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Background Child sexual abuse is associated with adverse outcomes, including heightened vulnerability that may translate into risk of revictimization. The aims of the study were: (1) to explore the direct and indirect links between child sexual abuse and cyberbullying, bullying, and mental health problems and (2) to study maternal support as a potential protective factor. Methods Teenagers involved in the two first waves of the Quebec Youths' Romantic Relationships Survey (N = 8,194 and 6,780 at Wave I and II, respectively) completed measures assessing child sexual abuse and maternal support at Wave I. Cyberbullying, bullying, and mental health problems (self‐esteem, psychological distress, and suicidal ideations) were evaluated 6 months later. Results Rates of cyberbullying in the past 6 months were twice as high in sexually abused teens compared to nonvictims both for girls (33.47 vs. 17.75%) and boys (29.62 vs. 13.29%). A moderated mediated model revealed a partial mediation effect of cyberbullying and bullying in the link between child sexual abuse and mental health. Maternal support acted as a protective factor as the conditional indirect effects of child sexual abuse on mental health via cyberbullying and bullying were reduced in cases of high maternal support. Conclusions Results have significant relevance for prevention and intervention in highlighting the heightened vulnerability of victims of child sexual abuse to experience both bullying and cyberbullying. Maternal support may buffer the risk of developing mental health distress, suggesting that intervention programs for victimized youth may profit by fostering parent involvement.

Background/Objective: The present study aimed to (1) examine prevalence rates and frequency of dating violence victimization among a representative sample of Quebec high school adolescents and (2) explore possible gender differences in these rates as well as in perceived impact of victimization. Method: A sample of 8,194 students completed questionnaires evaluating dating victimization in the past 12 months as well as perceived impacts. Results: Results show that psychological violence is the most frequent form of dating victimization reported. Girls are more likely to report experiences of psychological, physical, threatening behaviors as well as sexual dating victimization than boys. Analyses on different indicators of the impact of victimization (i.e. feelings of fear, distress and post-traumatic stress symptoms) reveal that teenage girls are more vulnerable to sustaining more pervasive impacts than boys. Conclusions: The findings underscore dating violence as a prevalent public health problem. A significant number of teens report dating victimization with girls more likely than boys to perceive negative impacts associated with the coercive behaviors experienced. Antecedentes/Objetivo: El presente estudio tuvo como objetivos: a) examinar las tasas de prevalencia y la frecuencia de la victimización de la violencia en parejas en una muestra representativa de adolescentes de Secundaria de Quebec y b) explorar diferencias por sexo en esas tasas, así como en el impacto percibido de la victimización. Método: Una muestra de 8.194 estudiantes respondió cuestionarios que evalúan la victimización en las relaciones de pareja adolescente en los últimos 12 meses, además del impacto percibido. Resultados: La violencia psicológica es la forma más frecuente de victimización en parejas adolescentes. Las chicas fueron más proclives a reportar violencia psicológica, física y comportamientos amenazantes, así como victimización sexual que los chicos. Los diversos indicadores del impacto de la violencia en las relaciones de pareja adolescente (miedo, sentimientos de angustia y síntomas de estrés postraumático) revelan que las mujeres son más vulnerables a sufrir impactos más generalizados que los varones. Conclusiones: La violencia en las relaciones de parejas adolescentes es un problema de salud pública. Un número significativo de adolescentes informó haber sido víctima en sus relaciones de pareja, con las mujeres con más probabilidades que los varones de percibir impactos negativos asociados.

Dating violence (DV) is a widespread social issue that has numerous deleterious repercussions on youths’ health. Family and peer risk factors for DV have been widely studied, but with inconsistent methodologies, which complicates global comprehension of the phenomenon. Protective factors, although understudied, constitutes a promising line of research for prevention. To date, there is no comprehensive quantitative review attempting to summarize knowledge on both family and peer factors that increase or decrease the risk for adolescents and emerging adults DV victimization. The current meta-analysis draws on 87 studies with a total sample of 278,712 adolescents and young adults to examine effect sizes of the association between various family and peer correlates of DV victimization. Results suggest small, significant effect sizes for all the family (various forms of child maltreatment, parental support, and parental monitoring) and peer factors (peer victimization, sexual harassment, affiliation with deviant peers, and supportive/prosocial peers) in the prediction of DV. With few exceptions, forms of DV (psychological, physical, and sexual), gender, and age did not moderate the strength of these associations. In addition, no difference was found between the magnitude of family and peer factors’ effect sizes, suggesting that these determinants are equally important in predicting DV. The current results provide future directions for examining relations between risk and protective factors for DV and indicate that both peers and family should be part of the development of efficient prevention options.

Casual sexual relationships and experiences (CSREs) are still considered to be detrimental to the psychological well-being of youth even though findings remain inconclusive. Most studies have focused on emerging adulthood. Using a prospective design based on a representative sample of high school students in the province of Québec, we measured sexually active adolescents' (N = 2,304) psychological well-being six months after engaging in these relationships while controlling for prior well-being. We analyzed two forms of CSREs, friends with benefits (FWB) and one-night stand (ONS) relationships, as well as levels of sexual intimacy. The results show that CSREs had a small impact (small effect sizes) on subsequent psychological well-being, especially among girls; FWB relationships involving penetrative contact increased girls' psychological distress and both their alcohol and drug consumption. ONSs including sexual touching increased girls' psychological distress and their drug use. None of the CSREs influenced boys' psychological well-being. The findings underscored the importance of using caution when arguing that CSREs are detrimental or harmless to the psychological well-being of adolescents. The results also highlight the importance of taking into account gender and forms of CSREs in prevention and health interventions.

This analysis examined the contribution of personal, family (maternal and paternal support; sibling support) and extra-familiar (peer support; other adults) resilience to the prediction of clinical levels of PTSD symptoms in adolescents reporting sexual abuse. Controls were established for abuse-related variables (type of abuse, severity and multiple abuse) in a representative sample of high schools students in the province of Quebec. A total of 15.2% of adolescent females and 4.4% adolescent males in high school reported a history of sexual abuse in childhood. Sexually abused adolescent females (27.8%) were more likely than adolescent males (14.9%) to achieve scores with high clinical levels of PTSD. Hierarchical logistic regression revealed that over and above the characteristics of the sexual abuse experienced, resilience factors (maternal and peer support) contributed to the prediction of symptoms of PTSD attaining the clinical threshold. Alternative intervention and prevention practices geared to adolescent victims of sexual assault are discussed. A presente análise explorou a contribuição da resiliência pessoal, familiar (apoio maternal e paternal, o apoio irmão) e extra-familiar (apoio dos pares, outro adulto) para a previsão de níveis clínicos de sintomas de Síndrome do Estresse Pós-Traumático (PTSD) em adolescentes que relataram abuso sexual, controlando-se variá veis relacionadas com o abuso (tipo de abuso, gravidade e abuso múltipla) em amostra representativa de alunos das escolas da província de Quebec. O total de 15,2% das meninas e 4,4 % dos meninos do ensino médio relataram uma história de abuso sexual infantil. Meninas abusadas sexualmente (27,8%) eram mais propensas, comparadas aos meninos (14,9%), para obter pontuação atingindo níveis clínicos de PTSD. A regressão logística hierárquica revelou que, para além das características do abuso sexual sofrido, fatores de resiliência (suporte materno e apoio dos pares) contribuíram para a predição de sintomas de PTSD que atingiram o limite clínico. São discutidas alternativas práticas de intervenção e de prevenção direcionadas a adolescentes vítimas de abuso sexual.

The current study used an intersectional framework to investigate international students' experiences of sexual violence and examine differences in contexts, consequences, and disclosure between international and domestic students. Secondary analyses (chi-squares, multivariate logistic regressions) were conducted on previously collected data. The sample consisted of 6,554 students, including 764 international students. Compared with their domestic peers, international students of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, minority status, grade levels, and time spent at university faced an increased likelihood of being the target of sexual violence. Contexts and disclosure of victimization did not vary by student status. International students reported more PTSD symptoms after campus sexual violence. Future studies are needed to determine why perpetrators target international students. Prevention and intervention efforts need to acknowledge diversity among international students and potential victims who could be men, women, LGBTQ+ students, undergraduate and graduate students.

The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of teen dating victimization among boys and girls and examine their association with family and peer contextual risk factors and injuries and mental health indicators. As part of the population-based Youths’ Romantic Relationships Project, 8 230 high school students were questioned about their victimization experiences. Latent class analysis was used to identify classes for both girls and boys. Latent class analysis identified a best fitting model of three classes for girls: Low victimization (61% of girls), Sexual and psychological violence (27%) and Multiple victimization (12%). Similarly for boys, three classes were identified including a Low victimization (84% of boys), a Multiple victimization (9%) and an Unwanted sexual contacts and psychological violence (7%). Associations between class membership and family and peer contextual risk factors and mental health indicators revealed more distinctive features among classes for girls than for boys. Confirming our hypothesis, both genders in the Multiple violence class reported experiencing the most injuries (e.g., bruise or cut, pain the next day or need of a medical appointment). A history of childhood interpersonal traumas was significantly related to classes of dating victimization, suggesting that different forms of child abuse (neglect, exposure to interparental violence, physical or sexual abuse) are associated with a heightened risk of revictimization in the context of their first romantic relationships. Our findings suggest that child sexual abuse may act as a specific vulnerability factor for more pervasive forms of TDV for girls. The findings highlight the utility of a person-oriented approach to enhance our understanding of the diversity of victimization experiences in the context of teen romantic relationships. Results also underscore the importance of tailoring prevention efforts to efficiently tackle teen dating violence and the relevance of trauma-informed practices.

Psychological characteristics may predispose youths to engage in casual sex relationships and experiences (CSREs). Using a prospective longitudinal design and in a subsample of 2601 high school students in the province of Québec, we explored possible shifts in engaging in one-night stands (ONSs) and friends with benefits (FWB) relationships over a 6-month period among sexually active adolescents. We also examined the relationships among well-being predictors (psychological distress, self-esteem, suicidal ideation, and alcohol and drug consumption) and these shifts while exploring possible gender differences. Multinomial regressions in Mplus were used to explore whether initial psychological well-being was related to entrance type, the transition from having no CSREs to having one, or discontinuation or continuation type. Frequent alcohol consumption (i.e., once or twice a week or more) for boys and frequent consumption of both alcohol and drugs for girls were associated with continuation of CSREs. Suicidal ideation was associated with entrance into FWB relationships as well as continuation of FWB relationships and ONSs for girls. Psychological distress was a predictor of discontinuation of ONSs for boys. These results suggested that interventions should consider the specific and common needs of both genders in regard to ONSs and FWB relationships.

Background Many plants of boreal forest of Quebec have been used by Native Americans to treat a variety of microbial infections. However, the antiviral activities of these plants have been seldom evaluated on cellular models to validate their in vitro efficiencies. In this study, Cornus canadensis L. (Cornaceae), a plant used in Native American traditional medicine to treat possible antiviral infections, has been selected for further examination. Methods The plant was extracted by decoction and infusion with water, water/ethanol 1:1 and ethanol to obtain extracts similar to those used by Native Americans. The effects of the extracts were tested on herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) using a plaque reduction assay. Moreover, bioassay-guided fractionation was achieved to isolate bioactive compounds. Results Water/ethanol 1:1 infusion of C. canadensis leaves were the most active extracts to inhibit virus absorption with EC50 of about 9 μg mL-1, whereas for direct mode, both extraction methods using water or water/ethanol 1:1 as solvent were relatively similar with EC50 ranging from 11 to 17 μg mL-1. The fractionation led to the identification of active fractions containing hydrolysable tannins. Tellimagrandin I was found the most active compound with an EC50 of 2.6 μM for the direct mode and 5.0 μM for the absorption mode. Conclusion Altogether, the results presented in this work support the antiviral activity of Cornus canadensis used in Native American traditional medicine.

Previous research has shown an association between child maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, or witnessing interparental violence) and adolescent sexual risk behaviors (SRBs). The mechanisms explaining this association are not well understood, but attachment theory could provide further insight into them. This study examined the relationships between child maltreatment and SRBs and investigated anxious and avoidant attachment as mediators. The sample comprised 1,900 sexually active adolescents (13 to 17 years old; 60.8% girls) attending Quebec high schools. The results of path analyses indicated that neglect was associated with a higher number of sexual partners, casual sexual behavior, and being younger at first intercourse. Anxious attachment mediated the relation between neglect and number of sexual partners, whereas avoidant attachment explained the relation between neglect and number of sexual partners, casual sexual behavior, and age at first intercourse (for boys only). Sexual abuse was directly associated with all three SRBs. Neither anxious attachment nor avoidant attachment mediated these associations. Youth with a history of neglect and sexual abuse represent a vulnerable population that is likely to engage in SRBs. Interventions designed to induce a positive change in attachment security may reduce SRBs among victims of neglect.