Childhood Victimization Experiences Research Articles

Attentional processes in response to emotional facial expressions in adults with retrospectively reported peer victimization of varying severity: Results from an ERP dot-probe study

BackgroundAttentional processes are influenced by both stimulus characteristics and individual factors such as mood or personal experience. Research has suggested that attentional biases to socially relevant stimuli may occur in individuals with a history of peer victimization in childhood and adolescence. Based on this, the present study aimed to examine attentional processes in response to emotional faces at both the behavioral and neurophysiological levels in participants with experiences of peer victimization.MethodsIn a sample of 60 adult participants with varying severity of retrospectively reported peer victimization in childhood and adolescence, the dot-probe task was administered with angry, disgusted, sad, and happy facial expressions. In addition to behavioral responses, physiological responses (i.e., event-related potentials) were analyzed.ResultsAnalyses of mean P100 and P200 amplitudes revealed altered P200 amplitudes in individuals with higher degrees of peer victimization. Higher levels of relational peer victimization were associated with increased P200 amplitudes in response to facial expressions, particularly angry and disgusted facial expressions. Hierarchical regression analyses showed no evidence for an influence of peer victimization experiences on reaction times or P100 amplitudes in response to the different emotions.ConclusionCortical findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of peer victimization mobilize more attentional resources when confronted with negative emotional social stimuli. Peer victimization experiences in childhood and adolescence appear to influence cortical processes into adulthood.

Does Childcare Attendance Moderate the Associations Between Mother-Child Depressive Symptoms and Children’s Peer Victimization Experiences?

Peer victimization experiences is suggested to play a mediating role in the transmission of depression symptoms between mothers and children. Childcare attendance has been found to reduce the association between mother and child depressive symptoms. However, it is not clear whether this protective effect unfolds via a reduction of peer victimization experiences in middle childhood. The aims of this study were to test (1) whether peer victimization in middle childhood mediated the association between exposure to maternal depressive symptomatology in early childhood and child depressive symptoms in late childhood, (2) whether childcare attendance moderate the direct associations between maternal depressive symptoms and children’s peer victimization experiences in middle childhood as well as depressive symptoms in late childhood and (3) whether childcare attendance moderates this mediated association. Data come from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (N = 5526) where exposure to maternal depressive symptoms and intensity of childcare attendance were assessed repeatedly during early childhood. Children’s peer victimization and depressive symptoms were self-reported at eight and 10 years of age, respectively. We used weighted structural equation modeling and found that the association between mothers and children’s depression was partially mediated by peer victimization. Childcare attendance did not moderate the indirect effect of maternal depression on child depressive symptoms via peer victimization. However, we found that for children who attended childcare, maternal depression was no longer associated child depressive symptoms in late childhood. In conclusion, peer victimization experiences partly explain the intergenerational transmission of depressive symptoms, but this mechanism is not altered by children’s childcare attendance. Future research should examine potential socio-emotional and school readiness mechanisms that may break the cycle of depressive symptomatology from mothers to children.

Understanding Childhood Victimization Experiences and Mental Health Outcomes in a Sample of Prison Inmates in Northern Chile

In this paper, the weak points have been investigated, the proposal to solve them, the application of the solution and the comparison of the results in the mode of simulation and experimental testing have been discussed. For this purpose, a four-wheel mobile robot has been considered for simulation and implementation, and a linear quadratic regulator controller and a nonlinear model predictive controller have been used to control it. But the combination of these classic and modern controllers with machine learning can greatly help to make these controllers work more accurately; As a result, in order to increase the accuracy of the performance of these controllers, by training neural networks of multilayer perceptrons, the controllers have been made intelligent. Controllers with cost function have coefficients as weighting to the matrix of system state variables and control input, which are greatly affected by changing these two weighting matrices of problem solving and optimization. For this reason, it is necessary to extract these two matrices for each separate path in order to improve the performance of the controller by trial and error. But by applying the proposed network which is trained with a new algorithm, not only the performance accuracy has increased, but the network extracts these two matrices without the need to spend human energy. Also, in order to reduce the existing time delays, especially in the implementation of the nonlinear controller on the robot in the experimental mode, by training other neural networks to optimally extract the benefit of the forecast horizon, reducing the calculations and increasing the speed of the solution has been achieved. In the hardware part, by examining and using operators such as the pixy camera and the U2D2 interface, which are faster than the usual method, the solution time has been reduced.

Child Victimization and Poly-Victimization Among Men and Women Justice-Involved in Northern Chile

This study aimed to identify the magnitude of child victimization and polyvictimization in incarcerated individuals in northern Chile. A sample of 229 adults deprived of liberty in northern Chile was recruited. The results showed that incarcerated individuals presented significant percentages of child abuse and sexual victimization experiences (58.6% and 58.4%, respectively). In the analysis by sex, males suffer more frequently victimization by common crimes and peer victimization in their childhood. Sexual victimization was reported more frequently in females. The results reflect the high rates of child victimization and polyvictimization among the incarcerated population in northern Chile. The results can be useful in developing public policy for incarcerated individuals sensitive to their childhood victimization experiences and their mental health.

Depressive rumination and trait anxiety mediate the effects of childhood victimization on adulthood depressive symptoms in adult volunteers.

Prior studies have reported that childhood victimization experiences substantially augment the risk of depression and suicide in adulthood. Several of our previous studies suggested that childhood experiences of victimization interact with the quality of parenting experienced in childhood, childhood experiences of abuse, neuroticism, and other factors to influence depressive symptoms in adulthood. In this study, it was hypothesized that "childhood victimization" worsens "trait anxiety" and "depressive rumination", and that "trait anxiety" and "depressive rumination" are mediators that worsen "depressive symptoms in adulthood". The following self-administered questionnaires were completed by 576 adult volunteers: Patient Health Questionnaire-9, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory form Y, Ruminative Responses Scale, and Childhood Victimization Rating Scale. Statistical analyses were performed by Pearson correlation coefficient analysis, t-test, multiple regression analysis, path analysis, and covariance structure analysis. Path analysis demonstrated that the direct effect was statistically significant for the paths from childhood victimization to trait anxiety, depressive rumination, and depressive symptom severity. Moreover, the indirect effect of childhood victimization on depressive rumination mediated by trait anxiety was statistically significant. The indirect effects of childhood victimization on depressive symptom severity mediated by trait anxiety and depressive rumination were statistically significant. Furthermore, the indirect effect of childhood victimization on depressive symptom severity mediated by both trait anxiety and depressive rumination was statistically significant. We found that childhood victimization directly and adversely influenced each of the above factors, and indirectly worsened adulthood depressive symptoms with trait anxiety and depressive ruminations as mediating factors. The present study is the first to clarify these mediation effects. Therefore, the results of this study suggest the importance of preventing childhood victimization and the importance of identifying and addressing childhood victimization in patients with clinical depression.

Emerging Ideas: Is sibling aggression as scary as peer aggression in childhood and adolescence?

AbstractObjectiveWe compared the frequency of fearfulness for sibling versus peer victimization experiences (severe and minor physical, property, and psychological) in childhood and adolescence.BackgroundSibling aggression is not recognized as a childhood adversity. Yet a tenet of the family violence literature is that abuse is more fearsome when living with an abuser.MethodTelephone interviews were conducted with parents of children aged 1 to 9 years and with adolescents 10 to 17 years old living with a juvenile sibling (N = 7,029; 49% female) using data from three combined surveys of the National Survey on Children's Exposure to Violence.ResultsFear of sibling aggression was less common than peer aggression. Further, sibling aggression was less fearful than peer aggression for severe and minor physical and property episodes. There was little variation by gender, ethnicity, and parent education level.ConclusionsChildren and adolescents do not lack fear from sibling aggression, but the fear is lower than for peer aggression.ImplicationsA prevalent idea in the family violence literature that living with an offender generates more fear was not supported for sibling aggression.

Profiles of Childhood Victimization as Predictors of Sexual Aggression and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration.

The study utilized a latent profile analysis to evaluate distinct combinations of men's childhood victimization experiences and their communal predictive ability for sexual aggression (SA) and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Men living in the United States (N = 399) completed assessments of emotional, physical, and sexual childhood victimization, as well as SA and IPV toward women. The results indicated that members of profiles characterized by moderate to high frequencies of childhood victimization-especially sexual victimization-were at increased risk of SA and IPV perpetration. Contrary to expectations, adult- versus peer-perpetrated victimization did not appear to substantially alter risk of perpetration.

Intergenerational (Dis)continuity of Child Maltreatment: Variation by Parents' Childhood Victimization Experiences and Sex.

This longitudinal population-based study examines the association between maltreatment victimization experiences and the likelihood of intergenerational (dis)continuity of maltreatment. Our data include all individuals born in 1983/1984 in Queensland (QLD), Australia who are registered as parents via birth records and who experienced system contacts for maltreatment victimization in childhood (n = 2906). Child safety data on system contacts as a child victim and person responsible for harm to a child were obtained from the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs. Out-of-home care experiences and maltreatment frequency, timing, and type were examined. Results indicated that childhood maltreatment experiences significantly differed between parents who were not subsequently responsible for harm to a child (cycle breakers) and parents who were subsequently responsible for harm to a child (cycle maintainers). Different patterns of association were observed across sex. These findings highlight the importance of recognizing the heterogeneity of victim maltreatment experiences and associated risk of maltreatment for their children, and can inform effective and targeted interventions by tailoring these by sex and developmental period.

The Relationship Between Body Image Victimization Experiences and Binge Eating Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Body Image Shame and Self-Criticism

Objectives The current study examined the relationship between body image victimization experiences and the severity of binge eating symptoms mediated by body image shame and self-criticism. Methods In this study, structural equation modeling was employed. Participants were 283 Iranian university students who completed a set of self-report measures of body image shame, forms of Self-Criticizing/Self-Reassuring, binge eating symptoms and body image victimization experiences. Results The results showed that the symptoms of binge eating had a positive and significant relationship with body image shame (r=0.51, P=0.001), self-criticism (r=0.51, P=0.001), and body image victimization experiences (r=0.56, p = 0.001). Also, body image shame (P<0.05, ß=10.0) and self-criticism (P<0.05, ß=0.12) mediated the relationship between victimization experiences and the severity of binge eating symptoms. Conclusion Based on the results, self-criticism and shame of body image could mediate the relationship between the early body image victimization experiences in childhood and adolescence and the severity of binge eating symptoms in the Iranian sample. Therefore, researchers and clinicians can consider the effect of these factors on binge eating disorder.

"I was 15 when I started doing drugs with my dad": Victimization, Social Determinants of Health, and Criminogenic Risk Among Women Opioid Intervention Court Participants.

The presence and severity of childhood and adult victimization increase the likelihood of substance use disorder (SUD), crimes, antisocial behaviors, arrests, convictions, and medical and psychiatric disorders among women more than men. These problems are compounded by the impact of social determinants of health (SDH) challenges, which include predisposition to the understudied, dramatic increase in opioid dependence among women. This study examined victimization, related SDH challenges, gender-based criminogenic risk factors for female participants, and public health opportunities to address these problems. We recruited women from the first national Opioid Intervention Court, a fast-track SUD treatment response to rapidly increasing overdose deaths. We present a consensual qualitative research analysis of 24 women Opioid Intervention Court participants (among 31 interviewed) who reported childhood, adolescent, and/or adult victimization experiences in the context of substance use and recovery, mental health symptoms, heath behaviors, and justice-involved trajectories. We iteratively established codes and overarching themes. Six primary themes emerged: child or adolescent abuse as triggers for drug use; impact of combined child or adolescent abuse with loss or witnessing abuse; adult abduction or assault; trajectory from lifetime abuse, substance use, and criminal and antisocial behaviors to sobriety; role of friends and family support in recovery; and role of treatment and opioid court in recovery, which we related to SDH, gender-based criminogenic factors, and public health. These experiences put participants at risk of further physical and mental health disorders, yet indicate potential strategies. Findings support future studies examining strategies where courts and health systems could collaboratively address SDH with women Opioid Intervention Court participants.

A Mixed Methods Approach Exploring Risk Factors Associated with Cyber Dating Victimization and Resilience in Adolescents and Emerging Adults

ABSTRACT The use of technology as a communication tool among youth has fostered opportunities for harassment, stalking or pressuring in romantic relationships. There is a paucity of studies exploring the links between childhood victimization experiences and cyber dating violence (DV) and how youth positively adapt to such experiences. This mixed methods study documents the effects of individual, familial, and social risks associated with cyber DV while exploring strenghts and protective factors in victimized youth’s narratives. A sample of 332 heterosexual youths and emerging adults (mean age 19.9 years) completed a survey exploring romantic and sexual trajectories and 16 participants reporting cyber victimization participated in semi-structured interviews. Results indicated that younger age, exposure to interparental violence, neglect, and a lower level of perceived support from a friend predicted cyber DV, whereas gender, emotional violence, sexual abuse, and perceived parental support were not significant predicting factors. When facing cyber DV and relational difficulties, participants expressed strengths illustrating their resilience: self-regulatory strength (e.g., considering a breakup as an opportunity for self-care), meaning making strength (e.g., thinking that a partner may not have been the right person), and interpersonal strength (e.g., being thankful for support provided by a trusted person). Fostering social support and multiple strengths of youth constitute promising avenues for effective cyber DV interventions.

Victimization in Childhood Mediates the Association Between Parenting Quality, Stressful Life Events, and Depression in Adulthood.

BackgroundVarious stressors during childhood and adulthood, such as experiencing poor parenting, abuse, and harassment, have long-lasting effects on depression. The long-term effects of childhood stressors, such as childhood abuse and inappropriate parenting experiences, on adult depression are mediated by personality traits. In the present study, we hypothesized that parental bonding in childhood influences adulthood depression, and that this association is mediated by childhood victimization experiences and negative life event evaluations in adulthood. To test this hypothesis, multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling were performed.MethodsA questionnaire survey, including Patient Health Questionnaire-9, victimization scale in childhood, Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), and Life Experiences Survey was administered to 449 general adult volunteers (age: 41.1 ± 11.7 years; 196 men and 253 women). Multiple variables were analyzed by multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling.ResultsMultiple regression analysis demonstrated that victimization experiences in childhood affect adulthood depression independently of several other factors. Structural equation modeling showed that the “parental care” subscale of the PBI decreased adulthood depression directly, as well as indirectly through its effects on victimization experiences in childhood and negative life events. On the other hand, the “parental overprotection” subscale of the PBI increased adulthood depression directly, as well as indirectly through its effects on the experience of victimization in childhood and negative life events.ConclusionThe present study indicates that the experience of victimization in childhood is a risk factor of adulthood depression. Furthermore, we found that parenting quality experienced in childhood influences adulthood depression, and that these effects are mediated by the experiences of victimization in childhood and negative life events in adulthood.

Intersections of Childhood Victimization Experiences, Gender, and Dominance: The Makings for Sexual Coercion Transnationally?

Although the use of sexual violence has been widely researched, data on sexual offending tend to be limited. Since adverse childhood experiences have been found to be correlated with being a victim of sexually coercive behavior, more research is needed to understand the impact of adverse childhood experiences on the perpetration of sexually coercive behaviors. Yet, there is little published research explaining such risk factors for sexually coercive behaviors and even less transnationally. This study seeks to expand the current literature by exploring the impact of violence and dominance-based beliefs on sexually coercive behaviors. Using data from the International Dating Violence Survey, the results from multilevel modeling regression analysis indicate that beliefs in relational dominance moderate the relationship between violent childhood experiences and sexually coercive behaviors. More importantly, despite theoretical premises that men engage in more sexually coercive behaviors, the results found that sexually coercive behaviors are more prevalent among those who hold dominance-based belief systems over intimate partners regardless of gender. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Exploring the experience of intimate partner violence in the LGBT community

Abstract Background The study aimed at measuring the prevalence and identifying the risk factors of intimate partner violence in individuals from the LGBT community. Methods A total of 180 individuals participated in the study, both male and female, aged 18-60 years, living in the broader area of Athens, Greece. Snowball sampling was applied to identify eligible individuals and social media were employed to recruit them. The questionnaire explored the violence victimization and perpetration in their relationships, the preferred reaction to various forms of violence and the role of childhood victimization in adulthood experiences of violence. Results 72.8% were homosexual, 26.7% bisexual, 81.7 % were women with a mean age of 25.2 years (6.0 standard deviation). A total of 67.2% were subjected to verbal abuse before the age of 16, 49.4% to physical violence, 6.7% to sexual violence and 46.7% were neglected. The prevalence of violence victimization was higher than the prevalence of violence perpetration (mean 9.81 and 5.92 respectively). Psychological violence was the most common among other forms of violence, both in victimization (psychological 7.34, physical 1.66, sexual 0.81) and perpetration (psychological 4.48, physical 1.26, sexual 0.18). In hypothetical scenarios of psychological violence, the majority of participants preferred separation and discussion about boundaries as strategies to deal with the situation (56.1 and 45.0 respectively), in scenarios of physical violence they primarily preferred separation and secondarily asking a professional advice (73.3 and 20.6, respectively) and in sexual violence they primarily preferred a discussion about boundaries and secondarily separation (69.4% and 31.7% respectively). Experiences of childhood victimization (p=.006), and female gender (p=.002), were found to be associated at a statistically significant level with violent victimization in adulthood. Conclusions Further research is necessary to identify groups at risk of victimization. Key messages Preventive efforts need to take into account individual sociodemographic and attitudinal characteristics that increase the risk of victimization. Experiences of victimization during childhood are highly associated with victimization in adulthood.

Characteristics of Disclosing Childhood Victimization and Risk of Revictimization in Young Adulthood.

Experiencing victimization in childhood increases risk of adulthood revictimization, and it is important to understand what may contribute to such risk. One factor that may help to explain the increased risk of future victimization is disclosure. However, the literature is mixed as to whether disclosure of prior victimization is helpful for protecting against adverse outcomes, and much of the research on disclosure focuses solely on sexual victimization. The current study examines the relationship between various forms of childhood and adulthood victimization and whether disclosure moderates this relationship. In addition, this study investigates whether characteristics of disclosure are associated with revictimization risk. The sample included 275 undergraduates (M age = 19.52 years; 75.6% female, 77.5% non-Hispanic White or Caucasian). Participants reported on previous history of various forms of childhood and adulthood victimization. They also reported whether or not they had disclosed childhood victimization, and, if so, characteristics related to disclosure. Results revealed that number of childhood victimization experiences significantly predicted number of adulthood victimization experiences, and nearly every type of childhood victimization significantly increased risk of experiencing each type of adulthood victimization. Disclosure did not moderate the relationship between childhood and adulthood victimization. Participants who disclosed were more likely to disclose crime and peer/sibling victimization and disclose to parents or friends. Positive reactions to disclosure were more common than negative reactions; however, 75% of disclosers received at least one negative reaction. Finally, revictimized individuals received more overall negative reactions than nonrevictimized individuals. They also received more reactions characterized by the person they disclosed to trying to take control of their decisions or treating them differently. Results highlight the importance of examining relationships between various forms of victimization, considering how characteristics of disclosure relate to risk of revictimization, and the importance of educating potential support networks about appropriate responses to disclosure.

Childhood Victimization, Cognitive Schemas, and Unwanted Consensual Sex Among College Students

Objective: Unwanted consensual sex (UCS)—freely consenting to sex that is neither wanted nor desired—is largely excluded from campus programming and the literature on sexual behavior. The present study expands on previous research to examine the relation between childhood victimization experiences and UCS. Methods: Data were gathered using an online survey of college students. Results: In the past year, 43% percent of 587 college students who engaged in sexual activity also engaged in UCS at least once. Childhood victimization was modestly related to frequency of UCS. The relation between childhood victimization and UCS was mediated by disconnection/rejection schemas (e.g., beliefs that one’s needs will not be met by others). Conclusions: Results suggest that altering cognitive schemas through evidence-based psychotherapy may interrupt the relation between childhood victimization and engagement in UCS.

"Violence is Everywhere": Childhood Polyvictimization, Perceptions of the Prevalence of Victimization, and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms.

Childhood polyvictimization is related to a heightened risk for mental health and functional problems in young adulthood, including posttraumatic stress symptoms, but little research has examined how perceptions of the prevalence of victimization may contribute to specific symptoms of posttraumatic stress. The primary aims of the current study were to (a) evaluate the accuracy of young adults' beliefs about the prevalence of multiple types of childhood victimization and (b) determine how inaccurate appraisals of victimization prevalence are associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms. College students (n = 369) drawn from two geographic regions of the United States responded to an online survey assessing their experiences of childhood victimization, perceptions about the prevalence of victimization, emotion regulation skills, and mental health. Childhood polyvictimization was significantly and positively related to distorted appraisals of the prevalence of victimization overall (r = .26, p < .001), and emotion regulation was associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress in all domains. Distorted perceptions of the prevalence of victimization were linked to higher symptoms of hyperarousal, but not to higher symptoms of reexperiencing, avoidance, or negative mood/cognition. Results suggest that emotion regulation skills training is likely to be beneficial for many individuals experiencing posttraumatic stress, and intervention around perceptions of the prevalence of victimization may be useful for addressing symptoms of hyperarousal.

Peer teasing experiences of fathers and their children: Intergenerational associations and transmission mechanisms.

Being the victim or perpetrator of peer teasing threatens children's immediate and long-term well-being. Given that many individual and contextual risk factors for peer victimization are transmitted within families, we tested whether fathers' childhood victimization experiences were directly or indirectly (via poor parenting and poor child adjustment) associated with their children's increased risk for similar experiences. Generation two (G2) fathers (n = 130) who had been assessed since age 9 years participated in an intergenerational study with their 268 G3 children and the 163 G2 mothers of these children. Peer teasing ratings were collected annually from G1 mothers, fathers, and teachers across G2 ages 9-16 years, and from the same three informant types across the same ages for G3 children. Also assessed was G2 fathers' poor parenting of G3 at ages 3-7 years and G3 poor adjustment (externalizing and internalizing behaviors, deviant peer association, low social competence) and body mass index (BMI) at ages 7-16 years. Models supported intergenerational stability in being teased that was partially mediated through G2 fathers' poor parenting and G3 poor adjustment. A direct intergenerational path in being teased remained significant, and G3 BMI uniquely predicted being teased. Childhood peer victimization is perpetuated across generations. Prevention aimed at poor parenting, child poor adjustment, and peer victimization itself may disrupt intergenerational stability in these adverse experiences.

Childhood Poly-victimization Is Associated With Elevated Body Mass Index and Blunted Cortisol Stress Response in College Women.

Childhood interpersonal violence is linked to obesity and central adiposity in adulthood. Victimization experiences are likely to co-occur within individuals, but few studies have examined poly-victimization in the context of obesity and central adiposity. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between poly-victimization and body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) and to explore whether dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, as measured by the cortisol stress response, mediates the relationship. Healthy undergraduate women were recruited for a laboratory study from an online survey that assessed six different childhood victimization experiences: physical abuse, sexual abuse, peer violence, intimate partner violence, community violence, and witnessing violence. Forty-four women were categorized as poly-victims (2-5 types of violence exposures) and 48 were controls (0 types of violence exposures). Salivary cortisol was measured before and after the Trier Social Stress Test. Cortisol stress response was analyzed by the area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCG). Compared with controls, poly-victims had higher BMI (B = 2.03, p = .04) and lower cortisol AUCG (B = -6.70, p < .01), independent of covariates. Poly-victims showed blunted AUCG in response to the stress task compared with controls, independent of covariates (B = -6.70, p < .01). Bootstrapping tests of mediation showed that cortisol response was not a significant mediator of the relationship between poly-victimization and BMI. Secondary analyses among poly-victims showed that the more frequent the violence exposure the higher the BMI. Childhood poly-victimization is linked to higher BMI and blunted cortisol responses in young adult women. Assessment of multiple forms of childhood victimization is recommended.

Victimization and Perpetration Experiences of Adults With Autism.

This study aimed to describe the self-reported experiences of childhood and adult victimization and perpetration in adults with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) compared to a matched sample, and how victimization and perpetration are associated with autism-related difficulties. Forty-five adults with ASC and 42 adults without ASC completed questionnaires regarding violence victimization and perpetration, emotion regulation, and sociocommunicative competence. Participants with ASC reported experiencing, as children, more overall victimization; specifically, more property crime, maltreatment, teasing/emotional bullying, and sexual assault by peers, compared to participants without ASC. Participants with ASC also reported experiencing more teasing/emotional bullying in adulthood and greater sexual contact victimization. No significant differences were found between groups on perpetration. Sociocommunicative ability and emotion regulation deficits did not explain the heightened risk for victimization. Individuals with ASC have an increased vulnerability to violence victimization, which speaks to the need for interventions, and proactive prevention strategies.