I found, "Adolescent Girls' Offending and Health-Risking Sexual Behavior: The Predictive Role of Trauma" to be a really informative read. The reading made me think of the discussion we had in class on Monday regarding how frequently adolescent girls experience some form of sexual assault, and how that influences their sexual behavior following the incident.
This reading emphasizes how high trauma exposure in adolescent girls', particularly physical/sexual abuse, witnessing domestic violence, and parental incarceration, can significantly predict offending and health-risking sexual behavior. It is important to note that experiential trauma measures serve as a stronger predictor than diagnostic measures (PTSD criteria). Experiential trauma measures can be crucial for identifying at-risk girls needing intervention, even if they do not meet the PTSD diagnostic criteria. This is important because the link between trauma, delinquency and health-risking sexual behavior poses a major public health challenge. It is important for clinicians to be able to identify at-risk girls early and accurately for effective treatment.