Discusses concepts that are related to providing education and training regarding sexual assault, as outlined by the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act. Because college counseling center staff members often initiate and plan campus outreach prevention programs, an outline is provided of a prevention/awareness week intervention that is…

Reviews methods of treatment used with sex offenders, each based on the erroneous belief that sex offenders constitute a relatively homogeneous taxonomic class. Asserts that sex offenders are people with a sad personal history, in which their deviant sexual behavior represents an effort to banish the pain they experienced during their developing…

Reviews research to document epidemic proportions of physical violence and sexual abuse in North American families. Delineates gender dimensions of the problem, with men being predominant perpetrators of sexual abuse of both boys and girls and major physical abusers in couple relationships. Presents feminist perspective for thinking about abuse…

This statement, signed by 20 experts on child welfare and abuse, summarizes agreement regarding the current status of knowledge in investigation of child sexual abuse and identifies those areas in which further research remains necessary. The statement addresses behavioral indicators of abuse, interviewing child victims, the use of dolls and other…

Reviews research on family violence and sexual abuse of children in the 1980s. Examines family violence rates, intergenerational transmission of violence, effects of violence on children and women, and effectiveness of interventions. Review of child sexual abuse examines defining sexual abuse, its prevalence, research on sexual offenders and risk…

This review of the short-term effects of child sexual abuse examines age and sex of child, relationship to offender, frequency and duration of abuse, type of sexual act and use of force, and family functioning. Frequency/duration of abuse, abuse involving force, and close relationship to the perpetrator were related to more severe outcomes.…

Empirical research pertaining to sexual behavior in sexually abused children, including record reviews, parent ratings, psychological assessment, self-report, and behavioral observation, is reviewed and discussed. Sexual behavior is reported significantly more often in sexually abused children than nonabused children. However, the consistency of…

This paper reviews literature on evaluating allegations of child sexual abuse, to determine whether there are systematic and significant differences on psychological tests between sexually abused and nonabused children, and whether these differences are a direct result of sexual abuse or a result of other coexisting factors that might cause…

Clinical evaluations of child molesters include a clinical interview and psychological testing, and sometimes phallometric assessment and polygraphy. The information gathered explains the situational antecedents and offender characteristics that led to the sexual victimization and the amount of risk an individual presents. (JDD)

Provides background to a theme volume on violence in the broader community and in the family. Discusses the incidence in various ethnic and racial groups of adolescent violence, dating violence and sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse. (Contains 32 references.) (SV)

Survey assesses willingness to pay for programs to prevent sexual assault and class size reduction in a predominantly White female sample of 349 undergraduates. Results suggest that the prevention of sexual assault is a community issue, with substantial willingness among students to pay for risk reduction programs without regard to the benefits…

Investigates factors associated with improvement in the behavioral-emotional functioning of sexually abused children, from 6 to 18 years of age. Findings show that children in an actively disclosing stage exhibited significantly less externalizing behavior problems. Children receiving full support from foster parents showed significantly lower…

Examines the understandings, definitions, and experiences of forgiveness held by members of the clergy who reported conflict with the religious superiors who mandated their entry into residential psychiatric treatment because of substance abuse/dependence, sexual misconduct, compulsive behavior disorder, or affective disorders. Compares the data…

This paper describes the major findings from epidemiological studies on the sexual abuse of children, raises questions that need to be addressed by future epidemiological studies, and reviews some of the barriers to conducting these studies. Findings are organized into five categories: prevalence, reported incidence, data from children,…

Reviews the technical conduct of the child-sexual-abuse medical examination and offers a research agenda. Introduction of the colposcope in the early 1980s is noted, as are other technological advances, such as the videocolposcopy and linkage with computer technology. Achievement highlights in the last 20 years of research are identified, along…