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Childhood neurodevelopmental disorders and risk of coercive sexual victimization in childhood and adolescence – a population‐based prospective twin study
Author(s) -
Ohlsson Gotby Vide,
Lichtenstein Paul,
Långström Niklas,
Pettersson Erik
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/jcpp.12884
Subject(s) - psychology , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , autism spectrum disorder , population , clinical psychology , etiology , conduct disorder , developmental psychology , autism , psychiatry , medicine , environmental health
Background Autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ), Attention‐deficit/Hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ), and other related neurodevelopmental disorders ( NDD s) have, in some previous studies, been shown to increase the risk of being sexually victimized. However, no studies have examined whether the association is driven by a general NDD phenotype versus specific diagnoses, nor the etiology of the association. Method Using a genetically informative, prospective design, we examined the association between ASD and ADHD in childhood and coercive sexual victimization up to age 18. A total of 4,500 children participating in the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden ( CATSS ) were rated by their parents on NDD s at age 9 or 12 years, and self‐reported at age 18 on lifetime experiences of coercive sexual touching and/or coercive sex. First, we regressed sexual victimization on the NDD s. Second, we regressed sexual victimization on general and specific NDD symptoms identified via a bifactor model. Third, we decomposed the observed associations into genetic and environmental parts. Results In females, ASD was associated with an almost threefolded increased risk of coercive sexual victimization, and ADHD with a doubled risk. In males, the risk associated with ASD and ADHD was of the same magnitude but not significant. When controlling for overall NDD symptom load ASD or ADHD , no longer uniquely predicted coercive sexual victimization. The association between the NDD general factor and coercive sexual victimization was due to shared genetics. Conclusions General NDD symptom load, rather than specific ASD or ADHD symptoms, seems to be a moderate vulnerability factor for coercive sexual victimization. We speculate that an evocative gene–environment correlation might account for this observation, such that sexual perpetrators actively target NDD individuals.