This application requests funds to conduct the first large scale, prospective, and longterm assessment of the relationship between childhood victimization and lifetime revictimization, using substantiated cases of childhood physical and sexual abuse and neglect from approximately 25 years ago and a comparison group matched on the basis of age, sex, race/ethnicity, and approximate family social class at the time. The work proposed here is part of a research project begun in 1986 with an initial focus on criminal behavior. The direction of this work has been expanded systematically to include other domains of functioning, including mental health outcomes as well as alcohol and drug abuse. During the years 1989-1995, we conducted in-person follow-up interviews with 1,196 individuals (676 cases of child abuse and neglect and 520 matched comparisons), collecting extensive information about their psychiatric, cognitive, intellectual, social, and behavioral functioning up to that time. In-person interviews will be conducted with 1,196 individuals who participated in the earlier research. There are four broad goals: (1) to test the hypothesis that childhood victimization contributes to increased vulnerability for revictimization in adolescence and adulthood, by comparing the extent to which victims of childhood abuse and neglect are at increased risk for subsequent victimization (""""""""lifetime"""""""" and """"""""current"""""""") compared to matched comparison group subjects. We expect differences in the extent and characteristics of subsequent revictimization experiences (type, frequency, pattern, and perpetrator) and by gender, race/ethnicity, and type of childhood abuse or neglect experience;(2) to determine characteristics associated with revictimization across a broad range of domains of functioning (psychiatric, emotional, social, behavioral, occupational, cognitive, and physical health); (3) to determine physiological stress responses associated with victimization and revictimization, measured in terms of HPA reactivity (cortisol) and cell mediated immunocompetence (EBV-VCA) using new procedures developed for biological data collection in the field; and (4) to test hypotheses about potential pathways--traumatic reactions, risk exposure, and an integrated path--from childhood victimization to revictimization. We will employ analytic strategies involving recursive partitioning and bootstrapping to test these hypotheses. Assessing lifetime and current rates provides two different perspectives on revictimization probabilities and, together, provides a comprehensive picture of one important consequence of childhood victimization.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01MH058386-01A1
Application #
2761959
Study Section
Violence and Traumatic Stress Review Committee (VTS)
Program Officer
Boyce, Cheryl A
Project Start
1999-02-01
Project End
2004-01-31
Budget Start
1999-02-01
Budget End
2000-01-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
State University of New York at Albany
Department
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
City
Albany
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
12222
Widom, Cathy Spatz; Horan, Jacqueline; Brzustowicz, Linda (2015) Childhood maltreatment predicts allostatic load in adulthood. Child Abuse Negl 47:59-69
Horan, Jacqueline M; Widom, Cathy S (2015) From Childhood Maltreatment to Allostatic Load in Adulthood: The Role of Social Support. Child Maltreat 20:229-39
Horan, Jacqueline M; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2015) Cumulative childhood risk and adult functioning in abused and neglected children grown up. Dev Psychopathol 27:927-41
Milaniak, Izabela; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2015) Does Child Abuse and Neglect Increase Risk for Perpetration of Violence Inside and Outside the Home? Psychol Violence 5:246-255
Francis, Melville M; Nikulina, Valentina; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2015) A Prospective Examination of the Mechanisms Linking Childhood Physical Abuse to Body Mass Index in Adulthood. Child Maltreat 20:203-13
Widom, Cathy Spatz; Czaja, Sally J; DuMont, Kimberly A (2015) Intergenerational transmission of child abuse and neglect: real or detection bias? Science 347:1480-5
Horan, Jacqueline M; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2015) Does age of onset of risk behaviors mediate the relationship between child abuse and neglect and outcomes in middle adulthood? J Youth Adolesc 44:670-82
Widom, Cathy Spatz; Czaja, Sally; Dutton, Mary Ann (2014) Child abuse and neglect and intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration: a prospective investigation. Child Abuse Negl 38:650-63
Young, Joanna Cahall; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2014) Long-term effects of child abuse and neglect on emotion processing in adulthood. Child Abuse Negl 38:1369-81
Nikulina, Valentina; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2014) Do race, neglect, and childhood poverty predict physical health in adulthood? A multilevel prospective analysis. Child Abuse Negl 38:414-24

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