Correlates of Sexual Assault in Mexican American and White Non-Hispanic Adolescent Males

Abstract

Psychosocial and emotional characteristics were assessed in a nonclinical sample of 1,385 adolescent Mexican American and White non-Hispanic males. Fifty-four males who reported being sexually assaulted one or more times were compared to 1,331 males who reported no history of sexual assault. Sexually assaulted male victims were more emotionally distressed, socially isolated, deviant (e.g., lying & stealing), likely to affiliate with deviant peers, and to come from homes in which there was parental substance use, than males who did not report sexual assault. Significant differences were not found between Mexican American and White non-Hispanic assault victims. Implications of these findings are discussed.