Violent victimization trajectories over the life course and past year dental care use in adulthood in the United States

Objectives: Exposure to violence has been linked to poorer health outcomes and reduced healthcare utilization. Yet research has not assessed how patterns of violent victimization over the life course are associated with dental care use. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the relationship between violent victimization trajectories from adolescence to adulthood and dental care use in adulthood. Study design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: Data are from respondents who participated in Waves I-V of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Years 1994–2018; ages 11–43; n = 5847). Group-based trajectory models (GBTM) identified patterns of violent victimization from adolescence to adulthood, and multiple logistic regression explored the association between these trajectories and past year dental care use at Wave V, adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors. Results: Four victimization trajectories were identified: No victimization, intermediate low victimization, adolescent limited victimization, and chronic victimization. Past year dental care use was highest among those with no victimization (66.9 %) and lowest among those with chronic victimization (49.5 %). Relative to the trajectory of no violent victimization, all other victimization trajectory groups that experienced violent victimization at any point during the life course had significantly lower odds of dental care use. Conclusions: Violent victimization across the life course is associated with reduced dental care utilization in adulthood.