Discussion

1

Characteristics of male victims of peer
sexual aggression during adolescence Brennan J.
Young Wyndol Furman

Results
Summary

• Introduction
• Unwanted or coerced sexual encounters with peers
  occur frequently during adolescence and emerging
  adulthood, with as many as 1 in 2 adolescent
  girls reporting some form of peer sexual
  victimization (Humphrey White, 2000).
• Identified risk factors among adolescent girls
  include substance use, sexual involvement and
  interpersonal rejection sensitivity (Vezina
  Hebert, 2007 Young Furman, 2008).
• Although girls are at higher risk for peer sexual
  victimization, some estimates among adolescent
  boys range as high as 36 (Hickman, Jaycox,
  Aronoff, 2004).
• Little is known concerning the characteristics of
  adolescent boys who report sexual victimization
  from peers or whether such experiences may be
  qualitatively different than those reported by
  female victims.
• Current Study
• The current study examined the incidence and
  described the experiences of boys who reported
  unwanted or coerced sexual activity with a peer.
• Additionally, gender differences were examined in
  the association between several interpersonal
  risk factors and peer sexual victimization.
• Methods
• Participants
• 200 adolescents were assessed annually in an
  ongoing longitudinal study of adolescents close
  relationships.
• Participants were approximately 70 Caucasian,
  12.5 African American, 12 Hispanic, 2.5 Asian
  American, 0.5 Native American and 2.5 Other
  Ethnicity. Gender was evenly represented.
• Current analyses included participant data from
  the first five waves of data collection (grades
  10 12 and the first 2 years post-high school).
• Measures
• Sexual Experience. A sexual experience composite
  score was calculated from nine questions that
  assessed the frequency within the past 12 months
  that the adolescents engaged in various sexual
  activities, ranging from cuddling and kissing to
  intercourse and oral sex.
• Peers sexual romantic involvement. Adolescents
  also gave their perceptions of their peers
  sexual and romantic involvement, answering
  questions such as how many of your friends have
  begun dating?...have had intercourse?

• By the end of wave 5, 40 of the boys had
  experienced peer sexual victimization.
• The three most frequent types of sexual
  victimization experiences were similar for boys
  and girls
• Attempted (but not completed) sexual intercourse
  after being given alcohol or drugs
• Unwanted sex play (e.g., fondling, kissing or
  petting) that occurred due to verbal pressure
• Completed intercourse that occurred due to verbal
  pressure.
• However, the girls reported more incidents
  involving physical force.
• Across all 5 waves, adolescent boys and girls who
  experienced sexual victimization reported more
  frequent substance use and more sexual experience
  than non-victims, and they perceived that their
  friends were more sexually and romantically
  active than did non-victims.
• No gender differences emerged between male and
  female victims in substance use, perceptions of
  peers sexual and romantic involvement, rejection
  sensitivity, or their own sexual experience.

• Similar numbers of adolescent boys and girls
  reported at least one form of sexual
  victimization from a peer at each wave. Only at
  wave 5 did the numbers differ statistically (?2
  2.37, p lt .05).
• By the end of wave 5, 40 of the adolescent boys
  had experienced peer sexual victimization.

• Discussion
• Overall, the characteristics and experiences of
  adolescent boys who were sexually victimized by a
  peer were similar to those of adolescent girls
  who were also victims, with the exception that
  very few boys reported more severe incidents
  involving physical force.
• Adolescents who reported victimization also
  reported more substance use and sexual activity,
  both for themselves and among their friends.
• This finding likely reflects an association with
  deviant peers and participation in a risk-laden
  social context in which sexually coercive
  incidents are more likely to occur.
• It is possible that adolescents who perceive
  their friends to be more sexually and
  romantically involved are more prone to peer
  pressure and to engage in sexual activity for
  which they do not yet feel ready.
• The current results suggest that theories of
  sexual coercion should take into consideration
  the experiences of girls and boys alike.
• Sexual victimization experiences occur among a
  substantial proportion of boys as well as girls.
• Moreover, the variables that were predictive of
  victimization were similar for boys and girls.

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33-66. Young, B. J., Furman, W. (2008).
Interpersonal factors in the risk for sexual
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