Contact Child Sexual Abuse Research Articles

Childhood sexual abuse and sexual risks among young rural-to-urban migrant women in Beijing, China

Background. Child sexual abuse (CSA) has substantial impact on women. The current study aims to explore the patterns of CSA in migrant women in China. Moreover, a relationship between experience of CSA and increased sexual risks was also examined among this vulnerable population. Methods. A final sample of 478 rural-to-urban migrant women was recruited from different work places in two urban districts of Beijing, China. Results. About 17% (n=80) of migrant women reported ever experienced any kind of CSA before 16 years of age. Participants who had multiple sexual partners, drank before sex and had early age of sexual debut reported higher rate of overall CSA (45.7% vs. 23%, p<0.01; 41.2% vs. 24%, p<0.05; and 47.8% vs. 24.4%, p<0.05) and contact CSA (37.1% vs. 15.6%, p<0.01; 32.4% vs. 16.8%, p<0.05; and 39.1% vs. 17%, p<0.05) compared to their counterparts. The multivariate analysis confirmed the results of bivariate analysis that a history of CSA was associated with increased sexual risks in adulthood. Conclusion. The current study suggests that health-related prevention intervention programs (i.e., HIV-related sexual risks prevention intervention) targeting the migrant women population needs to take in consideration the possible experience of CSA. Moreover, effective school-based or community-based CSA prevention intervention should be conducted to reduce CSA rate and improve attention to CSA issues in rural communities in China.

Prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among 2508 college students in 6 provinces of China

To assess the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in college students and to explore the association of CSA with youth mental health problem. A retrospective survey was conducted among 2508 students (females 1360, males 1148) in Nov. 2003 to Mar. 2004. The students were from 6 colleges/universities in Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Shaanxi and Anhui provinces of China. Of the 2508 students, 24.8% of females and 17.6% of males reported one or more types of nonphysical contact CSA (females 20.0% vs. males 14.6%) or/and physical contact CSA (females 14.1% vs. males 7.8%) before the age of 16 years. Risk of any CSA was not associated with the existence of siblings (one-child vs. two-or more child families), rural/non-rural residence during childhood, or parental education. Compared with their peers who had no CSA, the students with CSA showed significantly higher mean scores of psychological symptoms of somatization, obsessiveness, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism. The problem of CSA was not uncommon and there was a significant correlation between CSA experience and students mental health problems. More attention should be paid on CSA prevention and provision of health services for the victims.

Child sexual abuse and persistence of risky sexual behaviors and negative sexual outcomes over adulthood: Findings from a birth cohort

Objectives To determine the impact of child sexual abuse (CSA) on adult sexual behaviors and outcomes over three age periods. Methods A longitudinal study of a birth cohort born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1972/1973 was used. Information on CSA was sought at age 26, and on sexual behaviors and outcomes at ages 21, 26, and 32. Comparisons were over the whole period from age 18 to 32, then for the three age periods from age 18 to 21, 21 to 26, and 26 to 32, adjusting for measures of family environment. Results Overall, 465 women and 471 men (91.9% of the surviving cohort) answered questions about CSA. Contact CSA was reported by 30.3% of women and 9.1% of men. For abused women, significantly increased rates were observed for number of sexual partners, unhappy pregnancies, abortion, and sexually transmitted infections from age 18 to 21; with rates approaching those of nonabused over time. Conversely, for abused men rates were not significantly elevated in the youngest age period, but were for number of partners from age 26 to 32 and acquisition of herpes simplex virus type 2 from age 21 to 32. Conclusions Gender and age are critical when considering the effect of CSA. While the profound early impact of CSA demonstrated for women appears to lessen with age, abused men appear to carry increased risks into adulthood. Practice implications CSA is common and should be considered when young women present with unwanted conceptions or seek multiple terminations, and when men continue to have high risk sexual behavior into adulthood. Furthermore, if CSA is disclosed, sexual risks in adulthood need to be considered.

Psychiatric state of college students with a history of childhood sexual abuse

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) seriously influences children's psychological status. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between CSA and the psychiatric disorders. An anonymous and retrospective questionnaire survey was carried out in 1307 college students (aged 18-25 years; 701 females, 606 males) to investigate the participants' CSA experience by means of a complete random sampling method. The Symptom Check-List-90 (SCL-90) test was used to study the victims' psychiatric aspects. 22.11% (155/701) of the female students and 14.69% (89/606) of the male students experienced physical and/or non-physical contact CSA before age 18, with a significant difference between female and male (P<0.05). And 11.43% (80/701) of the female students and 7.26% (44/606) of the male students experienced physical contact CSA (P<0.05). Most abusers were male and young people, and only a few of them used violence. 78.7% of the females experienced non-physical contact CSA from strangers, while 71.3% experienced physical contact CSA from acquaintances. 89.9% of the male victims knew the abusers before. Females were more likely than males to experience physical contact CSA from members of the family circles. The CSA incidence increased with age in females, while 54.7% of the male victims experienced CSA from 12 to 16 years. The students who experienced CSA had higher SCL-90 scores than those who did not in somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism. The more serious the CSA experience was, the higher SCL-90 scores of the psychiatric disorders would be. CSA is not uncommon in adolescents. Girls are more likely to experience CSA than boys. About half of the abusers are the victims' close relatives, neighbors and teachers; most abusers were male. Personal experience of CSA may seriously affect the victims' psychological health.

Childhood Sexual Abuse Experiences of Female Student Teachers in Zimbabwe

The study investigated childhood sexual abuse (CSA) experiences of female student teachers in Zimbabwe. A convenience sample of 112 female respondents (mean age = 27.4 years) responded to a retrospective questionnaire which assessed childhood sexual experiences. Data were analysed descriptively. The overall prevalence rate for child sexual abuse was 43.8%. Contact CSA 42(37.5%) was slightly more common than non-contact CSA 35(31.3%). Prevalence was higher among participants who grew up in urban 42(37.5%) than in rural 7(6.3%) areas. Major perpetrators were boyfriends 70(45.5%), uncles 21(13.6%), school bursars and family friends' sons were 14(9.1%) each, respectively. Abuse occurred at the perpetrator 70(45.5%) and victim's 63(40.6%) places of residence, as well as at school 14(9.1%), and in movie houses 7(4.5%). Abuse was reported to have happened several times (45.5%), once (40.9%) and twice (13.6%). Only 7(14.3%) of the sexually victimized respondents reported the abuse.

Child sexual abuse in Henan province, China: associations with sadness, suicidality, and risk behaviors among adolescent girls

Purpose To assess the prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) and possible effects on mental health and risky behavior among female adolescents living in China. Method A retrospective survey was conducted among 351 female students in a medical secondary school in the central China province of Henan in June 2004. The anonymous, self-administered questionnaire included items about unwanted sexual experiences before age 16, depression, suicidality, and risky health-related behaviors. Results Over one in five young women (21.9%) reported at least one type of CSA (any one of 12 forms of nonphysical contact and physical contact CSA) before the age of 16 years, with one in every seven (14.0%) reporting CSA involving physical contact. Risk of CSA was not associated with parents’ education level, existence of siblings, or rural/urban residence during childhood. Although some indicators of poor mental health were slightly elevated among girls who had experienced noncontact CSA only, the most significant impact is among victims of contact CSA, including higher rates of depression, overwhelming sadness, suicidal thinking and planning, alcohol drinking, smoking, fighting, and having sexual intercourse. Conclusions The risk of CSA in this sample of Chinese female adolescents seems similar to young women in many Western countries, and the pattern of associated mental health and behavioral problems is entirely consistent with international research.

Child sexual abuse in China: a study of adolescents in four provinces

Objective: Little is known about Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in Chinese societies. This study examined CSA experiences and associations with demographic factors, self-reported health and risky behaviors among senior high school students in four provinces in central and northern China. Method: Students in four schools in Hubei, Henan, Hebei, and Beijing provinces participated in an anonymous, self-completed questionnaire survey. From a total enrolment of 3,261 students in the target classes in years 11 and 12, 2,300 (70.5%) returned valid questionnaires. Mean age was 17.2 years. The questionnaire was adapted from prior CSA research in Australia and utilized standard scales for depression, self-esteem, and youth risk behavior. Results: Prevalence of any unwanted sexual experience before the age of 16 years was higher among females (16.7%) than males (10.5%). Sexual penetration was rarely reported (1%), while 7% reported at least one type of physical contact abuse (female 8.9%, male 5.0%). Risk of any CSA was not associated with the existence of siblings (one-child vs. two- or more child families), rural/urban residence during childhood, or parental education. Males and females with CSA were more depressed and suicidal, and drank alcohol more often, than unaffected adolescents. Contact CSA was strongly associated with sexual intercourse (ever) for both males and females. Females with CSA were more likely than others to engage in anorexic and bulimic behaviors, while males with CSA were often involved in violence. Conclusion: Social norms for consensual sexual experiences differ between Eastern and Western societies. CSA experiences also differ, with substantially less penetrative and physical contact abuse in China. However, the psychological and behavioral profile of abused, young Chinese people, including the additional burden associated with contact abuse, is similar to that found in other cultures.

Reported anxieties concerning intimate parenting in women sexually abused as children

Objective: The study had two aims: (1) To investigate whether mothers with a history of contact child sexual abuse were anxious about the intimate aspects of parenting compared with a clinical comparison group. (2) To determine if there was any relationship between the mother’s anxieties and the kind of parenting they recalled receiving themselves. Method: Two groups of mothers in mental health out-patient care were interviewed; 34 women with a history of contact child sexual abuse and 29 women with no history of sexual abuse. They completed the Intimate Aspects of Parenting Questionnaire, The Parenting Stress Index (Short form) The Parental Bonding Instrument and The General Health Questionnaire–28. The index group also completed a sexual abuse history questionnaire. Results: Mothers with a history of child sexual abuse were significantly more anxious about intimate aspects of parenting than the comparison group. They also reported significantly more overall stress as parents. The index group recalled that their own parents were significantly less caring and that their fathers more controlling than the comparison group. A low score on Father Care was significantly associated with concerns about intimate parenting, but not with total parenting stress. By contrast, a low score on Mother Care was significantly associated with higher stress experienced as a parent, but not as strongly with anxieties about intimate parenting. Conclusions: Mothers with a history of contact child sexual abuse who attend mental health services are often worried that their normal parenting behaviors may be inappropriate or seen as such by other people. These anxieties seem associated with their history of childhood sexual abuse.