NCJ Number
150679
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (1994) Pages: 67-84
Date Published
1994
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Archival data on 94 sexually abused children were used to assess and compare their psychological functioning on the Exner norms with their performance on the Rorschach protocols.
Abstract
The subjects, who were 28 percent male and from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, were divided into three age groups: 6- to 9-year-olds, 10- to 12-year-olds, and 13- to 16- year-olds. The results from the Rorschach protocols indicated that the sexually abused children suffered impairment in the areas of emotional experience and expression, attitudes toward self and others, and perceptual accuracy or conventionality. The results also suggested that older children may be more traumatized by their victimization, possibly because of their more advanced sexual development. This study showed that, while the Exner Comprehensive System enhances the reliability and validity of the Rorschach, clinical information is still not fully captured in the Exner norms. Future studies should use a nonabused clinical control group. 3 tables and 39 references