Biomedical subjects

J Dziuba-Leatherman

Publications and source records attributed to J Dziuba-Leatherman.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1995

Victimization prevention programs: a national survey of children's exposure and reactions.

The National Youth Victimization Prevention Study interviewed a representative sample of 2,000 U.S. children and their caretakers about the children's experience with child abuse and victimization prevention programs. Two-thirds of the children reported being exposed to at least one program at some time, 37% within the last year. Programs that gave children a chance to practice, that prompted discussions with parents, and that included information on dealing with bullies were more likely to result in utilization of the program skills. Although satisfaction levels were generally high for all groups, girls, black children, and children from lower socioeconomic status families, as well as their parents, had more positive reactions and reported more skill utilization. Some children did report, and their parents confirmed, more worry about abuse and fear of adults. However, the children with increased worry and fear were also the children who themselves and their parents reported the most positive feelings about the programs and the most skill utilization. This suggests that the level of worry and fear induced by the programs was appropriate to the subject.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

The effectiveness of victimization prevention instruction: an evaluation of children's responses to actual threats and assaults.

This study examined whether instruction in school and at home about how to prevent victimization has any impact on children's behavior in situations of real victimization threat. Telephone interviews were conducted in 1992 with a nationally representative sample of 2,000 youths age 10 to 16 and their caretakers. More comprehensive school programs had mixed, small but overall positive effects. Children exposed to such school-based prevention programs performed better on a short test of knowledge about sexual victimization; when victimized or threatened were more likely to use the self-protection strategies recommended by prevention educators; were more likely to feel that they had been successful in protecting themselves; and were more likely to disclose to someone about the victimization attempts. They were not better able to limit the seriousness of the assaults and, in fact, they experienced more injuries in the course of sexual assaults. Comprehensive parental instruction also had positive effects on knowledge, the use of preferred self-protection strategies and the likelihood of disclosure. Children with comprehensive parental instruction were more likely to limit the seriousness of assaults.

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

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↗