This commentary discusses the decline in sexual abuse, citing research that indicates differences in self-reported sexual abuse across age-cohorts in a population-based sample of Australian adults. Similar declines in Ireland and the United States are also noted. The usefulness of self-report surveys for examining trends in child victimization is…

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…

The purpose of the Crimes against Children Series is to improve and expand the national effort to serve child victims by presenting the latest information on child victimization. When a child is assaulted it is not only a child welfare problem, it is a crime, yet there is a lack of data available for researchers to analyze. Use of the National…

Though no identifiable demographic or family characteristics of a child exclude the possibility that a child has been sexually abused, some characteristics are associated with greater risk: female gender, preadolescents and early adolescents, having a stepfather, living without a natural parent, having an impaired mother, poor parenting, or…

Conceptual dimensions of child abuse are discussed from an international perspective, including intentionality, societal versus individual causation, and personhood of the child. The article enumerates specific types of child abuse and neglect, suggests categories of children at risk for maltreatment, and proposes an international strategy for…

This article suggest three broad categories of improvements to 13 data systems on juvenile victimization: (1) systems could expand to include more jurisdictions or other population segments; (2) systems need to create more specific data items; and (3) systems need to be modified to provide continuity and interrelationships among systems. (Contains…

Interviews with 2,000 youths (ages 10-16) and their caretakers examined whether instruction at school or home about how to prevent victimization impacted on children's behavior in real victimization attempts. Children exposed to comprehensive school-based or home-based instruction were more likely to use recommended self-protection strategies and…

Outlines a general theory of childhood victimology, with a typology that characterizes abuse as extraordinary, acute, or pandemic. Efforts to prevent childhood victimization must recognize its differential character and the importance of the child's stage of development in recognizing and dealing with victimization. (SLD)

Reviews current knowledge of the most frequently asked questions about child sexual abuse, in areas such as its prevalence and trends, and what populations are at risk. Data presented from 19 adult retrospective surveys show that the incidence of reported child sexual abuse is rising, that less than one-third of the cases were committed by…

Interviews with 2,000 children (ages 10-16) and their caretakers revealed that two-thirds of the children had been exposed to child abuse and victimization prevention programming. Programs that involved practice, prompted discussions with parents, and included information on dealing with bullies were more likely to result in skill utilization. The…

Objective: To explore factors that facilitate the receipt of mental health treatment among juvenile crime victims. Method: Telephone interviews were conducted with a national sample of 157 caretakers whose children had suffered a serious sexual or physical assault in the previous year. Results: Twenty-two percent of caretakers had thought about…

The experience of prior victimization (sexual and nonsexual) was found to increase risk for experiencing later sexual abuse in 2,000 American children, ages 10 to 16, even when background variables (gender, race, age, geographic location, quality of relationship with parents, and level of violence in the home community) were controlled. Prior…