Sexual abuse and juvenile delinquency

Case records were reviewed of 214 young women admitted to a Juvenile Classification Home in Japan for delinquent behaviour between 1983 and 1987. In 10 cases there were reports of a history of sexual abuse and these were 3 times more likely to be admitted to a Detention Home than other cases. All 10 women came from disrupted and economically disadvantaged family backgrounds. Most were depressed with low self-esteem. Five women were physically abused prior to sexual abuse, but behavioural problems were only concurrent and consequent to the sexual abuse. Most of the women were not believed by their mothers at the time of disclosure. Those women who were later believed by their mothers were more likely to return home (with the perpetrators no longer present) and less likely to continue to be victims of sexual abuse.     

The effects of family therapies for adolescent delinquency and substance abuse: a meta-analysis

This meta-analysis summarizes results from k = 24 studies comparing either Brief Strategic Family Therapy, Functional Family Therapy, Multidimensional Family Therapy, or Multisystemic Therapy to either treatment-as-usual, an alternative therapy, or a control group in the treatment of adolescent substance abuse and delinquency. Additionally, the authors reviewed and applied three advanced meta-analysis methods including influence analysis, multivariate meta-analysis, and publication bias analyses. The results suggested that as a group the four family therapies had statistically significant, but modest effects as compared to treatment-as-usual (d = 0.21; k = 11) and as compared to alternative therapies (d = 0.26; k = 11). The effect of family therapy compared to control was larger (d = 0.70; k = 4) but was not statistically significant probably because of low power. There was insufficient evidence to determine whether the various models differed in their effectiveness relative to each other. Influence analyses suggested that three studies had a large effect on aggregate effect sizes and heterogeneity statistics. Moderator and multivariate analyses were largely underpowered but will be useful as this literature grows.     

Sexual practices and the duration of last heterosexual encounter: findings from the Australian longitudinal study of health and relationships

This study investigated the association between sexual practices and duration of a sexual encounter. Using data from a population-based computer-assisted telephone survey of 8,656 Australians aged 16 to 64 years, four distinct patterns of sexual practices among respondents were found: "basic sexual encounter" (involving mainly kissing, cuddling, stroking one's partner and being stroked, and vaginal intercourse), "basic sexual encounter plus oral sex," "all assessed sexual practices" (all sexual behaviors included in the survey), and "mainly vaginal intercourse" (characterized by lower levels of kissing, cuddling, and stroking). For both men and women, respondents classified in the basic sexual encounter plus oral sex, and all assessed sexual practices clusters reported significantly longer durations than those in the basic sexual encounter group, whereas respondents in the mainly vaginal intercourse cluster reported shorter durations. These differences were found even after allowing for demographic differences in sexual duration-specifically, age and partner type of the most recent opposite-sex partner. These findings add to the understanding of what typically happens in a sexual encounter. Overall, longer sexual encounters appear to be associated with the inclusion of the least common sexual practices-namely, oral sex and self-stimulation.     

Family violence. Development of a master's level specialty track in family abuse

Family violence is a societal reality. It will not disappear if society closes its eyes and fails to recognize its existence. When this is done, the abusive cycle is perpetuated. The specialty track described in this article was the nation's first graduate nursing educational program in the area of Family Violence. This program demonstrates nursing's potential contribution to the development of competent professionals with the expertise necessary to intervene in the abusive cycle.     

Between family and friends: a longitudinal study of friendship choice

The increasing role for chosen friends is a key element in current debates on individualization and the transformation of intimacy. This paper describes the changes in friendship choices over time and demonstrates how life events subsequently impact on those choices. We primarily distinguish between kin and non-kin nominations of friends and how these may be related to the social and economic turbulence inherent in late modernity. Analyses of data from ten years of the British Household Panel Survey showed that kin nominations still form a significant proportion of all friends but increasingly so with age and over time as people age. Life events, such as divorce or death of a partner, have large effects on the likelihood of changes in friendship choices as did gender, age, marital status and social class. We frame these results in a discussion of the saliency and nature of friendship at stages of the life course and conclude that the case for a general secular shift to choosing non-kin friendships rather than kin-based friendship is not demonstrated.     

Pulling together, drifting apart: A longitudinal case study of a four-generation family

This case study is based on secondary analysis of longitudinal data from 21 members of a four-generation family. The data were collected over a twenty-year period by the USC Longitudinal Study of Three Generations, through two sets of interviews (1987 and 1990) and four waves of surveys (1971, 1985, 1988, and 1991). Examining a single family's evolution through a monographic approach enables us to look closely at its members' interactions within and between generations; to see how family cohesiveness evolves over time; and to understand the meanings their relations have to family members themselves. In this article, we analyze the interactions through which members of this multigenerational family establish greater or lesser interpersonal distance among themselves, both within and between generations. Results indicate that issues in family distance include: divorce within the oldest generation; social class and money matters; and geographic location. Sources of family closeness include family rituals; medical problems and care giving; and efforts of family kin-keepers. The study highlights the holistic and variable characteristics of family ties.     

Traumas precipitating female delinquency: Implications for assessment,practice and policy

This article examines female delinquency as a symptom of the primary traumas of physical and sexual abuse and secondary traumas, when the environment responds with blame or disbelief. While social workers are increasingly aware that such a relationship often exists, we have yet to operationalize the relevant implications for assessment, practice, and policy in the juvenile justice system. It will be sugested that delinquency may be an act of disclosure and thus effective intervention entails alleviating primary and secondary trauma at the individual-community interface.     

Sexual abuse prevention: a rural interdisciplinary effort

The alliance of social work and theater is a natural and powerful coalition. The cooperation of two undergraduate programs to produce a preventive program on sexual abuse education reached over 4,000 children. Social work was the catalyst in terms of identifying the need, obtaining grant money, and developing community support. Theater provided the talent to produce an outstanding performance. Communities planning to develop successful prevention programs must develop community support, clear goals, a well-trained follow-up team, education for professionals who work with children daily, a clear channel for reporting abuse, and an evaluation process. The use of volunteers keeps the cost of the project to a minimum.     

Economic abuse,physical violence,and union formation

Intimate partner violence often includes economic abuse; unfortunately, economic abuse has not been examined sufficiently in the literature. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this paper examined the occurrence of and changes in economic abuse and physical violence over time and how these factors influenced union formation. The results indicated that the prevalence of economic and physical abuse increased over time, particularly for economic abuse. The changes in union formation for cohabiting and visiting mothers were quite substantial over time. Regression analyses indicated that, over time, the occurrence and the increase of economic abuse and the increase of physical violence were significantly and negatively associated with the likelihood of stable union formations such as marriage and cohabitation. Policy and research implications are discussed.     

Sexual abuse prevention for preschoolers: a pilot program

A demonstration program using a puppet show, followed by coloring-page activity, was well received by preschoolers in nursery schools and day care centers, and by their parents and teachers.     

The characteristics and extent of child abuse: findings from a study of the Swedish Social Services child protection

This paper addresses child abuse and the Social Services protection and builds upon a study of verdicts concerning § 2 Care of Young Persons Act (CYPA). The aim was to explore the extent of, and what characterised, the violence the children were being subjected to. A central finding was that of all the applications of § 2 CYPA during one year concerning 196 children, 13–18 years, 70% concerned children reported as subjected to violence. The violence was in most cases described as severe and systematically exerted over many years with intimidating tactics of power and control. More girls than boys were in question for care because of violence. Girls were also to a greater extent reported as having been subjected to sexual abuse or coercive control of their sexuality in relation to standards regarding honour and virginity. In an international perspective the findings can be said to confirm the need to analyse such factors as gender, power and control when research and interventions concerns children abused by their parents. In a Swedish context the findings can be said to suggest that the § 2 CYPA is a crucial intervention to protect children from violence.     

Preventing substance abuse and relationship violence: Proof-of-concept evaluation of a social,multi-user,tablet-based game

Increasing evidence suggests that using technology and Internet-based methods in prevention programming can be an efficacious delivery practice. This literature implies that applying digital technologies to prevention may provide a unique opportunity to carry out interventions with reliability and in a manner that is more appealing and suitable to youth. This exploratory study reports on a proof-of-concept evaluation of Choices & Consequences, a substance abuse and relationship violence prevention program that integrates digital technologies and devices with game-based behavior change techniques. Six focus groups (N = 44) were conducted with youth living in a Southwestern city. Results suggest that youth preferred various aspects of this prevention game to traditional methods. They especially liked that the game was engaging and that they were able to learn in both formal and informal environments, that is interacting with each other and a facilitator or playing the game on their own. Results also found that youth learned many lessons while playing the game and they believe the game may help prevent substance abuse and relationship violence among the target population of early adolescents. Thus, this research suggests that prevention programs for youth that combine interactive methods, mobile technology, social networking, and competitive gaming could be a strong alternative to traditional delivery methods.     

Sexual abuse: a comparison between resilient victims and drug-addicted victims

The goal of this study was to determine which variables distinguish resilient victims from drug-addicted victims, who were sexually abused during their childhood--in addition, to measure the contribution of these variables to the level of distress experienced by the victims. There were two groups of 20 women interviewed. The resilient group showed no clinically significant symptoms of mental distress, and the addicted group were undergoing treatment for drug dependency. They all completed a semi-structured interview and a questionnaire regarding the type and severity of their sexual abuse, mental health status, self-esteem, locus of control, support and cognitive factors from Finkelhor's model. Both of these groups were equally and severely abused. Resilient and addicted women both received a moderate level of support. These women also reported the same sense of betrayal and powerlessness. Furthermore, both groups believe, to a large degree, that they now control what happens to them (internal locus of control). There were three distinguishing variables among the two groups, they were stigmatization, self-blame, and hazard for the locus of control. In comparison, resilient women had less self-blame for having been abused and they also felt less stigmatized than addicted women. In fact, stigmatization and self-blame account for 65% of the TSC-40 variance. These results suggest that cognitive strategies, particularly those that are linked to the interpretation of the event, may have some importance in the recovery.     

Elder abuse and neglect in South Africa: a case of marginalization, disrespect, exploitation and violence

The problem of elder abuse and neglect in South Africa is widespread, but the definition of abuse remains problematic. An expanded typology is needed to classify certain types of abuse reported commonly, such as marginalization, disrespect, exploitation and violence. The history of elder abuse and responses is traced, relevant legislation and selected intervention programs are reviewed, and research and the status of elder abuse are evaluated. Interventions to address sociostructural factors that impact elders' settings, increase their vulnerability, and diminish their ability to realize human rights can contribute to an improvement in their condition and a reduction in abuse and rights violations in the long-term.     

Sexual violence in three pornographic media: Toward a sociological explanation

This study measures the sexually violent content in magazine, video, and Usenet (Internet newsgroup) pornography. Specifically, the level of violence, the amount of consensual and nonconsensual violence, and the gender of both victim and victimizer are compared. A consistent increase in the amount of violence from one medium to the next is found, although the increase between magazines and videos is not statistically significant. Further, both magazines and videos portray the violence as consensual, while the Usenet portrays it as nonconsensual. Third, magazines portray women as the victimizers more often than men, while the Usenet differs sharply and portrays men as the victimizers far more often. A series of possible explanations for these findings are offered, with the conclusion that the competition among men on the Usenet is an under‐analyzed component of the differences among these media.