Psychological health and academic success in rural Appalachian adolescents exposed to physical and sexual interpersonal violence.

Abstract

Interpersonal violence (IPV) in adolescence is a serious public health concern and may have lasting behavioral effects and implications for adult relationships. Adolescents from 2 rural Appalachian high schools in 2011/2012 were surveyed using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance (YRBS) survey, which assessed (a) physical IPV within a dating relationship, (b) sexual IPV (defined as forced sex/rape), and (c) those who experienced both. We present baseline rates of each form of IPV for these rural male and female adolescents and assessed the strength and statistical significance of these associations between physical and sexual IPV and other risk factors using χ2 tests and relative risk ratios. Results suggested that each form of IPV was associated with greater risk for depression and suicidal behaviors, substance use, risky sexual behaviors for both sexes, and lower academic grades for females. Relative risk ratios tended to be more robust and statistically significant for females compared with males on most risk behaviors. Furthermore, victimization for both forms of IPV was more pernicious for these students than either form of IPV alone. We discuss the implications of these results for students, parents, school personnel, and mental health providers in these communities. (PsycINFO Database Record