The Association of Recurrent and Multiple Types of Abuse with Adverse Mental Health, Substance Use, and Sexual Health Outcomes among Out-of-School Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Cape Town, South Africa

Bronwyn Myers, Felicia A. Browne, Tara Carney, Tracy Kline, Courtney Peasant Bonner and Wendee M. Wechsberg
Additional contact information
Bronwyn Myers: Curtin enAble Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
Felicia A. Browne: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Tara Carney: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Abuse Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, P.O. Box 19070, Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Tracy Kline: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Courtney Peasant Bonner: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Wendee M. Wechsberg: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: Although physical and sexual abuse exposure is a well-established risk for poor health, the dimensions of abuse associated with health among socially vulnerable adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) remain underexamined. This article describes associations between combinations of abuse type and timing with mental health, substance use, and sexual risk outcomes among a sample of 499 AGYW (aged 16 to 19) who had left school early and were recruited for a cluster randomized trial in Cape Town, South Africa. Approximately one-third (33.5%; 95% CI: 28.7, 38.6) of participants reported lifetime abuse. Exposure to more than one type of abuse was associated with increased risk of depression (? = 3.92; 95% CI: 2.25, 5.59) and anxiety (? = 3.70; 95% CI: 2.11, 5.28), and greater odds of polydrug use (OR = 2.10; 95% CI: 1.02, 4.34) and substance-impaired sex (OR = 2.17; 95% CI: 1.31, 3.86). Exposure to multiple types of abuse during childhood/early adolescence and again in late adolescence was associated with increased risk of depression (? = 4.65; 95% CI: 3.15, 6.14), anxiety (? = 4.35; 95% CI: 2.70, 6.02), and polydrug use (OR = 2.37; 95% CI: 1.03, 5.73). Findings underscore the need for trauma-informed interventions that reduce mental health, substance use, and sexual risks among AGYW who have experienced multiple forms of abuse and recurrent abuse.

Keywords: young women; mental health; physical and sexual abuse; gender-based violence; substance use; trauma-informed interventions; low- and middle-income countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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