The Effect of Sexual Victimization On Substance Use and Abuse

Abstract

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, I estimate the effects of sexual victimization on substance use and abuse. Specifically, I predict the effects of being a victim of forced intercourse on alcohol abuse, binge drinking, smoking, marijuana use, and illegal drug use. I also examine the effects of two broader measures of sexual violence: sexual abuse by a parent or guardian and sexual abuse by a non-parent or guardian. Results suggest that forced intercourse is strongly associated with substance use and abuse. However, the inclusion of individual fixed effects significantly reduced the magnitude of the estimates, as did the inclusion of controls for past substance use and abuse.