Epidemiology of Child Sexual Abuse

[pic 1] Epidemiology of Child

Sexual Abuse 

Analia Verónica Losada  

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Universidad Católica Argentina / Argentina   

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Recommended reference: Losada, A. V. (2012). Epidemiology of child sexual abuse. GEPU Journal of Psychology, 3 (1), 201-229.

Summary: Child sexual abuse is a documented experience in almost all societies and cultures. Its negative effects not only affect the quality of life of the individual victim, but have repercussions throughout the family socio and public health. The psychological damage is severe, so professionals needed greater knowledge of the subject; expertise involved, unquestionably, a thorough analysis of its incidence and prevalence. In this review, a compilation of studies pertaining to the subject, in different latitudes and especially in the Republic of Argentina is made.

Keywords: Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Public Health in Argentina.

Abstract: The sexual infantile abuse is a documented experience, in almost all the companies and cultures. His effects, negatives, affect not only in the quality of life, of the person victim, but, they reverberate, in the whole context familiar partner and in the public health. The hurt psychosocial is serious, for what professionals need with a major knowledge of the topic; know-how that carries, indisputably, an exhaustive analysis of his incident and of his prevalence. In this review, there is done a compilation of studies, relating to the topic, in different latitudes and specially, in the Republic of Argentina.   

Key Words: Infantile Mistreatment, Sexual Abuse, Public Health in Argentina.   

Received: 09/08/2011 Accepted with Recommendations: 25/01/2012 Approved: 18/03/2012

 Losada Analia Veronica is Ph.D. Psychology, Master in Scientific Research Methodology Specialist Research Methodology Specialist Positive Psychology Degree in Psychology and Educational Psychologist.

 Email: analia_losada@yahoo.com.ar

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of child sexual abuse. Comparing the data obtained in the world population and especially in Argentina, comparing both results.

Epidemiology of Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse is not a recent problem. Throughout history it said. Ill-treatment of children are a historical constant, occurring in all cultures and societies and in any social stratum (Casado Flores, Diaz Huertas and Martinez Gonzalez, 1997; Walker, Bonner and Kaufman, 1988). These are not isolated events but a universal and complex problem resulting from an interaction of individual, family, social and cultural (English, 1991; Echeburúa Odriozola and Guerricaechevarria, 2005) factors.

Child sexual abuse is a common problem in all societies and cultures. Its negative effects show the seriousness and illustrate the professional needs of more knowledge about it. The incidence and prevalence of child sexual abuse as statistical concepts used in epidemiology provide the distribution and evolution of the problem in the population. La prevalencia es la proporción de individuos de una población que presentan abuso sexual infantil en un momento o en un período determinado. La prevalencia es el número total de los individuos que presentaron abuso sexual en un momento o durante un periodo dividido por la población en ese punto en el tiempo o en la mitad del período. Cuantifica la proporción de personas en una población que padeció abuso sexual en un determinado momento y proporciona una estimación de la proporción de sujetos de esa población que hubiera transitado ese tipo de maltrato en ese momento. Es un parámetro útil porque permite describir un fenómeno de salud, identificar la frecuencia poblacional del mismo y generar hipótesis explicatorias (Runyan, 1998; Wynkoop, Capps  y Priest, 1995). La prevalencia aportaría datos de qué cantidad de personas de la población general reconocen haber sido abusadas en su infancia (Bringiotti, 2006).    

Goldman and Padayachi (2000) raised the existence of methodological problems in estimating the incidence and prevalence in the investigation of child sexual abuse. They argued that the investigation of child sexual abuse is fraught with methodological problems, and offered an overview of some of the most common aspects. Inconsistencies in the definitions are common, even the same child sexual abuse and age limits that define a child. Other methodological difficulties that have been found are determining the number of child victims of sexual abuse within a certain period of time, the choice of the sample, the type and number of questions to include factors within a historical period such such as advertising, and estimates of the rate of increase in child sexual abuse over time. They suggested greater consistency, particularly in definitions, to contribute to the comparative conclusions less ambiguous and more valid.

Finkelhor (1970) conducted a study asking about past experiences to 796 college students. It found that: 9% of men and 19% of women had been sexually abused as children. According to Finkelhor (cited by Canton Duarte and Cortés Arboleda, 2000), in another study involving 21 countries, it was found that 7% of women and 3% of men were abused during childhood.

Leventhal (1988) evaluated whether changes in the epidemiology of child sexual abuse occurred during the twentieth century making a comparison between the results of the survey conducted by Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues in the 40s made women in the United States, most of whom were born between 1900 and 1929, and the results of the most recent studies of the epidemiology of abuso sexual. En el estudio de Kinsey, el 24% de las 4441 mujeres encuestadas reportaron al menos un episode of sexual abuse before adolescence, in 49% of cases, the abuser was unknown. These findings were compared with the results of the most recent epidemiological surveys, especially with the study of Russell held in the city of San Francisco in 1978. Although there are significant differences in the methodologies used by Kinsey and Russell, it is likely changes that have occurred in the prevalence and nature of sexual abuse in the 20th century Russell described a higher prevalence of sexual abuse, a higher proportion of known offenders or relatives of the victim, and a higher proportion of serious forms of sexual abuse .

Feldman, W. Feldman, E. Goodman, McGrath, Pless, Corsini and Bennett (1991) raised a dispute about child sexual abuse whether the increased rates of reported cases reflects a true increase in prevalence. In this report, data collected in the 70's and 80 with respect to the years 40. The authors were compared, using defaults for information quality criteria, the most common definitions of child sexual abuse and research design, examined the Kinsey report published in 1953 and 19 prevalence studies reported during the last 10 years. Variability between raters was 97 for each job. Despite differences in study designs and populations surveyed, where the definitions of child sexual abuse were similar, recent studies with the most convincing methodology reported figures similar prevalence to Kinsey in the 40s, for example from 10% to 12% of girls under 14 years. Thus, according to the authors, it seemed that the increase in reporting abuse is more due to the changes that occurred in legislation and social climate than a true increase in prevalence.

Cappelleri, Eckenrode and Powers (1993) investigated the epidemiology of child abuse with data taken from the Second National Incidence and Prevalence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect. A statistical comparison of rates incidence indicated that age, household income and ethnicity constitute risk factors for both sexual abuse to physical abuse, but the geographical situation was not. Sex was a risk factor for sexual abuse but not physical abuse. A logistic regression analysis showed that ethnicity, geographical location and the relationship between the level of income-sex made the difference between sexual abuse and physical abuse.

Barbaree, Hudson and Seto (1993) exposed that sexual assault was recognized in modern Western society as one of the most serious problems, equaling the total of the problems of non-sexual crime, poverty, environmental damage and substance abuse . Upon recognition of the problem, it has been important the number of health centers created, implementation of prevention programs, and dissemination of knowledge on the subject. The severity of the problem of sexual assault is related to the significant number of casualties that occur, and severe damage to them. In a national survey conducted in USA, of 6,159 people who were between 18 and 20 years, half of the women reported having experienced some form of sexual victimization since the age of fourteen. In the same study, a quarter of men admitted to having been involved in some form of sexual assault.

Glasgow, Horne, Calam, and Cox (1994) described a study of all children who were allegedly sexually abused by children in the city of Liverpool for a period of 12 months. They studied the nature of the allegations and evidence are designated as "m {s strong" or "m {s weak." The annual incidence figures of children investigated as possible or probable other child molesters calculated on this basis: the systematic grouping children ages perpetrators extends to a similar grouping of the alleged perpetrators adult age. A teenager is more than twice as likely suspected of having committed a child sexual abuse and have been a victim while any other comparable age group. This emphasized the seriousness of a development perspective in sexual assault throughout life.

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