Megan's law enables law enforcement to notify communities when convicted sex offenders reside in their neighborhoods. Investigates community members', law enforcement officials', and law students' attitudes toward community notification and other child abuse prevention measures. The groups significantly differed in support of Megan's Law and…

Considers whether attachment theory as it is applied to child sexual abuse might be susceptible to biases that reflect the larger sociocultural context. Although this paper concludes that attachment theory can potentially add an important dimension to the conceptualization of child sexual abuse and its dynamics, it is also suggested that…

Reviews the literature on female sex offenders and presents the results of a nationwide survey of mental health providers on approaches to diagnosing prior sexual abuse history and/or perpetration among juvenile females. Key findings include the lack of research, tools, and literature on young female sex offenders and perceived differences between…

Investigates dependency in survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Analyses of CSA Interpersonal Dependency Inventory scores indicated that among women, CSA survivors obtained higher dependency scores than non-CSA psychiatric patients, community adults, and college students. Findings for men were less consistent. Follow-up analyses revealed…

The author questions the reactions of the public when encountered with child molestation cases in the United States. The same public that seeks to protect the children appears to turn and attack the therapist once the abuse has been diagnosed. (JPS)

"Moral panic" has affected child abuse professionals in their perceptions of dealing with children and with other professionals, and has lessened their willingness to become involved in the justice system. Professionals in adjunct fields seem to line up on opposite sides of the debate, further adding to the problem. (JPS)

Notes that it is believed by many that the sexual abuse of children and adolescents is primarily perpetrated against females. Presents a review of the literature on the incidence, indicators, effects, and treatment of sexual abuse in males. (Author/NB)

This discussion of abuse of people with intellectual disabilities notes the varieties of abusive actions found, including sexual abuse; the possible incidence of such abuse; and reasons why this population is especially vulnerable to abuse. A current study to examine the incidence of abuse and reporting mechanisms is briefly described. (Author/DB)

This introduction to the special issue on clinical identification of sexually abused children reviews the history of the study of child sexual abuse and describes the 14 papers included in the special issue. (JDD)

Presents the author's impressions of testifying as an expert witness in a civil liability suit, the first of its kind in the Republic of Ireland, in 1998. The suit was brought by four adults siblings against professionals who did not protect them from severe childhood physical and sexual abuse by their father. Litigation strategy, the outcome of…

Evaluates effectiveness of a sexual assault education program on 224 college women. Women in the treatment group participated in a 1-hour sexual assault education program. Participants returned for a 7-month follow-up session and assessment. Results indicate that the program was successful in increasing knowledge about sexual assault, but not…

Reviews research demonstrating the variable effects of childhood sexual abuse, need for intervention, and effectiveness of available treatment. Proposes extending and modifying treatment from mainstream clinical child psychology to sexually abused children. Interventions range from psychoeducation and screening, to short-term, abuse-focused…

Attempts to define the optimal sex offender treatment program based on a review of the empirical literature and on personal clinical experience with sex offenders. Discusses the use of the penile plethysmograph and the polygraph as methods of psychosocial assessment used in conjunction with antiandrogen medication to dampen the offender's libido…

Reviews the literature on sexual victimization of minors and the role of school psychologists in assessing and intervening with sexually abused minors. Although estimates of child sexual abuse prevalence differ widely owing to disclosure biases and the researcher definitions, it is clear that child sexual abuse is a serious public problem.…

The paradigm underlying current sexual offender recidivism risk assessment procedures conceptualizes such risk in a linear fashion, ranging on a single continuum from 0% to 100%. Each risk and protective characteristic thought of relevance in an evaluation is used as an indicator of increased or decreased risk, respectively, along that same…