Characterizing the Sexual Abuse Experiences of Young Adolescents

• NCJ Number: 246696
• Journal: Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 38 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2014 Pages: 261-270
• Author(s): Sonya Negriff; Janet U. Schneiderman; Caitlin Smith; Justine K. Schreyer; Penelope K. Trickett
• Date Published: February 2014
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01HD39129; K01HD069457; K01HD057987
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study compared the demographics of maltreated youth initially labeled as sexually abused by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) with maltreated youth classified as sexually abused based on current and past case records; identifies differences in sexual abuse experiences and types of perpetrators between boys and girls; and describes the sexual abuse experiences for boys and girls.

Abstract

The study found that the DCFS label of sexual abuse when a youth entered this longitudinal study correctly identified only one-third of the youth who had been sexually abused. By extracting maltreatment data from past case records, 37 more youth who experienced sexual abuse were identified. Thus, the study determined that obtaining maltreatment information from a single report under-estimated the prevalence of sexual abuse as well as the co-occurrence of maltreatment types. The study found that just over 91 percent of youth were victimized by a male perpetrator; however, only 13 percent were abused by their biological fathers. The prevalence of sexual abuse for females was twice that of males, but estimates of male sexual abuse may be under-reported due to the unwillingness of boys to disclose abuse, the less likelihood of boys being asked about sexual abuse, and the fear of retribution. Boys and girls were equally likely to be abused by a biological parent. More boys than girls were abused by a female, with a preponderance of biological mothers being perpetrators. Sexual abuse that involved penetration was experienced by 40 percent of youth, with no gender differences evidenced in this type of abuse. Non-penetrative contact was the most prevalent type of sexual abuse, with fondling of the genitals being reported most often. Females were the most common perpetrators of non-contact abuse, and males were more likely to perpetrate penetrative abuse. 5 tables and 44 references