NCJ Number
213307
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 30 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2006 Pages: 75-86
Date Published
January 2006
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the prevalence and characteristics of childhood sexual abuse among men incarcerated in a county jail in Texas.
Abstract
Results indicated that 59 percent of the sample had experienced some form of sexual abuse by the age of 13 years, with average onset at 9.6 years of age. Abuse typically ended around age 13 years. The most common pattern of sexual abuse reported by 64 percent of the men involved kissing and touching without intercourse. Of the 165 perpetrators, 10 percent were male, 90 percent were female, and most were either friends or family members (72 percent and 56 percent, respectively). The authors note the high prevalence of sexual abuse found within this jail-based population and conclude that sexual abuse may be more common among male inmate populations in comparison to the general population. Participants were 100 men who were recruited from the Harris County Jail (Texas) via a stratified probability sampling technique. Participants completed a self-interview survey measuring behavioral and psychological variables as well as history of childhood sexual abuse. Data analysis techniques included chi-square and analysis of variance. It is recommended that future research use control groups of non-incarcerated males due to the high prevalence rate of sexual abuse found within the inmate sample. Tables, references