Adolescent females with a substance use disorder : affiliations with adult male sexual partners

FRANÇAIS :
L'objectif de l'étude est de vérifier l'hypothèse selon laquelle un statut économique bas, une mauvaise relation avec les parents, un dévelopement sexuel précoce et un comportement anti-social sont des facteurs de risques d'usage de drogues chez des adolescentes ayant pour partenaire sexuel un homme adulte. 180 adolescentes (âgées de 14 à 18 ans) ayant un usage de drogues ont été comparées à un groupe témoin de 87 adolescentes ne consommant pas de drogues. Les adolescentes toxicomanes ont le plus souvent des partenaires sexuels masculins adultes. Les facteurs significativement associés à ce choix sont une maturité, une puberté précoce, un comportement anti-social, des relations difficiles avec les parents. Les interventions de prévention doivent s'attacher à renforcer les pratiques éducatives et les aptitudes à communiquer de façon à améliorer le lien entre parents et enfants, et ainsi, à diminuer la propension des adolescentes à rechercher des partenaires sexuels adultes et à adopter des comportements anti-sociaux.
ENGLISH :
Objective. To test the hypothesis that low socioeconomic status (SES), a disturbed parent-daughter relationship, early sexual development, and antisocial behavior are risk factors in adolescent females af filiating with adult male sexual partners. To determine whether the relation between these risk factors and affiliating with adult male sexual partners is stronger in females with greater, rather than fewer, substance use disorders (SUD). Method: Subjects were 180 adolescent females with SUD and 87 normal controls (14-18 years of age). Results: the SUD group bad a lower SES and more negative parent-daughter interactions, and exhibited greater antisocial tendencies. Also, the SUD group showed a more frequent af filiation with adult male sexual partners. Chronological age, age of menarcbe (sexual development), antisocial behavior and quality of tbe parent-daughter relationship were significantly associated with affiliation with adult male sexual partners. Moreover, the number of SUD diagnoses enhanced the relation between the quality of the parent-daughter relationship and antisocial behavior with affiliation with adult male sexual partners. Conclusions. From a prevention perspec- tive, interventions directed at enhancing child rearing practices, communication skills, and involvement in children's needs and activities might result in improved parent-cbild attachments that may attentuate young women's propensities to become involved (From the author' s abstract)