Psychosocial Factors Influencing Competency of Children's Statement on Sexual Trauma

• NCJ Number: 234526
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2011 Pages: 173-179
• Author(s): Tae Kyung Kim; Soul Choi; Yee Jin Shin
• Date Published: March 2011
• Length: 7 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly of Republic of Korea
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study assessed Korean child sex abuse victims' competence to describe their traumatic experience and identified psychosocial factors that influence the competency of children's statements about their abuse, such as emotional factors in child victims and their parents.

Abstract

The study found that scores on the modified Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA), which was used to assess children's statements, did not differ according to children's level of depression and anxiety. Children with parents who showed supportive reactions to their children's trauma scored significantly higher on the modified-CBCA scores than those with unsupportive parents. Children with severely depressed parents had lower modified-CBCA scores than those children with less depressed parents. Modified-CBCA scores were significantly higher in participants who experienced a single traumatic event compared with those who had multiple victimizations; however, the severity of sexual abuse, relationship with the perpetrator, types of disclosure, and duration of initial disclosure did not show significant differences in the capability to make statements about their victimization experience. These findings suggest that the promotion of parental support of sexually abused children through psychoeducation is one of the most import interventions for helping children overcome psychological trauma. Parental support can also contribute to the accuracy of children's statements about their abuse. The study enrolled 214 children (ages 8-13) who visited "Sunflower Children's Center" for sexual abuse. Children's parents were surveyed using the Beck Depression Inventory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory in order to obtain demographic information, traumatic-event profiles, and a self-report scale. Children completed the following psychological measures: Children's Depression Inventory, Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Traumatic Symptom Checklist for Children. The modified-CBCA was used to assess children's statements. ANOV, independent t-test, and Pearson correlation were used. 4 tables and 38 references