Common Beliefs About Child Sexual Abuse and Disclosure: A College Sample

ABSTRACT

Adults’ common beliefs about child sexual abuse and disclosure were explored. Participants (N = 670) were questioned about key areas of child sexual abuse that could affect decision-making processes of jurors evaluating child sexual abuse cases. These areas included victim and perpetrator characteristics, medical and behavioral indicators of child sexual abuse, memories for the event, and disclosure of the event. The scientific literature pertaining to these same areas are reviewed. While individual beliefs were consistent with some areas of the scientific literature (e.g., victim and perpetrator characteristics), they strongly contrasted the literature in other important areas (e.g., memories for the event, indicators of child sexual abuse, and the likelihood of denial and recantation). Implications, including the option of providing expert testimony to reduce discrepancies, are discussed.     

Differences in perceptions of child sexual abuse based on perpetrator age and respondent gender

Child sexual abuse changes the lives of countless children. Child sexual abuse victims experience short and long term negative outcomes that affect their daily functioning. In this study, undergraduate students' perceptions of CSA were obtained using vignettes with an adult or child perpetrator and a general questionnaire. Results indicated participants receiving the child-on-child vignette were less likely to rate the vignette as abuse, saw the abuse as less severe, and assigned less blame to the perpetrator than participants reading the adult-on-child vignette. On a general questionnaire, male participants saw child-on-child abuse as less severe and more encouraged by society than did female participants. The information can be utilized by professionals in treatment planning and preventing revictimization at disclosure.     

Association between child sexual abuse and sexual revictimization in adulthood among women sex partners of injection drug users

Community-recruited women (n = 1490) were interviewed about their early and adult sexual victimization histories to determine whether there was an association between child sexual abuse and adult revictimization by sex partners and strangers/nonsex partners. Adolescent sexual abuse, lifetime sex-trading, drug treatment, and mental health treatment were examined as mediating variables. One-fourth of the women had been revictimized (i.e., experienced child sexual abuse and at least one instance of adult sexual victimization). Child sexual abuse was associated with both rape and other sexual victimization by a sex partner in adulthood, as well as adult rape by a stranger/nonsex partner. Drug and mental health treatments reduced abused women's chances of being raped by a sex partner; drug treatment also decreased the likelihood of other sexual victimization by a sex partner. Sex-trading increased abused women's likelihood of rape by a stranger or nonsex partner. Intervention--including drug treatment--can help women with child sexual abuse histories overcome some of the abuse-related sequelae that make them vulnerable to adult revictimization.     

Child sexual abuse myths: attitudes, beliefs, and individual differences

Child sexual abuse myths comprise incorrect beliefs regarding sexual abuse, victims, and perpetrators. Relations among myth acceptance, responses to disclosure, legal decisions, and victims' subsequent psychological and health outcomes underscore the importance of understanding child sexual abuse myths. Despite accurate knowledge regarding child sexual abuse among many professional and other individuals, child sexual abuse myths persist. A Google search produced 119 child sexual abuse myths, some with overlapping themes. Coders grouped myths into four categories: (a) minimizations or exaggerations of the extent of harm child sexual abuse poses, (b) denials of the extent of child sexual abuse, (c) diffusions of perpetrator blame, and (d) perpetrator stereotypes. This review provides available data regarding the prevalence for these myths, empirical research that refutes or confirms myth categories, and considerations of cultural contexts and implications.     

Parental views of in-home services: what predicts satisfaction with child welfare workers?

Evidence on client satisfaction deserves consideration in the design of child welfare policies, programs, and practices. Data in this study come from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Clients receiving in-home services reported moderate levels of satisfaction with their child welfare workers. Caregiver reports of having less than two child welfare workers, having more recent contact, and receiving timely, responsive services were associated with higher perceived quality of relationships with child welfare workers. The child welfare workers' reports of cooperativeness by the caregiver were also associated with higher caregiver-reported relationship quality.     

Differences in Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse Based on Perpetrator Age and Respondent Gender

Child sexual abuse changes the lives of countless children. Child sexual abuse victims experience short and long term negative outcomes that affect their daily functioning. In this study, undergraduate students' perceptions of CSA were obtained using vignettes with an adult or child perpetrator and a general questionnaire. Results indicated participants receiving the child-on-child vignette were less likely to rate the vignette as abuse, saw the abuse as less severe, and assigned less blame to the perpetrator than participants reading the adult-on-child vignette. On a general questionnaire, male participants saw child-on-child abuse as less severe and more encouraged by society than did female participants. The information can be utilized by professionals in treatment planning and preventing revictimization at disclosure.     

Back to basics: child psychiatry after Cleveland

SUMMARY. In this personal view of recent developments, the author suggests that child psychiatrists were taken by surprise when they began receiving a rapid increase of referrals involving sexual abuse. Many saw their prime role as needing to adapt psychiatric techniques to determine whether abuse had occurred. Child sexual abuse was seen as being outside of normal psychiatric conditions. These responses led to major controversy within the profession. It is argued that the Cleveland Inquiry should now allow child psychiatrists to work with sexually abused children in a more traditional way, their main function being to assess and treat the whole child and its family and evaluate the significance of the abuse in a wider context     

Methodological standards for randomised controlled trials of interventions for preventing recurrence of child physical abuse and neglect

Despite the significant financial and human resources invested in child protection services (CPS), it is unknown whether these services are effective in preventing recurrence of child physical abuse and neglect. This paper reviews available studies evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions and identifies methodological limitations and factors that may contribute to these limitations. We searched databases to identify randomised controlled trials published in peer‐reviewed journals in the past five decades that evaluated interventions to reduce recurrence of physical abuse and neglect. We outlined ten methodological standards that are important for rigorous testing of psychosocial interventions and applied them in critically appraising identified studies. Thirteen randomised controlled trials were reviewed. This review identified methodological limitations (e.g. small sample size, lack of standardisations, contamination) that made it difficult to draw reliable conclusions as to the effectiveness of interventions. Field‐specific factors that contributed to methodological limitations (e.g. heterogeneity of sample, multiple family problems, psychosocial nature of interventions) were identified and recommendations were provided for improvement. It was concluded that it is possible to implement high‐quality trials that are ethical and feasible in the child welfare field. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Caregiver–Youth Communication about Sex in South Africa: The Role of Maternal Child Sexual Abuse History

Much of the research on child sexual abuse focuses on negative outcomes. This brief report explores a potentially protective parenting behavior among black South African female caregivers with and without a child sexual abuse history. Using cross-sectional baseline data, we hypothesized that caregiver child sexual abuse history would be positively associated with caregiver–youth sex communication and this relationship would be strongest for girls. Youth whose caregiver experienced child sexual abuse were more likely to report communicating with their caregiver about sex than youth whose caregivers did not experience child sexual abuse; however, this relation did not hold for caregiver reported communication. Child sexual abuse survivors’ ability and decision to discuss sex with their youth has the potential to protect youth from sexual risk and demonstrates resilience among a group rarely acknowledged for positive parenting practices.     

Sexual abuse histories of youth in child welfare residential treatment centers: analysis of the Odyssey Project population

This multi-site examination of sexual abuse histories of youth in residential treatment centers asked, for the sample as a whole and by youth's gender: (a) How many perpetrators did each youth have? (b) What was the gender of the perpetrator? (c) What proportion of youth was abused by family members? (d) What proportion of youth was abused in a child welfare setting? And, (e) what proportion of sexually abused youth were also victims of physical abuse and/or neglect? Results revealed that males were more likely to have one perpetrator, a female perpetrator, and to have been abused in a child welfare setting and less likely be abused by a family member. Implications for refining programs and practices are discussed.     

Risk factors and services for child maltreatment among infants and young children

Objectives

Child maltreatment (CM) causes injury in large numbers of U.S. children. This study uses a large, multi-state dataset of child protective services reports for infants and young children under five years of age to examine risk factors and the effects of services in confirmed maltreatment investigations and recurrence over five years.

Methods

The Child Files of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) for 2003-2007 were used to study confirmed CM reports to child protective services (CPS) using regression models and survival analysis among a cohort of children first reported during 2003.

Results

There were 1.2 million confirmed maltreatment reports to state child protective services agencies in 22 states during 2003-2007 in NCANDS, including 177,568 infants and young children under five years. 19.3% had a second confirmed CM report within 5 years. White race, inadequate housing and receiving public assistance were associated with significantly increased risk of CM recurrence. Infants and young children received more services and had less recurrence than did older children.

Conclusions

Infants and young children have different risk factors and receive different services than do older children in the CPS system. We need additional research to further assess and better target services for the special needs of infants, young children and their families if we are to protect them and reduce future child maltreatment.     

Can child fatalities,end product of child abuse,be prevented?

Study of a sample of child abuse/neglect families where a child fatality has occurred suggests several indicators for identifying potential child fatalities. In contrast to families where child abuse is not followed by a child fatality, child abuse cases where a fatality does occur are characterized by abuse of more than one child in the family, a more chaotic family constellation, the mother as perpetrator of the abuse, and high levels of both human and milieu stress. The study also identifies gaps in services to sample families and suggests changes.     

Cross‐examination,sexual abuse and child witness identity

This paper presents extracts from cross‐examinations with child witnesses who are alleged victims of child sexual abuse. The manner in which cross‐examination may present a challenge to the child's identity as child, victim and witness is discussed. Specifically, the child may be portrayed as ‘unchildlike’, for example in their experience of sexual relationships or in their sexual knowledge. They may be portrayed as less than innocent, through references to previous contacts with social services or to other behaviours such as delinquency. Child witnesses may be depicted as instigators rather than victims, seducing the adult or seeking revenge through sexual allegations. Finally, children are easily accused of being poor witnesses, as being confused, untruthful and having fallible memories. The paper considers the dynamics and potential impact of such cross‐examination practice within Finkelhor's framework of four traumagenics of sexual abuse: traumatic sexualization, betrayal, powerlessness and stigmatization. The potential for poorly conducted cross‐examinations to create further problems for child witnesses, particularly in the area of identity, is highlighted, and it is suggested traumagenic factors in such cross‐examinations may resemble those of abuse. The paper discusses practice implications for cross‐examination, judicial intervention and witness support following implementation of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 in England and Wales. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An evaluation of the effects of an integrated services program for multi-service use families on child welfare and educational outcomes of children

The purpose of the study was to evaluate a program that provides integrative case management for families dependent on at least two government services (e.g., child welfare, disability, chemical dependency, vocational rehabilitation). In the current study, we focused on effects of services on children's educational and child welfare outcomes two years after program exit. Children enrolled in the program were compared to a community comparison sample through propensity score matching. None of the group differences was significant. However, outcomes related to child maltreatment (number of child maltreatment reports accepted by Child Protective Services and out-of-home placements) improved dramatically within two years after exit. Outcomes in the education area were less uniformly positive. On the one hand, children's attendance was high and school mobility was low. In addition, there was a significant reduction in the number of children receiving special education services two years after exit. Nevertheless, a third of the children were still receiving special education services two years after exit, and their academic performance on standardized reading and math tests was quite poor. Thus, the intensive case management model was related to successful outcomes in an area directly targeted by the program (child maltreatment), but the gains did not generalize to another domain that was not an explicit focus of the program (academic achievement).     

Attributions of Responsibility in a Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Vignette Among Respondents with CSA Histories: The Role of Abuse Similarity to a Hypothetical Victim

Previous research suggests that similarity to a victim may influence attributions of responsibility in hypothetical child sexual abuse scenarios. One aspect of similarity receiving mixed support in the literature is respondent child sexual abuse history. Using a sample of 1,345 college women, the present study examined child sexual abuse history, similarity to victim, and attributions of responsibility to a hypothetical victim, family member, and perpetrator in a child sexual abuse vignette. Results revealed no group differences in responsibility ratings among respondents with and without child sexual abuse histories. However, among the 133 respondents with child sexual abuse histories, results indicated that similarity to victim moderated the relationship between vignette characteristics, respondent history, and responsibility attributions. Results suggest that similarity to a victim may influence ratings in a self-preserving manner.     

Child Maltreatment, Abortion Availability, and Economic Conditions

Child maltreatment is a substantial problem in the U.S. yet has received relatively little attention from economists. This article examines the relationship between abortion availability and economic factors at the time children were conceived and subsequent measures of child maltreatment in the U.S. as well as the influence of contemporaneous economic conditions. Our measures of child maltreatment are state-level rates of child abuse and neglect reports, the fraction of children receiving social services, and child deaths and murders. The results indicate that legalized abortion for each successive cohort led to a decline in total reported incidents of child abuse and neglect of about 10 percent and a negative effect on the fraction of children receiving social services. Child deaths and murders are not related to abortion legalization. Medicaid funding restrictions are associated with an increase in substantiated reports of abuse and an increase in murders by relatives or parents; other post-legalization restrictions are not consistently associated with the various measures of child maltreatment. The effects of welfare benefits, average income, and unemployment rates are mixed.     

Clinical social work and the family court: A new role in child sexual abuse cases

Clinical social workers encounter difficult treatment issues when working with children where there is a suspicion of child sexual abuse, or where there has been an indicated child protective services case but no family court action. This article outlines a new role for the clinical social worker to play in relationship to the family court system. The author argues that the involvement of the clinician in an assessment process developed to aid the court can aid in the protection of children and set the stage for effective intervention and treatment.Director, Center for Training and Research in Child Abuse and Family Violence.     

Differentiating Children with and without a History of Repeated Problematic Sexual Behavior

Although the issue of dissociative amnesia in adult survivors of child sexual abuse has been contentious, many research studies have shown that there is a subset of child sexual abuse survivors who have forgotten their abuse and later remembered it. Child sexual abuse survivors with dissociative amnesia histories have different formative and therapeutic issues than survivors of child sexual abuse who have had continuous memory of their abuse. This article first discusses those differences in terms of the moderating risk factors for developing dissociative amnesia (e.g., age, ethnicity, gender, etc.) and then mediating risk factors (e.g., social support, trait dissociativity, etc.). The differences between the two types of survivors are then explored in terms of treatment issues.     

Racial disparity in risk factors for substantiation of child maltreatment

This study examined racial disparity in impacts that welfare use, substance abuse, depression, and intimate partner violence (IPV) make on substantiation of reported child maltreatment. A sample of 1493 African Americans, 848 Hispanics, and 2144 Whites was employed, extracted from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Logistic regression results indicated that each ethnic subsample had a distinct set of significant risk factors for substantiation. For the African American subsample, relatively long periods spent receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reduced likelihood of substantiation, as did caregivers' alcohol dependence. For the Hispanic subsample, TANF receipt lowered substantiation's likelihood, while caregivers' drug use raised its likelihood. For the White subsample, caregivers' TANF receipt and substance abuse showed no significant impact. No subsample's substantiation likelihood appeared significantly affected by depression or IPV. Implications for services are suggested.