¶ … rational (the importance of the study) and research question 2) method -participants (ethnic race, gender, age), measures (tests used and evaluation), procedures 3) references. 15 sources are used. APA.
Child sexual abuse, CSA, is said to occur when children experience sexual contact with an adult or an older child through coercion or deceptive manipulation at an age and stage of development at which the child does not posses sufficient maturity to understand the nature of the acts and therefore is not able to provide informed consent. Physical force is often not necessary due to the fact that the perpetrator is likely someone with whom the child has a trusting relationship and who is in a position of authority over the child (Arcus 1998). "The type of sexual contact may involve intercourse, touching or fondling the genitals or secondary sex organs with hands, mouth, or objects, or being forced to perform sexual acts with another person" (Arcus 1998). A child may be coerced into disrobing and exposing themselves, or watching adults disrobe or engage in sexual activity, thus contact may not involve actually touching the child. Children can also be involved in ritualistic sexual abuse as part of cults or other belief practices (Arcus 1998). Child sexual abuse is not a new social problem, however, today more attempts to address the problem (Collingridge 1997).
Literature Review
FBI Supervisory Special Agent Kenneth Lanning in a 1992 booklet issued by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children states that "Society's attitude about child sexual abuse and exploitation can be summed up in one word: denial. Most people do not want to hear about it and would prefer to pretend that child sexual victimization just does not occur"(Wetzstein 1996). "The subject of sexual abuse is taboo in all cultures, and people are afraid to deal with it. Traumatic events such as sexual abuse in childhood are likely to be under-reported, both because they are too painful to remember or too shameful or painful to disclose to an interviewer" (Delgado 1996).
Whether a sex offender will commit another crime depends on the nature of his sexual appetite. According to international research findings including a 1994 paper issued by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy that appeared in the January 1996 Congressional Quarterly, recidivism rates for untreated sex offenders ranged as follows: 41-71% for exhibitionists, 13-40% for child molesters preferring boy victims, 10-29% for child molesters preferring girl victims, 7-35% for rapists, and 4-10% for incest offenders (Wetzstein 1996). Lanning cites a landmark, long-term study of 561 sex offenders by Dr. Gene Abel, an Atlanta sexual disorder expert stating that pedophiles who targeted boy outside the home committed the greatest number of crimes, an average of 281.7 acts with an average of 150.2 partners. "Molesters who targeted girls within the family committed an average of 81.3 acts with an average of 1.8 partners" (Wetzstein 1996). Abel's study also reported that nearly a quarter of the 561 subjects committed crimes against both family and non-family members.
The Family Crisis Program for Sexually Abused children at Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston reported their research findings concerning the characteristic of sexually abused children, their families, and social environment; the nature of the sexual acts the children experienced and the events that transpired following the disclosure of the abuse; and the effects of the total experience upon the child and family (Schwartz 1990). During a two-year period 314 children were referred to FCP for services, and 156 were judged appropriate and comprised the research sample. The researchers used a variety of measures, many standardized with norms and test validation data and did an 18-month follow-up. Of the total sample, only 27% showed clinically significant psychopathology, varying according to the age of the child with 17% of the preschool children, 40% of the 7 to 13-year-olds, and 8% of the adolescents designated as seriously disturbed. The effects ranged from the complete absence of symptoms to pervasive and serious problems (Schwartz 1990). Some studies have shown that abuse that takes place during adolescence is the most damaging, while other reports indicate that prepubescent abuse is more damaging than abuse in early childhood or adolescence. Studies show that girls are more likely than boys to be abused by a parent, however, boys are more likely to be abused by a non-family member or stranger and a higher incidence of force used.
For example, studies have shown that girls are more likely than boys to be abused by a parent, whereas boys are more likely to be abused by a non-family member or a stranger, and that there is a higher incidence of force with boys (Age pg).
One study conducted showed that among never-abused adolescents, 76% reported having had no sexual partners during the past year, compared to 47% of the prior-abuse group and 33% of those currently abused. Previously abused respondents were about three times as likely as never-abused teenagers to report having had three or more partners during the past year, and currently abused adolescents were seven times as likely as the never-abused to report that many partners over the past year (Luster 1997).
A research team in 1999 identified parental drinking as a risk factor for CSA, citing that most victims were abused by either another family member or by a stranger suggesting that parental alcohol abuse may leave children more vulnerable to sexual abuse by others (Widom 2001). "Frequently reported consequences include acting-out...
The victim is often put into situations where they are physically deprived of the things they need to make appropriate decisions. For instance they may be deprived of sleep or food so that they can be more easily manipulated. Mental abuse may also involve teasing or name calling. In many cases the perpetrator is very aware of the victim's weaknesses and uses them to humiliate or subjugate the victim. Sexual
Psychology Treatment For most of U.S. history up to the time of the Community Mental Health Act of 1963, the mentally ill were generally warehoused in state and local mental institutions on a long-term basis. Most had been involuntarily committed by orders from courts or physicians, and the discharge rate was very low. Before the 1950s and 1960s, there were few effective treatments for mental illnesses like depression, anxiety disorders and
The model of the "social structural child" sees the childhood as a social system comparable to the other social categories. Though, the childhood system is different from the others and even marginalized, fact well pointed out in the "minority group child" model. The model of the "tribal child" is more concentrated on the children's world, which is considered to have its own separate culture. The "socially constructed child" model
Figure 1 portrays three of the scenes 20/20 presented March 15, 2010. Figure 1: Heather, Rachel, and Unnamed Girl in 20/20 Program (adapted from Stossel, 2010). Statement of the Problem For any individual, the death of a family member, friend, parent or sibling may often be overwhelming. For adolescents, the death of person close to them may prove much more traumatic as it can disrupt adolescent development. Diana Mahoney (2008), with the
But the result of child abuse, including difficulty in adjusting to society and difficulty in education tend to result in a higher rate of unemployment. In short, child abuse tends to produce the same conditions where child abuse is more likely to occur. ANALYSIS The research shows two vital things, the first being that the number of cases of child abuse are exceedingly high, and two, that the number of cases
232). References Ashley, O.S., Brady, T.M., & Marsden, M.E. (2003). Effectiveness of substance abuse treatment programming for women: A review. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 29(1), 19. Bradley, R.H., & Corwyn, R.F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology, 371. Dane, B. (2000). Child welfare workers: An innovative approach for interacting with secondary trauma. Journal of Social Work Education, 36(1), 27. Dodds, T.L. (2006). Defending America's children: How the
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