The impact of sexual violence in gendered adolescent mental health pathways

Abstract

Anxiety, depression, and suicidality result in a high burden of disease among adolescents (aged 10–24 years). 1 , 2 The epidemiology of mental health plays an important role in identifying social factors that influence the mental health pathways of adolescents, and equally, in locating prevention approaches and ways to promote healing and recovery. 3 New research by Francesca Bentivegna and Praveetha Patalay 4 crucially situates knowledge of sexual violence experiences within gendered adolescent mental health pathways. The findings of this study substantiate the effects of sexual violence on mental health over the period of mid-adolescence for both young women and young men, emphasising the need for effective prevention approaches. This new evidence vitally connects the experiences of adolescents with the more widely recognised effects of sexual violence towards children and the effects of intimate partner violence emerging across adulthood.