Sexual Abuse, Commercial Sexual Exploitation, and Cumulative Adversity Among Sexually Diverse and Non-Sexually Diverse Girls in the Juvenile Justice System.

Abstract

Despite awareness about high rates of sexual abuse among girls in the juvenile justice system, little is known about the additional risk conferred upon sexually diverse (SD) youths, as well as the combined vulnerability of sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) - frequently a survival behavior amplifying disproportionate juvenile justice contact among SD and non-SD juvenile justice-involved (JJI) girls. In a sample of JJI-girls, we compared SD (n = 52) with non-SD (n = 46) JJI-girls on sexual victimization (e.g. sexual abuse occurring within different relationship-types, CSEC), and broader developmental adversity burden disadvantage (cumulative trauma/loss exposure-types) and distress (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]; cumulative stressor-reactivity, grief-specific, and adversity-related symptoms), health distress/impairment, and sexual and physical health-risk indicators. While comparable on childhood sexual abuse frequency, SD JJI-girls reported greater cumulative sexual abuse severity across relationship-types, higher sexual abuse within non-familial contexts, and more CSEC involvement. They also reported more social determinants of health (e.g. trauma/loss exposure-types) and showed elevations on all health-risk indicators, and most cumulative adversity burden indicators, despite comparable PTSD severity. Our findings emphasize the need to consider multiple sexual victimization facets, including the combined vulnerability of sexual abuse and CSEC, and utilize cumulative developmental assessment approaches among youths vulnerable to maltreatment and exploitation.