The director of a child abuse service reflects on her experience with child abuse investigators in the early 1980s. She reflects on the lessons learned from dealing with people involved in the litigation process, and from problems encountered in dealing with the complex issues that arise. (JPS)

Describes the therapeutic use of video therapy in the treatment of childhood sexual abuse. In video therapy, the patient is directed to independently view video recordings of therapy sessions to help correct cognitive and affective disorders. How these distortions develop and their connection with conditioning and programming are discussed. (JPS)

Discusses environmental circumstances conducive to questionable allegations, such as previously determined invalid cases, continuously symptomatic children, and litigated cases. Considers conditions related to the involved children, such as amnesia, lack of concern, and entrenched psychopathology, and ways to improve clinical pursuit of…

Compares nonoffending mothers with and without a history of child sexual abuse (CSA) to the sexual abuse allegations concerning their children. Nonoffending mothers with a history of CSA exhibited more distress and reported greater feelings of aloneness in facing the crisis. However, maternal history of CSA did not differentiate the groups with…

Examines the issue of role confusion for medical professionals who must deal with both parent and child in cases of incest. Pediatricians generally act as child advocates and tend to believe the child's story if there is conflicting information, yet are expected to render a neutral expert opinion. Family physicians may become enmeshed in denial…

Comments on the negative reactions expressed in a previous article concerning reactions to sex offenders. Control, not comprehension, of the offender's behavior is the primary purpose of treatment. Sadistic and retaliatory fantasies by the therapist may indicate the need for further training. (JPS)

Examines consistency of results and variables that may confound validity in child sexual abuse cases. Concludes that the ways in which information on the incidence and prevalence of child sexual abuse has been collected, analyzed, and reported have been flawed to the extent that few reliable conclusions can be made. Includes suggestions for…

Explored university students' (n=702) level of sexual activity during six-month period and degree to which they were victims of sexual coercion and assault before and since entering university. Found more than 80 percent of students were sexually active; nearly one in five women had been victims of rape or attempted rape. (Author/ABL)

Examined fraternity membership and sexual aggression. Findings from male undergraduates (83 fraternity members and 178 independents) revealed that fraternity members were significantly more likely than independents to engage in nonphysical coercion and to use drugs and alcohol as sexual strategy but did not differ significantly in their use of…

Analyses of data from a survey of undergraduate students at a research institution were completed to determine whether self-reported experiences with sexual violence varied by gender and Greek affiliation. Significant differences were found by both gender and Greek affiliation for sexual victimization, sexual victimization with alcohol, and sexual…

Argues that the classification of life experiences as epiphanies is a task critical to personal growth. Uses narrative analysis to illuminate the factors that seem to influence the choice of events as epiphanies for survivors of sexual abuse. Examines such narratives from the life and work of D.H. Lawrence, as well as modern narratives from…

A growing body of empirical research strongly suggests that adolescents and young adults are increasingly becoming both victims and perpetrators of crime and abuse enabled by information technology. The US federal government has stressed technological, legislative, and law-enforcement solutions to these problems. Efforts to protect children have…

This study assessed the effectiveness of an interactive, co-educational date rape prevention program. Participants for the study (n=192, 97% Caucasian) consisted of sorority and fraternity members of a larger midwestern university. Eighty-four individuals were assigned to a control group with the rest making up the intervention group. All subjects…

Two studies examined the hypothesis that sexually coercive behavior is part of a larger constellation of non-sexual deviant behaviors. The first study considered the relationship between various antisocial intentions and self-reported levels of sexual aggression. As a part of a larger study, college men (N=108) responded to the Sexual Experiences…

Assessed the incidence of and the risk factors for date rape and other male-against-female sexual aggression (SA) in dating situations. Showed 77.6% of the women and 57.3% of the men had been involved in SA, 14.7% and 7.1% respectively in unwanted sexual intercourse. Risk factors and implications for rape-prevention programs are discussed.…