NCJ Number
208448
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 115-127
Date Published
February 2002
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examined the incidence of re-abuse among a sample of Australian children with substantiated sexual abuse.
Abstract
In order to protect children from abuse and subsequent re-abuse, it is necessary to target interventions at the problems that lead to abuse and re-abuse. This study sought to document predictors of re-abuse for a sample of 183 sexually abused children aged 5 to 15 years who presented to 2 children’s hospitals’ Child Protection Units in Sydney, Australia, between 1988 and 1990. Intake data were gathered that provided information about the child, the family, and the nature of the sexual abuse. Six years following hospital intake for sexual abuse, the records of the Department of Community Services were reviewed to discover if any of the 183 participants had been the subject of substantiated notifications for abuse or neglect both before and after the intake to the study. Results of statistical analyses using SPSS revealed that of the original sample, almost one in three were involved in subsequent substantiated notifications for some form of child abuse or neglect. Among the predictors of subsequent abuse or neglect were notifications for emotional abuse before the index sexual abuse, the severity of the index sexual abuse, and the number of primary caregiver changes prior to intake. The incidence of subsequent sexual abuse among the sample of sexually abused children was approximately one in six. An additional 1 in 10 of these children also had a prior notification for sexual abuse. Predictors of subsequent sexual abuse were number of primary caregiver changes before intake and notifications for emotional abuse before the index sexual abuse. Intervention strategies should target these risk factors, as well as family functioning in general, in order to prevent further abuse. Tables, references