Stealthing Perpetration and Victimization: Prevalence and Correlates among Emerging Adults

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Interpers Violence
• Personal Author:
  Bonar, Erin E. ; Ngo, Quyen M. ; Philyaw-Kotov, Meredith L. ; Walton, Maureen A. ; Kusunoki, Yasamin
• Description:
  Objectives:
  
  “Stealthing” is a form of sexual violence wherein a sexual partner purposefully removes a condom during penetration without the receptive partner’s knowledge. Given limited research on stealthing and the role of substance use in other forms of sexual violence, we examined demographic and substance use correlates of stealthing perpetration (SP) and victimization (SV) among emerging adults.
  
  Methods:
  
  Participants comprised 2,550 18–25 year-olds (M age=20.8, SD=2.3) recruited nationally via social media (48% female; 53.9% non-Hispanic White; 46.0% had another racial/ethnic identity; 67.4% heterosexual; 85.3% had at least some college education). We used unadjusted analyses (t-tests, chi-square analysis) and adjusted logistic regression analyses to examine associations between demographics (age, education, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation) and substance use (binge drinking, marijuana use, other illegal drug use, and prescription drug misuse) with SP by males and SV among males and females, separately.
  
  Results:
  
  SV was reported by 5.0% of males and 18.9% of females; 6.1% of males reported SP. In adjusted analyses, significant correlates of SP were: Non-Hispanic White race/ethnicity (OR=0.39), binge drinking (OR=1.39), cannabis use (OR=1.37), and other illegal drug use (OR=1.43). Significant correlates of male SV were: Non-Hispanic White race/ethnicity (OR=0.28), non-heterosexual orientation (OR=0.24), binge drinking (OR=1.49), and other illegal drug use (OR=1.79). Significant correlates of female SV were: older age (OR=1.13), Non-Hispanic White race/ethnicity (OR=0.57), binge drinking (OR=1.28), cannabis use (OR=1.29), and other illegal drug use (OR=1.22).
  
  Conclusions:
  
  Consistent with literature linking alcohol to sexual aggression and victimization, binge drinking appears to be a correlate of SV and SP, with other types of substance use also playing a role. Future data is needed to explore these relationships using longitudinal, event-level assessments to investigate the influence of acute intoxication. Interventions focusing on reducing sexually transmitted infections, unintended pregnancy, and sexual assault should include content related to stealthing as well as substance use.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adult Aged Bullying Crime Victims Female Humans Male Pregnancy Prevalence Sex Offenses Sexual Behavior Young Adult

  More +
• Keywords:
  Emerging Adults Perpetration Protective Factors Risk Factors Stealthing Victimization
• Source:
  J Interpers Violence. 36(21-22):NP11577-NP11592
• Pubmed ID:
  31771392
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC11658001
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  K23 AA022641/AA/NIAAA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R03 HD087520/HD/NICHD NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R49 CE002099/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States/ ; R49 CE003085/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  36
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:84370e94064b27f1d994e062fed5cda66e92ca6eb6f3d81c1f2959f171467eef111371461951188f0940b2be27de7bac3a23f6932d06db92c7b23c782771fe02
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/175232/cdc_175232_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 339.57 KB ]