OBJECTIVES:
To
investigate whether forced sex of men by women was associated with sexual risk
behaviors, and whether this association was mediated by substance use.
METHODS:
Data from
US men aged 18 years or older at interview in the National Survey of Family
Growth 2006-2010 (n = 8108) who reported sexual behavior history. Outcome
variables were condom use at most recent sex and number of lifetime sexual
partners. Sexual activity covariates included age at first consensual sex and
treatment of sexually transmitted infections. Alcohol and drug use were the
mediating factors.
RESULTS:
Six
percent of men reported forced sex by a woman at a mean age of 18 years. On
average, victimized men had 3 more lifetime sexual partners than nonvictimized
men (P < .01). Furthermore, victimized men who reported drug use had, on
average, 4 more female sexual partners (P < .01) than nonvictimized men. Marijuana
(P < .05) and crack cocaine use (P < .05) partially mediated the
association between forced sex and number of female partners. Neither condom
use nor number of male partners differed between victimized and nonvictimized
men.
CONCLUSIONS:
A
nontrivial fraction of men experience forced sex by women; some of them have
elevated sexual risk behaviors.
- 1Mekeila C. Cook is with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Los Angeles, CA. Donald E. Morisky, Chandra L. Ford, and Gilbert C. Gee are with the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Department of Community Health Sciences. John K. Williams is with the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.
- Am J Public Health. 2016 Apr 14:e1-e7.
Below: Standardized mean scores of three subgroups of victimized women on probation and parole across nine latent class indicator variables
Latent class analysis was used to identify subgroups of victimized women (N=406) on probation and parole differentiated by levels of general psychological distress. The nine primary symptom dimensions from the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) were used individually as latent class indicators (Derogatis, 1993). Results identified three classes of women characterized by increasing levels of psychological distress; classes were further differentiated by posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, cumulative victimization, substance use and other domains of psychosocial functioning (i.e., sociodemographic characteristics; informal social support and formal service utilization; perceived life stress; and resource loss). The present research was effective in uncovering important heterogeneity in psychological distress using a highly reliable and easily accessible measure of general psychological distress. Differentiating levels of psychological distress and associated patterns of psychosocial risk can be used to develop intervention strategies targeting the needs of different subgroups of women. Implications for treatment and future research are presented.
Women are among the fastest growing segment of the correctional population. At present, over 200,000 women are incarcerated and more than 1 million women are on probation (Ajinkya, 2012). Approximately one out of every 89 women in the U.S. is involved in the criminal justice system and over 85% are sanctioned within the community...
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