This bulletin discusses the second National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV II), which was conducted in 2011 as a followup to the original NatSCEV I survey. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sponsored both surveys. The Crimes against Children Research Center of the…

This Bulletin discusses the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), the most comprehensive nationwide survey of the incidence and prevalence of children's exposure to violence to date, sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

Structured clinical interviews with 135 women entering an outpatient treatment program for survivors of childhood sexual abuse found that participants indicated experiencing considerably more severe abuse, at a younger age, for longer duration, and at the hands of more perpetrators than reported in the literature on nonclinical samples of…

This study comparing 413 adults who had been abused and/or neglected as children with a control group (n=286) found significant differences between groups in IQ and reading ability, even when controlling for age, sex, race, and social class. Types of maltreatment were associated with differences in IQ and reading ability. (Author/DB)

Adolescents (n=161) who had unwanted sexual experiences with a single perpetrator were compared with 97 adolescents who had unwanted sexual experiences with more than one perpetrator. Results suggest that sexual revictimization by multiple perpetrators is not uncommon and that these children and adolescents have more difficulties with…

Comparison of 87 child abuse victims of lone female perpetrators with 93 victims of lone male perpetrators found that female perpetrators abused children 3.3 years younger than male perpetrators. Both female and male perpetrators abused more girls than boys and did not differ in severity of abuse. (Author/DB)

This commentary notes that solid empirical evidence on the effectiveness of classroom-based child sexual abuse prevention programs is lacking. Prevention efforts need to target potential victims, potential perpetrators, and those aspects of the social fabric that nurture abusive behaviors; and the merits of prevention efforts must be discussed…

This study evaluated a standard assessment protocol with 48 Franco-Quebec victims of child sexual abuse and 40 nonoffending mothers. The protocol was favorably received by child protection service workers, supervisors, mothers, and victims. Among specific results were that the rate of symptom-free children was lower (19%) and that of…

Content analysis of the explanations given for their molestation by 84 female adolescent incest victims found no relationship between self-esteem or depression scores and whether subjects found an explanation for the molestation. However, type of attribution was related to self-esteem and depression, with internal attribution related to more…

Depressive symptomatology was assessed in 246 male juvenile sex offenders. Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory indicated 42 percent showed appreciable depressive symptomatology. A history of sexual or physical abuse was related to high Beck scores. Racial differences were not statistically significant. (Author/DB)

Using a feminist and subversive perspective, a study examined the testimonies of five adult females each having experienced childhood sexual abuse. All the subjects--participants in a multi-medium art show sponsored by an urban mental health center--contacted the researcher voluntarily. Participants ranged in age from 39 to 54; sexual orientation…

Medical evaluation of 316 children, mean age 6 years, found 39 perpetrators of sexual abuse were less than 16 years old and 15 were between 16 and 19. Young aggressors were more likely to abuse older female children. Adolescent aggressors appeared to engage in more genital/genital and genital/anal sexual abuse than older aggressors. (Author/DB)

Information on child sexual abuse is most meaningful and effective when given to the child from a parent. To investigate the kinds of prevention information that is exchanged in households and the obstacles to effective exchange, 521 Boston parents (187 male, 334 female), with children aged 6 to 14, were interviewed. The interview focused on…

Examines the victimization of runaways using a sample of 84 adolescents in a midwestern city of about 250,000 people. Finds that these youth, like runaways in larger cities, are doubly victimized by abusive family situations and by life on the streets. Sex differences in the processes that influence victimization are discussed. (FMW)

Narrative features of the life stories of child abuse survivors (n=23) and nonvictimized college student respondents (n=23) were compared. Narratives of survivors differed from the comparison group in both relative emphasis on the past versus present/future and on others rather than self. An emphasis on others by child abuse survivors emerged as…