Violence in the lives of pregnant teenage women: Associations with multiple substance use

Using data from a consecutive sample of approximately 700 prenatal patients aged 12 to 19, the extent of violence and substance use in the lives of th ese women was examined, as were associations between violence and substance use. The findings show that 294 of the study participants had been victims of violence, with 15% experiencing physical violence only, 5% sexual viole nce only, and 9% both physical and sexual violence. Adjusted odds ratios (O Rs) and 95% confidence intervals (Cls) from logistic regression analyses sh owed that, after controlling for confounding factors, victims were more lik ely than nonvictims to use cigarettes, alcohol, and illicit drugs, with vic tims of both physical and sexual violence being the most likely to use each type of substance. Ordinal logistic regression analysis found that, compar ed to nonvictims, violence victims were mere likely to have more severe pat terns of substance use (use multiple types of substances), with victims of both physical and sexual violence being the most likely to be multiple subs tance users. These findings underline the importance of both violence and s ubstance use as health concerns among our youth.