Project dates: March 2014 - January 2018
Research has identified associations between childhood trauma and psychopathology outcomes, HIV risk behaviors, and criminal justice system involvement. However, the complex interplay among these variables is not well defined. In addition, research on factors that promote resiliency in the face of trauma is limited. The project measured the degree to which physical, sexual, and emotional traumas during childhood are associated with hypothesized causal pathways leading to elevated levels of psychopathology, HIV risk behavior, and arrest and incarceration. In addition, it tested the degree to which variations in social support protect against the deleterious effects of trauma on HIV risk behavior and criminal justice outcomes. The analyses provided information to guide the development of novel trauma-informed interventions that addresses the psychopathology, substance use, and sexual risk behaviors that drive both HIV risk behavior and criminal justice involvement.
Abstract on NIH RePORTERChildhood traumatic experiences and receptive anal intercourse among women
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 52 (1), 23-30. doi: 10.1363/psrh.12129. PMCID: PMC8034482.
Scheidell JD, Quinn K, McGorray SP, Frueh BC, Beharie NN, Cottler LB, Khan MR (2018).
Childhood traumatic experiences and the association with marijuana and cocaine use in adolescence through adulthood
Addiction, 113 (1), 44-56. doi: 10.1111/add.13921. PMCID: PMC5725274.
London S, Quinn K, Scheidell JD, Frueh BC, Khan MR (2017).
Adverse experiences in childhood and sexually transmitted infection risk from adolescence into adulthood
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 44 (9), 524-532. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000640. PMCID: PMC5942895.