Adulthood Health and Wealth Consequences Associated With Adolescent Victimization: Results From a Longitudinal Sample of Males and Females.

Abstract

Adolescent victimization is a pervasive problem affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of youths every year. While victimization in adolescence is relatively widespread, the consequences associated with adolescent victimization are far from benign. Findings from a long line of research have revealed, for example, that being victimized in adolescence can have long-term and serious consequences that are felt throughout the remainder of the life course. The current study sought to replicate and extend prior research by examining whether adolescent victimization is associated with measures of health and wealth in adulthood. To do so, data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were analyzed. An analysis of these data revealed that adolescent victimization is related to measures of adulthood health (i.e., general health and brain-based disorders) and to some measures of wealth (i.e., economic position), but not others (i.e., total assets). Implications of this study for future research are addressed, and limitations to the study are discussed.