NCJ Number
218016
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal Volume: 31 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2007 Pages: 111-123
Date Published
February 2007
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examined how children disclosed sexual abuse by alleged perpetrators who were not family members.
Abstract
The results of the study showed that children’s willingness to disclose abuse to their parents promptly and spontaneously decreased when they expected negative reactions, especially when the abuse was more serious. A strong correlation found between predicted and actual parental reactions suggested that the children anticipated their parents’ likely reactions very well. The findings provide valuable insight into the factors that affect the willingness of alleged abuse victims to disclose abuse by extra-familial alleged perpetrators. Researchers had not previously been able to explore the correlates of disclosure or delay when the allegations were obtained in a standardized fashion. Most crimes of child sexual molestation have no witnesses, leave no physical signs, and are concealed by the perpetrators. These characteristics make the detection of child sexual molestation very difficult, thereby increasing the importance of the victim’s disclosure. This study explored children’s disclosures as soon as possible after the abuse was reported. The study consisted of interviews with 30 alleged victims of sexual abuse, evenly split between girls and boys, and their parents. Table, references