NCJ Number
230426
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 34 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2010 Pages: 146-154
Date Published
March 2010
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether meaningful classes or groups of youth could be identified based on self-reported physical and sexual abuse experiences.
Abstract
The latent class analysis (LCA) identified four interpretable classes or groups of preadolescent youth. Based on the pattern of responses to specific items the identified classes included: 1) no physical or sexual abuse; 2) high physical abuse/low sexual abuse; 3) no physical abuse/moderate sexual abuse; and (4) high physical and sexual abuse. The latent variable modeling approach allowed for the identification of meaningful groups of youth that accounted for both the occurrence of multiple types of abuse, as well as differing severities associated with each type. The results of the study suggest that in practice, youth at-risk for maltreatment may be reliable and valid reporters of their physical and sexual abuse experiences. Findings to date suggest that child reports and Child Protective Service (CPS) reports are both valuable indicators of child maltreatment. The objective of this study was to determine if meaningful groups of at-risk preadolescent youth could be identified based on their self-report of physical and sexual abuse histories. The sample for this study was drawn from the LONGSCAN consortium established in 1990. Youth involved in the study ranged from age 11 to 14. At the time of the analysis, a total of 795 youth had completed physical and sexual abuse measures for the age 12 interview and had complete CPS record reviews. Tables, figures, and references