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…

This study assessed the relationships among hypnotizability, clinical dissociation and traumatic antecedents in 54 sexually abused girls, ages 6 to 15 years, and 51 matched controls. There were no significant differences in hypnotizability between abuse and control subjects. However, in the abuse group, highly hypnotizable subjects were…

This study of 1,001 adult homosexual and bisexual men found that 37% reported they had been encouraged or forced to have sexual contact with an older or more powerful partner before age 19. Median age at first contact was 10. Ninety-three percent of participants reporting early sexual contact were classified as sexually abused. (Author/DB)

This review synthesizes findings of 16 cross-sectional surveys on the prevalence of child abuse (primarily sexual abuse) among nonclinical, North American samples. An incidence of approximately 22.3% for women and 8.5% for men was found over three decades though variations in study response rates and differences in child abuse operational…

A survey of undergraduates (N=427) in Queensland (Australia) found child sexual abuse prevalence rates of 19% for males and 45% for females, with incestuous abuse reported by 9% of males and 19% of females. Other findings addressed age at onset of abuse, gender, types of unwanted sexual experiences, and media exposure. (DB)

Questionnaires completed by 824 college students concerning sexual abuse indicated that women had stronger pro-social beliefs, attitudes, and emotional reactions concerning abuse than did men. Although equal numbers of males and females had been approached by potential perpetrators, only 6% of men but 13% of women reported being sexually abused as…

Analysis of 656 responses of a gender-stratified random sample of U.S. mental health clinicians found that 13% of the men and 20% of the women reported a personal history of childhood sexual abuse; 7.3% of the men and 6.9% of the women reported a history of childhood physical abuse. (Author/DB)

This retrospective cohort study assessed the relationship of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to other categories of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as childhood abuse, neglect, and parental separation/divorce. Adults reporting CSA experienced a 1.6- to 3.4-fold greater likelihood of experience each category of ACE. The ACE score was also…

Recalled abuse was examined in relation to dissociation in a sample of 312 undergraduates. Significant correlations were found between the abuse variables and the dissociation variables. Prevalence of sexual abuse, but not physical abuse, was significantly higher for females than males. (Author/DB)

A survey of 128 undergraduate female students indicated that 44% had experienced cross-gender sexual play as children, which was often seen as involving persuasion, manipulation, or coercion. A typology of six kinds of sexual play experiences was derived. Discussion focuses on the differentiation of childhood sexual abuse from play and gender…

This study examined the impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on the mental health status of the Los Angeles Epidemiologic Catchment Area. A history of CSA was found to significantly increase an individual's odds of developing eight psychiatric disorders in adulthood. CSA's effect on the community level was also found to be substantial.…

A survey of 616 nursing and paramedical students in Malaysia found that 2.1% of males and 8.3% of females reported having been sexually abused in their childhood. Of these, 69% reported the abuse involved physical contact; 38% reported the abuse began before the age of 10; and 71% reported knowing the abuser. (Author/DB)

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…

A national survey of 1000 parents concerning disciplinary practices and violence included questions about whether the children had been sexually abused, to assess the feasibility of epidemiological research on contemporaneous sexual abuse using parental interviews rather than the usual adult retrospective approach. Results indicated rates of…

This study found that the incidence of Gardnerella vaginalis infection was not more common in 191 female children who had other evidence of sexual contact than in 144 female children evaluated for possible sexual abuse but with no evidence of sexual contact found or in 31 female children with no suspected sexual contact. (Author/DB)