Sex and Aggression: The Relationship Between Gender and Abuse Experience in Youngsters Referred to Residential Treatment

We examined the relationship of gender and different forms of abuse experience on internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and IQ in a sample of 397 youngsters who were admitted to a residential treatment program. Three types of abuse experience were examined in this study: sexual abuse only, physical abuse only, and both sexual and physical abuse. Results indicate that girls exhibited higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms even though abuse experience was accounted for in the analyses. Moreover, youngsters who had experienced sexual abuse (but not physical abuse) exhibited higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms than youngsters who had not been abused. Implications for developing individualized interventions based on gender and abuse experience in residential treatment programs is discussed.     

Pathways to Adolescent Substance Use Among Sexually Abused Girls

This study examined the link between childhood sexual abuse and adolescent substance use among girls, and evaluated depressive self-concept and behavioral under-control (BUC) as pathways to substance use for sexually abused girls. Participants (n = 150) were drawn from a longitudinal study of the impact of domestic violence on the lives of women and children. Structural equation modeling revealed that girls childhood sexual abuse was associated prospectively with their later substance use. This relationship persisted when age, co-occurring forms of child abuse (physical, exposure to domestic violence), childhood depression and aggression, family income, maternal substance use, and parenting practices were controlled. Behavioral under-control mediated the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and later substance use, but depressive self-concept did not. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Nature and Prevalence of Childhood Sexual Abuse Among High School Girls and College Students in Zimbabwe

The study investigated the nature and prevalence of self-reported childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among a sample of Zimbabwean girls and college students. A total of 1059 high school girls and college students with a mean age (M = 18.31, SD = 3.66) participated in study. Overall, a CSA prevalence rate of 41.26% was found. The highest CSA prevalence rate was found among respondents who resided on commercial farms and mines (53%). Respondents who lived with their biological parents during childhood were significantly less likely to be sexually abused than were respondents who lived with non-parents such as uncles and brothers-in-law. Only 7.22% of the perpetrators were strangers. This study shows that sexual abuse of children in Zimbabwe is rampant, multifaceted, and linked to cultural factors that must be addressed as part of efforts to confront this scourge.     

Counselor preference and anticipated comfort ratings for a clinic sample of sexually abused versus non-abused girls

We compared counselor preference and anticipated comfort ratings for sexually abused and non-abused girls. Twenty-five sexually abused and 22 non-sexually abused girls between ages 7 and 17 participated in an initial psychological evaluation at a university outpatient clinic. Results obtained using the Counselor Preference and Comfort Survey revealed no significant difference between sexually abused and non-abused girls' ratings of their preference for male or female counselors and their anticipated comfort with male counselors; non-abused girls expressed significantly higher anticipated comfort with female counselors than did their abused counterparts. It was illustrated that younger girls', abused and non-abused, were more likely to prefer a female counselor and to anticipate being more comfortable with a female counselor. In addition, older non-abused girls were more likely to prefer a male counselor and more likely to anticipate being comfortable with a male counselor. Participants in both groups expressed a higher preference for and anticipated comfort with female counselors as compared with male counselors.     

Social learning,sexual and physical abuse,and adult crime

This research examines the relationship between childhood physical and sexual abuse and the types of crimes committed by male adult offenders. We use the method of discriminant prediction to determine whether independent and dependent variables are related in ways that theories predict. Our analyses of data from the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities suggest that offenders model specific behaviors to which they have been exposed. Male offenders who were sexually abused as a child are more likely to commit sexual offenses, particularly sexual offenses against children, than nonsexual offenses. Offenders who were physically abused are more likely to engage in violent offenses than nonviolent offenses. Further analyses show that sexual offenders, and to a lesser extent violent offenders, are likely to specialize in those offenses. Our results are consistent with a social learning approach. They address a heretofore neglected issue: what exactly do children model when they are mistreated. Aggr. Behav. 35:489–501, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Multidimensional Self-Perception of Sexually Abused Girls: Factor Models and Differences Between Sexual Abuse and Comparison Groups

This study investigated the multiple dimensions of self-perception in a sample of sexually abused and nonabused comparison girls (n = 140), with particular attention to self-perception in the scholastic, social, athletic, physical (appearance), and behavioral conduct domains. First, this study examined whether the five dimensions of self-perception were psychologically discrete. Second, the relationships between the self-perception factors and childhood sexual abuse were investigated using structural equation modeling. The results supported the multidimensionality of self-perception and suggested the presence of two distinct second-order self-perception factors: academic- and social-self. While the sexually abused girls indicated less positive perception for the academic-self than the comparison group, the two groups did not differ regarding the social-self. The findings highlight the importance of a multidimensional approach to self-perception in assessing and treating sexually abused children.     

A Latent Class Analysis of Childhood Maltreatment: Identifying Abuse Typologies

Multiple forms of abuse may co-occur, resulting in specific abuse typologies. A stratified random probability survey was conducted in Denmark with 4,718 participants, aged 24, from the 1984 birth cohort. A total of 2,980 interviews were successfully conducted. Latent class analysis was implemented using 20 categorical abuse experience items across four domains of childhood maltreatment. Logistic regression was conducted to ascertain whether abuse typologies could be differentiated by child protection status and gender. Four distinct abuse typologies were revealed: a non-abused group, a psychologically maltreated group, a sexually abused group, and a group experiencing multiple abuse types. Child protection status and female gender were predictive of group membership in certain abused groups compared to a non-abused group.     

The Effect of Adolescent Sex Offender Abuse History on Counselor Attitudes

Counseling students' judgments of adolescent sex offenders with sexual or physical abuse histories were examined. Sexually abused offenders were more desirable as prospective clients than were nonabused offenders. Sexually abused counselors desired to see physically abused offenders as clients over sexually abused offenders. Implications for counseling are presented.     

Child molestations by homosexual foster parents: Illinois, 1997--2002

Do those who engage in homosexuality disproportionately sexually abuse foster or adoptive children as reported by child protective services? Illinois child services reported sexual abuse for 1997 through 2002. 270 parents committed "substantiated" sexual offenses against foster or subsidized adoptive children: 67 (69%) of 97 of these mother and 148 (86%) of 173 of these father perpetrators sexually abused girls; 30 (31%) of the mothers and 25 (14%) of the father perpetrators sexually abused boys, i.e., 92 (34%) of the perpetrators homosexually abused their charges. Of these parents 15 both physically and sexually abused charges: daughters by 8 of the mothers and 4 of the fathers, sons by 3 of the mothers, i.e., same-sex perpetrators were involved in 53%. Thus, homosexual practitioners were proportionately more apt to abuse foster or adoptive children sexually.     

Assessment of sexually abused children with anatomically detailed dolls: A critical review

The use of anatomically detailed (AD) dolls is widespread, especially with young children who have been, or may have been, sexually abused. A number of empirical studies have compared the responses of sexually abused and non-abused children to AD dolls. Additional research has assessed AD doll play among non-abused children only. Methodological limitations notwithstanding, virtually all empirical data support the use of AD dolls for data gathering in cases of sexual abuse.     

The Implications of Conjunctive and Disjunctive Forgiveness for Sexual Abuse

This article examines the relationship between forgiveness styles (conjunctive and disjunctive models) and sexual abuse. Surveys from 114 university students were analyzed for differences between non-sexually abused and sexually abused subjects on a number of psychological and physical well-being variables. A number of differences were found including higher levels of reported verbal and physical abuse for the sexually abused subjects. Only one sexually abused subject was found that fit the pattern of conjunctive forgiveness (one of reconciliation) towards the offender. The majority of sexually abused subjects preferred to keep their distance from the abuser, regardless of the extent to which the abuser had been forgiven. The results suggest that reconciliation within forgiveness may not be an appropriate goal for all subjects.     

Internalizing and externalizing characteristics of sexually and/or physically abused children

This study evaluates the behavioral consequences of childhood abuse (sexual, physical, or both), with particular focus on prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Three abuse type groups and nonabused controls were contrasted on behavioral rating scales and on structured psychiatric interview data. The participants (109 abused children and 16 normal control children) were recruited from Arkansas Children’s Hospital and local agencies for abused children. As expected, proportionately more females than males were sexually abused. Overall, males were rated as more disturbed than females. Type of abuse did not consistently influence behavioral ratings. Externalizing scores were significantly higher than internalizing scores in all abused groups. PTSD was diagnosed in 50% of the abused children, with a higher rate for boys who had been sexually abused as opposed to physically abused only (58% versus 13%). The most frequent comorbid condition with PTSD was Separation Anxiety. Sexually abused boys were hospitalized for psychiatric treatment at a higher rate than were other abused children.     

Comparison of behaviors of suspected sexually abused and nonsexually abused preschool children using anatomical dolls

Using anatomical dolls, the play behaviors of nine sexually abused preschool children (five males, four females), ranging in age from 3 to 5 years, were compared with nine preschool children for whom there was no suspicion of sexual abuse and who were matched on the basis of age, gender, race, family status, and socioeconomic status. There was no significant difference between the two groups on explicit sexual behavior (vaginal, oral, and anal intercourse with thrusting motions between the dolls or between the child and the dolls and masturbation by the child). The groups were significantly [t(8)=2.19, p <.05; Wilcoxon W=6, p <.05) different when behaviors with suspicious sexual implication were combined with explicit sexual behaviors. There were no differences between the groups on measures of nonsexual behavior. The occurrence of the suspicious sexual behaviors is discussed and reviews of previous doll research and physical evidence of child sexual abuse are provided.This project was supported in part by a grant from The Graduate College of Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan.     

Language Impairment and Sexual Assault of Girls and Women: Findings from a Community Sample

Both children and adults with disabilities face increased prevalence of abuse and assault, including sexual assault. Women and girls are disproportionately the victims of sexual assault in both disabled and nondisabled populations. Communication difficulties have been identified as a factor that may increase the vulnerability of individuals with disabilities to sexual assault. However, few studies have examined whether language impairment increases risk for sexual assault. This study reports on a community sample of children with speech or language impairment, followed to age 25. Sexual assault history was assessed based on two questions from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Posttraumatic Stress Disorder module. Women with language impairment (n = 33) were more likely than women with unimpaired language (n = 59) to report sexual abuse/assault, controlled for socioeconomic status. Sexual assault was associated with higher rates of psychiatric disorders and poorer functioning. Women with neither language impairment nor a history of sexual assault had fewer psychiatric disorders and higher functioning than women with language impairment and/or a history of sexual assault.     

Family Functioning Moderating the Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Memory Specificity

The main goal of this study was to investigate if adults sexually abused as children who were raised in a functional family are more able to generate specific autobiographical memories and suffer fewer depressive symptoms than sexually abused adults who were raised in a dysfunctional family. We found that abused males retrieved fewer specific memories than nonabused males, abused females, and nonabused females. The three latter groups did not differ from each other. Further, childhood sexual abuse did not predict depression among males and females. After accounting for family functioning, there were no group differences regarding memory specificity. Functional families appear to have beneficial effects on the adjustment of male victims of childhood sexual abuse.     

Problems of maltreated runaway youth

Research has shown that physical and sexual maltreatment precipitate runaway behavior in adolescents. However, there have been few large-scale examinations of the family, school, and personal problems of maltreated adolescents. In the present paper, an 85-item Client Information Record was completed on 2,019 runaways by shelter staff from eight southeastern states. There were significant differences in the problems reported by physically abused and sexually abused runaways when compared to their nonabused runaway peers. Runaways who were both physically and sexually maltreated were significantly more vulnerable and much worse off than those who only experienced either physical or sexual abuse. Implications for the treatment of maltreated runaways are discussed.     

Presenting problems of sexually abused girls receiving psychiatric services

Twenty-three behaviors among those suggested in the literature to be associated with sexual abuse were studied in 195 girls, ages 2-18 years, who were consecutive admissions to three Midwestern mental health agencies. Results indicated that sexually inappropriate behaviors, sleep disturbance, depressed mood, and delinquent behavior occurred more frequently in young abuse victims than in clinic comparisons. Sexually inappropriate behaviors and running away appeared more often in older sexually abused girls, than they appeared in older clinic comparisons. These comparisons of the presenting problems of sexually abused and nonabused girls suggested there are few behavioral "markers" of sexual abuse in clinical samples and that sexual abuse may not be a unique contributing factor in the ontogeny of childhood psychopathology.     

Long-term consequences of childhood physical and psychological maltreatment

This study assessed whether some of the correlates of learned helplessness—depression, low self-esteem, and a maladaptive attributional style—are long-term consequences of child abused. In this study, 260 subjects were identified as physically abused, psychologically abused, both physically and psychologically abused, or nonabused, based on responses to the Child Abuse Questionnaire (CAQ). Subjects were tested for levels of nonclinical depression via the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), for levels of self-esteem via the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), and for the adaptiveness of attributional style via the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ). It was hypothesized that each of the three abuse groups would differ from the control group on the three dependent measures; differences among the three abuse groups were also explored. Three one-way analyses of variance indicated that (1) BDI scores reflected a greater tendency toward depression in subjects reporting both types of abuse than in nonabused subjects or in subjects reporting either psychological or physical abuse, (2) subjects reporting psychological abuse only or both psychological and physical abuse showed lower self-esteem than did nonabused subjects, and (3) abused subjects did not seem to exhibit a more maladaptive attributional style than that of nonabused subjects. In addition, multiple linear regression analyses pointed to psychological abuse as a critical variable in predicting levels of depression, self-esteem, and attributional style, when physical abuse effects were controlled. Controlling for the effects of psychological abuse, however, indicated that physical abuse did not significantly contribute to the variance in these variables. Implications for the learned helplessness model and for future research are discussed. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Fibromyalgia and childhood abuse: Exploration of stress reactivity as a developmental mediator

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the human body’s stress reactivity in response to trauma may be a possible developmental mediator between childhood abuse and the development of fibromyalgia (FM). Four points are emphasized in this article. First, studies that have examined the prevalence of childhood physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in FM patients are evaluated. Second, health and neuroendocrine differences between abused and non-abused FM patients are examined. Third, studies that tested the association between childhood abuse and stress reactivity characterized by neurobiological abnormalities are reviewed. Fourth, studies that have investigated the association between stress reactivity and FM are analyzed. The results of the reviews showed significant associations between childhood abuse and FM, childhood abuse and stress reactivity, and stress reactivity and FM, indicating that childhood abuse may be one of the etiological factors that could lead to abnormal brain development, affecting stress reactivity, and ultimately lead to the development of FM.     

Strengths and Limitations of Forensic Child Sexual Abuse Interviews with Anatomical Dolls: An Empirical Review

A comprehensive review of the use of anatomical dolls reveals three areas of research: (1) normative studies (with no known history of sexual abuse) of children's interactions with anatomical dolls; (2) comparative studies of children suspected of being victims of sexual abuse, and those believed not to be; and (3) the role anatomical dolls play in the identification of a child who has been sexually abused. The results of empirical studies in each area are mixed and inconsistent. However, there is general clinical support for the use of the anatomical doll as a demonstration aid during forensic interviewing with children over 3 years of age.