Childhood maltreatment and sexual protection behavior in early adulthood: A five-wave longitudinal study of timing, typological, cumulative, and mediating pathways.

Background

Childhood maltreatment has been associated with sexual risk behavior in early adulthood, yet less is known about its relationship with sexual protection behavior. Prior research has also rarely distinguished the timing, typological, and cumulative dimensions of maltreatment or examined the mechanisms linking these dimensions to later protective behavior.

Objective

This study examined the associations of the timing, type, and cumulative dimensions of childhood maltreatment with sexual protection behavior in early adulthood and assessed the mediating role of adolescent impulsivity.

Participants

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Setting

Data were drawn from 934 participants across five waves of the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, with assessments in childhood (ages 3, 5, and 9), adolescence (age 15), and early adulthood (age 22).

Methods

Sexual protection behavior was measured as whether the respondent or their partner was currently using a condom, another form of protection, or birth control. Logistic regression models and bias-corrected bootstrap analyses were used.

Results

Maltreatment at ages 3 and 9 was associated with a lower likelihood of sexual protection behavior at age 22, whereas the corresponding estimates at age 5 did not reach statistical significance. Emotional maltreatment showed numerically larger negative estimates than physical maltreatment. Cumulative burden across maltreatment types at ages 3 and 9 and cumulative exposure across developmental periods were also significantly associated with the outcome. Significant indirect associations through impulsivity at age 15 were observed between all examined maltreatment dimensions and the outcome.

Conclusions

Childhood maltreatment was associated with a lower likelihood of sexual protection behavior in early adulthood, with descriptive variations observed across developmental timing and maltreatment dimensions. Adolescent impulsivity may represent one potential pathway underlying these associations.