Gendered Pathways: Violent Childhood Maltreatment, Sex Exchange, and Drug Use

Below:  Parameter Estimates for Direct-Indirect Effects Model in Women and Men

Note: Unstandardized regression weights (and standard errors) for women are left of the diagonal and in bold; estimates for men are right of the diagonal and in regular font. Correlations between the independent variables are not shown, but are similar to those reported in Table 1.

First, structural equation modeling revealed that childhood sexual and physical abuse were related to increased drug engagement in women and men, respectively, above the influence of early childhood contextual variables (e.g., neighborhood, family) and age. Second, sexual abuse was related to sex exchange, which in turn was related to drug use symptoms in women but not men.

These data provide empirical support for distinct trauma-related pathways to drug use problems in men and women, which has implications for gendered explanations and prevention approaches.

Via:   http://ht.ly/QngMt  HT @USouthFlorida