (2009). Affiliation with antisocial peers, susceptibility to peer influence, and antisocial behavior during the transition to adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 45, 1520–1530.Google Scholar
Muller, M. N., Kahlenberg, S. M., Thompson, M. E., & Wrangham, R. W. (2007). Male coercion and the costs of promiscuous mating for female chimpanzees. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 274, 1009–1014.Google Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2012). Mplus user's guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles: Author.Google Scholar
Odgers, C. L., Moffitt, T. E., Broadbent, J. M., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., et al. (2008). Female and male antisocial trajectories: From childhood origins to adult outcomes. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 673–716.Google Scholar
O'Sullivan, L. F., Byers, E. S., & Finkelman, L. (1998). A comparison of male and female college students’ experiences of sexual coercion. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 177–195.Google Scholar
Patterson, G. R. (1993). Orderly change in a stable world: The antisocial trait as a chimera. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 911–919.Google Scholar
Piehler, T. F., & Dishion, T. J. (2004). The conversation topic code. Unpublished manuscript, University of Oregon.Google Scholar
Piehler, T. F., & Dishion, T. J. (2007). Interpersonal dynamics within adolescent friendships: Dyadic mutuality, deviant talk, and patterns of antisocial behavior. Child Development, 78, 1611–1624.Google Scholar
Piehler, T. F., & Dishion, T. J. (2014). Dyadic coregulation and deviant talk in adolescent friendships: Interaction patterns associated with problematic substance use in early adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 50, 1160–1169.Google Scholar
Piehler, T. F., Véronneau, M. H., & Dishion, T. J. (2012). Substance use progression from adolescence to early adulthood: Effortful control in the context of friendship influence and early-onset use. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 40, 1045–1058.Google Scholar
Rogosch, F. A., Cicchetti, D., & Aber, J. L. (1995). The role of child maltreatment in early deviations in cognitive and affective processing abilities and later peer relationship problems. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 591–609.Google Scholar
Romano, E., & De Luca, R. V. (1997). Exploring the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual perpetration. Journal of Family Violence, 12, 85–98.Google Scholar
Russell, B. L., & Oswald, D. L. (2001). Strategies and dispositional correlates of sexual coercion perpetrated by women: An exploratory investigation. Sex Roles, 45, 103–115.Google Scholar
Salzinger, S., Feldman, R. S., Hammer, M., & Rosario, M. (1993). The effects of physical abuse on children's social relationships. Child Development, 64, 169–187.Google Scholar
Sameroff, A. J. (1981). Development and the dialectic: The need for a systems approach. In Collins, W. A. (Ed.), Minnesota symposium on child psychology (pp. 83–103). Hillsdale, NJ, Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Sameroff, A. J. (2009). The transactional model of development: How children and contexts shape each other. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1994). Urban poverty and the family context of delinquency: A new look at structure and process in a classic study. Child Development, 65, 523–540.Google Scholar
Schad, M. M., Szwedo, D. E., Antonishak, J., Hare, A., & Allen, J. P. (2008). The broader context of relational aggression in adolescent romantic relationships: Predictions from peer pressure and links to psychosocial functioning. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 346–358.Google Scholar
Schnurr, M. P., & Lohman, B. J. (2008). How much does school matter? An examination of adolescent dating violence perpetration. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 266–283.Google Scholar
Senn, T. E., Carey, M. P., Vanable, P. A., Coury-Doniger, P., & Urban, M. (2007). Characteristics of sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence influence sexual risk behavior in adulthood. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 637–645.Google Scholar
Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (2001). Parental maltreatment and emotion dysregulation as risk factors for bullying and victimization in middle childhood. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 349–363.Google Scholar
Shortt, J. W., Capaldi, D. M., Dishion, T. J., Bank, L., & Owen, L. D. (2003). The role of adolescent friends, romantic partners, and siblings in the emergence of the adult antisocial lifestyle. Journal of Family Psychology, 17, 521–533.Google Scholar
Teten, A. L., Hall, G. C., & Capaldi, D. M. (2009). Use of coercive sexual tactics across 10 years in at-risk young men: Developmental patterns and co-occurring problematic dating behaviors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38, 574–582.Google Scholar
Thornberry, T. P., Ireland, T. O., & Smith, C. A. (2001). The importance of timing: The varying impact of childhood and adolescent maltreatment on multiple problem outcomes. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 957–979.Google Scholar
Tofighi, D., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2011). RMediation: An R package for mediation analysis confidence intervals. Behavior Research Methods, 43, 692–700.Google Scholar
Van Ryzin, M. J., & Dishion, T. J. (2013). From antisocial behavior to violence: A model for the amplifying role of coercive joining in adolescent friendships. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54, 661–669.Google Scholar
Wekerle, C., & Wolfe, D. A. (1999). Dating violence in mid-adolescence: Theory, significance, and emerging prevention initiatives. Clinical Psychology Review, 19, 435–456.Google Scholar
Wilson, H. W., & Widom, C. S. (2008). An examination of risky sexual behavior and HIV in victims of child abuse and neglect: A 30-year follow-up. Health Psychology, 27, 149–158.Google Scholar
Wolfe, D. A., Scott, K., Wekerle, C., & Pittman, A. L. (2001). Child maltreatment: Risk of adjustment problems and dating violence in adolescence. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 282–289.Google Scholar
Woodward, L. J., Fergusson, D. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2002). Romantic relationships of young people with childhood and adolescent onset antisocial behavior problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 231–243.Google Scholar
Yoon, M., & Millsap, R. E. (2007). Detecting violations of factorial invariance using data-based specification searches: A Monte Carlo study. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 435–463.Google Scholar
Young, B. J., & Furman, W. (2008). Interpersonal factors in the risk for sexual victimization and its recurrence during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 297–309.Google Scholar
Young, B. J., Furman, W., & Jones, M. C. (2012). Changes in adolescents’ risk factors following peer sexual coercion: Evidence for a feedback loop. Development and Psychopathology, 24, 559–571.Google Scholar