Typology and Correlates of Sexual Abuse in Children and Youth: Multivariate Analyses in a Prevalence Study in Geneva

• NCJ Number: 178656
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 23 Issue: 8 Dated: August 1999 Pages: 779-790
• Author(s): P. Bouvier; D. Halperin; H. Rey; P. D. Jaffe; J. Laederach; R. Mounoud; C. Pawlak
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article reviews the need for differentiation among the distinct situations in child sexual abuse and for a working classification that takes into account various parameters.

Abstract

The Geneva child sexual abuse (CSA) prevalence study was based on 1,116 randomly selected adolescents aged 14 to 16. Global prevalence of CSA was 10.9 percent for boys and 33.8 percent for girls. Classification of cases of abuse differentiated five classes, with different degrees of severity, causes and consequences: (1) exhibitionism or other abuse without contact, by an adult; (2) abuse of an adolescent boy by a peer without contact; (3) abuse of an adolescent girl by a peer with physical contact; (4) abuse inside the family, repeated; and (5) child abuse with genital penetration, lasting 2 years or more. Classification is essential in clinical research as well as in the design and conception of prevention programs. Tables, figure, references