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D Finkelhor

Publications and source records attributed to D Finkelhor.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Research on the treatment of sexually abused children: a review and recommendations.

OBJECTIVE: To review findings and conclusions from 29 studies that evaluated with quantitative outcome measures the effectiveness of treatments for sexually abused children. RESULTS: The studies overall document improvements in sexually abused children consistent with the belief that therapy facilitates recovery, but only five of them marshal evidence that the recovery is not simply due to the passage of time or some factor outside therapy. There has yet to be a true large-scale, randomized trial of treatment versus control. The studies suggest that certain problems, such as aggressiveness and sexualized behavior, are particularly resistant to change and that some children do not improve. A number of considerations that merit special attention in future sexual abuse therapy outcome research are identified, including (1) the diversity of sexually abused children, (2) the problem of children with no symptoms, (3) the possible existence of serious "sleeper" effects, (4) the importance of family context on recovery, (5) the utility of abuse-focused therapy and targeted interventions, (6) the optimal length of treatment, (7) the problem of treatment dropouts, and (8) the development and use of abuse-specific outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: The need for more treatment outcome research is highlighted by the rising demand for accountability in the health care system that will increasingly require professionals in the field of sexual abuse treatment to justify their efforts and their methods.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Victimization prevention programs for children: a follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether victimization prevention instruction in school has any impact on children's behavior in situations of real victimization threat. METHODS: Telephone interviews were conducted in 1992 with a nationally representative sample of youths aged 10 to 16 and their caretakers, and the experience of 1457 of these children was followed up more than a year later. RESULTS: Exposure to a more comprehensive prevention program was not associated with reduced incidence of victimization, injury, or upset. However, some of the exposure conditions were associated with an increased likelihood that the children would disclose victimizations, an increased likelihood that they would see themselves as having successfully protected themselves, and a decreased likelihood that they would blame themselves for the episode. Exposed children acquired some knowledge about sexual abuse and, when actually confronted by a threat, an ability to do the things they had been taught. A nonsignificant trend was also noted toward increased injury for exposed children during sexual assaults. CONCLUSION: These mixed findings suggest that prevention educators need to plan programs based on realistic goals for what can be accomplished.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

[Sex abuse and sexual health in children: current dilemmas for the pediatrician].

Epidemiologic research in nearly two dozen countries shows that sexual abuse is a real danger for 5-20% of all children, girls being 2-3 times more at risk than boys. Sexual abuse has proved an important risk factor in many behavioral or even somatic disorders, including posttraumatic symptoms such as nightmares, phobias, nutritional problems, aggressivity and school problems. Unfortunately the problem is surrounded by shame, denials and numerous misleading prejudices which make it hard to diagnose. Diagnosis is also complicated by the frequent absence of reliable physical evidence, the lack of serious research into the child's normal sexual behavior and development, the fact that many small children express themselves awkwardly, and finally the existence of reasons for making untruthful statements, e.g. in child custody disputes. In North America experience has shown the importance of certain arrangements when public health authorities need to respond effectively to the problem of sexual abuse: these arrangements are: (1) Education of the pediatric and medical communities to ensure that the majority of personnel are thoroughly aware of the symptoms and are willing to accept the diagnosis. (2.) Training of specialists capable of interpreting the physical signs, where these are present. (3.) Interdisciplinary cooperation, in practice, of the police and social and psycho-medical institutions with medical personnel when investigating individual cases. (4.) Serious efforts must be made to ensure that children do not suffer the negative iatrogenic effects of investigations into sexual abuse: that is, by minimising the number of interviews and examinations, respecting the child's privacy, and doing everything possible to ensure positive follow-up of the child by the primary social network surrounding him/her.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The international epidemiology of child sexual abuse.

Surveys of child sexual abuse in large nonclinical populations of adults have been conducted in at least 19 countries in addition to the United States and Canada, including 10 national probability samples. All studies have found rates in line with comparable North American research, ranging from 7% to 36% for women and 3% to 29% for men. Most studies found females to be abused at 1 1/2 to 3 times the rate for males. Few comparisons among countries are possible because of methodological and definitional differences. However, they clearly confirm sexual abuse to be an international problem.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

How does receiving information about sexual abuse influence boys' perceptions of their risk?

This research tested the influence of two common sources of information on boys' perceptions of their risk for sexual abuse. In this sample exposure to prevention education programs was associated with a lower perceived likelihood of being sexually abused, and discussion of child sexual abuse with parents was associated with a higher perceived likelihood. The authors suggest that the information provided in prevention education programs emphasizes controllability of sexual abuse to a greater extent than do discussions with parents, so that boys exposed to these programs see their risk as reduced. The potential consequences of these findings are discussed in relation to controversies surrounding the teaching of information about sexual abuse to children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Victimization of children.

Children suffer more victimizations than do adults, including more conventional crimes, more family violence, and some forms virtually unique to children, such as family abduction. On the basis of national statistics, these victimizations can be grouped into three broad categories: the pandemic, such as sibling assault, affecting most children; the acute, such as physical abuse, affecting a fractional but significant percentage; and the extraordinary, such as homicide, affecting a very small group. They can also be differentiated by the degree to which they result from the unique dependency status of children. A field called the victimology of childhood should be defined that adopts a developmental approach to understanding children's vulnerability to different types of victimizations and their different effects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Children as victims of violence: a national survey.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to gain a more comprehensive perspective on the scope, variety, and consequences of child victimization, which has been obscured by a fragmentation into specific problems like sexual abuse or kidnapping. METHODS: Two thousand children aged 10 to 16 years were interviewed in a national telephone survey of children. RESULTS: In the previous year, a quarter of the children had experienced a completed victimization, one in eight had experienced an injury, and one in a hundred required medical attention as a result. Nonfamily physical assaults were the most numerous. Contact sexual abuse occurred to 3.2% of girls and 0.6% of boys. There were also substantial numbers of incidents of attempted kidnappings and violence directed to children's genitals. CONCLUSION: The victimization of children occurs to a greater extent than has been previously reported and is poorly represented in official statistics. IMPLICATION: The authors argue for a more comprehensive interest in children's victimization including better national statistics about the problem.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Impact of sexual abuse on children: a review and synthesis of recent empirical studies.

A review of 45 studies clearly demonstrated that sexually abused children had more symptoms than nonabused children, with abuse accounting for 15-45% of the variance. Fears, posttraumatic stress disorder, behavior problems, sexualized behaviors, and poor self-esteem occurred most frequently among a long list of symptoms noted, but no one symptom characterized a majority of sexually abused children. Some symptoms were specific to certain ages, and approximately one third of victims had no symptoms. Penetration, the duration and frequency of the abuse, force, the relationship of the perpetrator to the child, and maternal support affected the degree of symptomatology. About two thirds of the victimized children showed recovery during the first 12-18 months. The findings suggest the absence of any specific syndrome in children who have been sexually abused and no single traumatizing process.

Child↗
PubMed1990

Sexual abuse in a national survey of adult men and women: prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors.

This paper reports on the first national survey of adults concerning a history of childhood sexual abuse. Victimization was reported by 27% of the women and 16% of the men. Higher rates of abuse were found among men who grew up in unhappy families, lived for some period with only their mothers, who were currently residing in the West and who came from English or Scandinavian heritage. Higher rates of abuse were found among women who grew up in unhappy families, lived for some period without one of their natural parents, received inadequate sex education, were currently residing in the West or who were born after 1925.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Causes of elder abuse: caregiver stress versus problem relatives.

Elderly abuse victims and a nonabused control group were compared to test the widely accepted proposition that such abuse results from the burden and stress placed on those caring for infirm and dependent elderly people. The study found substantially more support for the idea that abuse is associated with personality problems of the caregiver.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Child abuse as an international issue.

This paper provides a background and suggests a strategy for an international approach to policy development concerning child abuse. First, child abuse is defined in a way that makes it applicable across cultures and national boundaries as that portion of harm to children that results from human action that is proscribed, proximate and preventable. A number of other dimensions, such as the degree of social sanction or social censure, are outlined that also affect the likelihood that given harm will be regarded as child abuse. Cross-cultural research also reveals that certain categories of children--such as those in poor health, females, unwanted children and those born under difficult circumstances or with disvalued traits or under conditions of rapid socioeconomic change--are more vulnerable to maltreatment in many countries. The paper argues for a two-pronged international strategy that first urges individual countries to make a priority of the particular types of abuse that are in most urgent need of attention in their society as well as participating at the same time in a concerted international focus on three widely occurring forms of child abuse: parental child battering, selective neglect, and sexual abuse.

Child↗
PubMed1984

Sexual abuse in the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect: an appraisal.

The National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect was a major, government sponsored effort to collect data on reported and unreported child abuse. It used a systematic representative sample methodology and very precisely developed definitions of child abuse. This paper review some of the main limitations of the study in regard to findings on sexual abuse. First, there is probably less "new" data in the study on sexual abuse than on other forms of abuse, since so many of the study cases of sexual abuse were "officially reported' cases. In addition, the study limited its definition of sexual abuse only to cases where a caretaker was the perpetrator , a definition that is much more restrictive than what is used in many treatment programs. Finally, the data on perpetrators has a number of problems that stem from the study's definitions of sexual abuse. The paper makes suggestions for future incidence type studies of sexual abuse.

Adolescent↗