| Abstract. This
study examines childhood experiences and adult functioning in
college-age women. A variety of questionnaires were used to examine
polyvictimization (i.e., high cumulative levels of victimization) during
women’s childhood and early adulthood and how it has affected their
romantic relationships, sexual experiences, psychological well being and
distress, substance use, and participation in illegal activities. In the
present study, The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) was used
to measure six types of victimization (property crime, physical assault,
childhood maltreatment, peer/sibling victimization, sexual
victimization, and witnessed/indirect victimization) and
polyvictimization. The Trauma Symptom Inventory-2
(TSI-2) was used to measure symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
and Acute Stress Disorder that are associated with victimization.
Preliminary results regarding associations between the different types
of victimization and psychological distress will be reported. |
