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Serious Injuries and Deaths of Adolescent Girls Resulting From Interpersonal Violence
Characteristics and Trends From the United States, 1989-1998
Harry Moskowitz, MD;
John L. Griffith, PhD;
Carla DiScala, PhD;
Robert D. Sege, MD, PhD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155:903-908.
Background Little published data are available concerning the death and disability
of adolescent girls resulting from interpersonal violence (adolescents are defined as those aged 12-18 years in this study).
Objectives To determine whether there were sex differences in (a) the characteristics of those who were injured or died, (b) injury severity and outcomes, and (c) injury
mechanism; and to describe time trends in these differences.
Design Analysis of data concerning serious injuries due to assaults, recorded
in the National Pediatric Trauma Registry (from January 1, 1989, through December
31, 1998), and homicides, recorded in the Web-Based Injury Statistics and
Query Reporting System database (from January 1, 1990, through December 31,
1997).
Setting Patient data from participating pediatric trauma centers (National Pediatric
Trauma Registry) in 45 states and national death certificate data (Web-Based
Injury Statistics and Query Reporting System).
Patients Six hundred twelve adolescent girls who were seriously injured because
of an assault were compared with 2656 adolescent boys who were seriously injured
because of an assault. Three thousand four hundred eighty-seven adolescent
girls who died due to a homicide were compared with 17 292 adolescent
boys who died due to a homicide.
Results Assaulted adolescent girls were more likely to have preexisting cognitive
or psychosocial impairments than were adolescent boys (odds ratio, 1.68; 95%
confidence interval, 1.12-2.51). Adolescent girls trended toward more injury-related
impairments at discharge from the hospital (odds ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence
interval, 0.92-1.47). Adolescent girls were more likely to have been stabbed,
and less likely to have been shot. Also, adolescent girls were more likely
to have been injured at a home or a residence. Compared with all National
Pediatric Trauma Registry admissions, assaults declined at the same rate for
adolescent girls and boys. The proportion resulting from penetrating trauma
declined more slowly for adolescent girls.
Conclusions Interpersonal violence causes considerable morbidity and mortality for
young women. Research and interventions should be developed to respond to
adolescent girls who experience interpersonal violence.
From the Division of Clinical Care Research (Drs Moskowitz, Griffith,
and Sege) and the Department of Pediatrics (Drs Moskowitz, DiScala, and Sege),
The Floating Hospital for Children, New England Medical Center, Boston, Mass.
Dr Moskowitz is now with the Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School
of Medicine, New York, NY.
Corresponding author and reprints: Harry Moskowitz, MD, Department
of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Box 1198, One Gustave Levy
Place, New York, NY 10029.
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