Forced sexual intercourse, suicidality, and binge drinking among adolescent girls

Abstract

Although sexual assault victimization has been shown to predict suicidality, little is known about the mechanisms linking these two factors. Using cross-sectional data ( N = 6364) from the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, binge drinking significantly mediated the relationship between forced sexual intercourse and suicide for Hispanic ( n = 1915) and Caucasian ( n = 2928) adolescent females, but not for African American adolescent females ( n = 1521). Results suggest the need for closer monitoring of adolescent victims of sexual assault who also abuse alcohol to intervene in early suicide behaviors. Treatment and intervention programs should also be culturally sensitive to account for differences in reaction to sexual trauma among race/ethnicity. Implications for suicide prevention and alcohol intervention strategies as well as suggestions to clinical providers are discussed.