Gender differences in violence exposure and violence risk among adolescentinpatients

Gender-specific rates of violence exposure and violence perpetration among psychiatrically ill adolescents has received little scientific attention. W e examined 130 adolescent inpatients and found no difference between male a nd female subjects with respect to self-reported violence potential or actu al violence perpetration. Female inpatients, however, were significantly mo re often victims of sexual assault, and male inpatients were significantly more often victims of physical assault. For male inpatients, a history of v iolence perpetration in one area was closely linked with a history of viole nce victimization in the same area. Alternatively, patterns of victimizatio n and perpetration among female inpatients were less predictable and had cr ossover to victimization and perpetration experiences in other areas. Corre lational analyses revealed that violence risk was associated with a broad r ange of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. Significant associ ations with hopelessness, suicidality, and childhood trauma differentiated the violence risk of male and female inpatients. We propose a hypothesis fo r understanding these differences and conclude that although psychiatricall y ill adolescent male and female patients may commonly fall victim to diffe ring forms of violence, both genders are at equal risk for actual violence perpetration.