ABSTRACT

Adolescence is often characterized as a developmental period in which increases in problem behaviors such as substance use, criminality, and health-risking sexual behaviors are commonly observed (Steinberg, 2011). Because these behaviors may lead to short-and long-term adverse consequences, they become not only an individual concern, but also one with public health ramifi cations. Although believed to increase during adolescence in general, children and adolescents who have experienced extreme early-life stressors (e.g., maltreatment in the form of neglect and/ or abuse) show higher rates of these risk behaviors (e.g., Huang et al., 2011; Oshri, Tubman, Burnette, 2012; Shenk, Noll, Peugh, Griffi n, & Bensman, 2016). The public health costs for resources dedicated to addressing the consequences of these behaviors in maltreated populations are large and continue to grow (Fang, Brown, Florence, & Mercy, 2012). Thus, understanding why adolescents who experienced early adversity engage in these behaviors becomes an essential component for the development of prevention and intervention efforts designed to abate risk-taking behaviors that bear the highest personal and societal costs.