A History of Sexual Abuse Elevates the Massachusetts Teenagers' Risk of Engaging in Unsafe Sexual Practices

To assess the association between sexual abuse and risky sexual behavior among adolescents researchers analyzed data from the 1997 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey. 779 female and 831 male high school students from 58 randomly selected Massachusetts public high schools participated in the survey. Results showed that almost one-third of females and nearly one in 10 high school male students experienced sexual abuse. Those who have had such experiences are more likely than others to take sexual risks. Young women who say they have had sexual contact against their will are more likely than those who have not to have had intercourse before age 15 and to have had multiple sex partners. Adolescent males with a history of sexual abuse are more likely than those without to have had three or more partners in their lifetime and to have had two or more partners within the past 3 months.