Epidemiology of Child Sexual Abuse

[pic 1] Epidemiology of Child

Sexual Abuse 

Analia Verónica Losada  

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Universidad Católica Argentina / Argentina   

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Recommended reference: Losada, A. V. (2012). Epidemiology of child sexual abuse. GEPU Journal of Psychology, 3 (1), 201-229.

Summary: Child sexual abuse is a documented experience in almost all societies and cultures. Its negative effects not only affect the quality of life of the individual victim, but have repercussions throughout the family socio and public health. The psychological damage is severe, so professionals needed greater knowledge of the subject; expertise involved, unquestionably, a thorough analysis of its incidence and prevalence. In this review, a compilation of studies pertaining to the subject, in different latitudes and especially in the Republic of Argentina is made.

Keywords: Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Public Health in Argentina.

Abstract: The sexual infantile abuse is a documented experience, in almost all the companies and cultures. His effects, negatives, affect not only in the quality of life, of the person victim, but, they reverberate, in the whole context familiar partner and in the public health. The hurt psychosocial is serious, for what professionals need with a major knowledge of the topic; know-how that carries, indisputably, an exhaustive analysis of his incident and of his prevalence. In this review, there is done a compilation of studies, relating to the topic, in different latitudes and specially, in the Republic of Argentina.   

Key Words: Infantile Mistreatment, Sexual Abuse, Public Health in Argentina.   

Received: 09/08/2011 Accepted with Recommendations: 25/01/2012 Approved: 18/03/2012

 Losada Analia Veronica is Ph.D. Psychology, Master in Scientific Research Methodology Specialist Research Methodology Specialist Positive Psychology Degree in Psychology and Educational Psychologist.

 Email: analia_losada@yahoo.com.ar

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of child sexual abuse. Comparing the data obtained in the world population and especially in Argentina, comparing both results.

Epidemiology of Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse is not a recent problem. Throughout history it said. Ill-treatment of children are a historical constant, occurring in all cultures and societies and in any social stratum (Casado Flores, Diaz Huertas and Martinez Gonzalez, 1997; Walker, Bonner and Kaufman, 1988). These are not isolated events but a universal and complex problem resulting from an interaction of individual, family, social and cultural (English, 1991; Echeburúa Odriozola and Guerricaechevarria, 2005) factors.

Child sexual abuse is a common problem in all societies and cultures. Its negative effects show the seriousness and illustrate the professional needs of more knowledge about it. The incidence and prevalence of child sexual abuse as statistical concepts used in epidemiology provide the distribution and evolution of the problem in the population. La prevalencia es la proporción de individuos de una población que presentan abuso sexual infantil en un momento o en un período determinado. La prevalencia es el número total de los individuos que presentaron abuso sexual en un momento o durante un periodo dividido por la población en ese punto en el tiempo o en la mitad del período. Cuantifica la proporción de personas en una población que padeció abuso sexual en un determinado momento y proporciona una estimación de la proporción de sujetos de esa población que hubiera transitado ese tipo de maltrato en ese momento. Es un parámetro útil porque permite describir un fenómeno de salud, identificar la frecuencia poblacional del mismo y generar hipótesis explicatorias (Runyan, 1998; Wynkoop, Capps  y Priest, 1995). La prevalencia aportaría datos de qué cantidad de personas de la población general reconocen haber sido abusadas en su infancia (Bringiotti, 2006).    

Goldman and Padayachi (2000) raised the existence of methodological problems in estimating the incidence and prevalence in the investigation of child sexual abuse. They argued that the investigation of child sexual abuse is fraught with methodological problems, and offered an overview of some of the most common aspects. Inconsistencies in the definitions are common, even the same child sexual abuse and age limits that define a child. Other methodological difficulties that have been found are determining the number of child victims of sexual abuse within a certain period of time, the choice of the sample, the type and number of questions to include factors within a historical period such such as advertising, and estimates of the rate of increase in child sexual abuse over time. They suggested greater consistency, particularly in definitions, to contribute to the comparative conclusions less ambiguous and more valid.

Finkelhor (1970) conducted a study asking about past experiences to 796 college students. It found that: 9% of men and 19% of women had been sexually abused as children. According to Finkelhor (cited by Canton Duarte and Cortés Arboleda, 2000), in another study involving 21 countries, it was found that 7% of women and 3% of men were abused during childhood.

Leventhal (1988) evaluated whether changes in the epidemiology of child sexual abuse occurred during the twentieth century making a comparison between the results of the survey conducted by Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues in the 40s made women in the United States, most of whom were born between 1900 and 1929, and the results of the most recent studies of the epidemiology of abuso sexual. En el estudio de Kinsey, el 24% de las 4441 mujeres encuestadas reportaron al menos un episode of sexual abuse before adolescence, in 49% of cases, the abuser was unknown. These findings were compared with the results of the most recent epidemiological surveys, especially with the study of Russell held in the city of San Francisco in 1978. Although there are significant differences in the methodologies used by Kinsey and Russell, it is likely changes that have occurred in the prevalence and nature of sexual abuse in the 20th century Russell described a higher prevalence of sexual abuse, a higher proportion of known offenders or relatives of the victim, and a higher proportion of serious forms of sexual abuse .

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