1 - (Sym 47) Prior Victimization and Sexuality Education Among Diverse Young Adults: Associations with Dating Sexual Abuse Victimization and Perpetration

Introduction

More than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced lifetime sexual violence(CDC, 2021). These rates may be higher among individuals who identify as a sexual minority (e.g., lesbian, bisexual, gay; Basile et al., 2020). Childhood abuse has been consistently related to sexual abuse dating revictimization (Lacey et al., 2021; Schuster & Tomaszewska, 2021; Papalia et al., 2020), whereas other links (e.g., pornography for sexuality education) is a recent discovery (Rodríguez-Castro et al., 2021). This present study investigates the association of adverse childhood experiences and sexuality education through pornography with dating sexual abuse victimization and perpetration in a diverse sample of young adults.

Methods

Young adult participants (Mage(1.10)=19.54 (1.10) years, 56% sexual minority, 10% gender diverse, N=653) completed an online retrospective self-report survey asking about ACEs (physical, sexual, emotional abuse; emotional neglect), sexuality education through pornography, and sexual dating abuse victimization and perpetration. 

Results

Cisgender men were significantly less likely to be sexually victimized than cisgender women (p=.020), transmen (p=.015), and non-binary individuals (p=.007), but not transwomen (p=.998). No gender differences were noted for sexual dating abuse perpetration. 

Multivariate general linear model results indicated that a gender diverse identity (p< .01) and cisgender female identity (p< .01) related to higher sexual victimization. Further, childhood sexual abuse (p< .01) and emotional neglect (p< .01), but not physical (p = .33) and emotional (p = .31) abuse associated with higher sexual victimization. For perpetration, only childhood emotional neglect (p=.02) was associated. Finally, learning about sex through pornography is significantly associated with both victimization (p< .01) and perpetration (p=.03). 

Discussion

The study highlights how childhood abuse is associated with sexual dating victimization in young adulthood. Future research should investigate the mediating effects of other behavior (e.g., trauma, alcohol use) to better explain these associations. Notably, sexuality education through pornography is associated with higher sexual dating abuse. This is alarming given the many adolescents who report using pornography for sexuality education (Brown & L’Engle, 2009). These findings can be incorporated into trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy to reduce sexual dating abuse among childhood abuse survivors (Cohen et al., 2007).