Journal of Child Sexual Abuse最新文献

This paper examines accuracy, acceptability, and respondent burden of integrated screening to facilitate tailored sexual assault (SA) prevention program delivery in a basic military training (BMT) environment. Trainees (n = 5,951) received tailored prevention content based on self-reported sex, sexual orientation, prior SA victimization and perpetration, and past-month post-traumatic stress symptoms. Bivariate analyses examined trainee-reported screener accuracy, acceptability, and burden, including differences by tailoring-targeted subgroups (e.g. men/women). Overall accuracy and acceptability were high (>90%) despite significant subgroup variability. Screening time averaged 10.55 (SD = 1.95) minutes; individuals with prior SA took longer. Missingness increased linearly throughout the screener. Integrated screening is an accurate, acceptable way to deploy tailored SA prevention in BMT. Findings inform data-driven screening improvements and novel applications.

We aimed to characterize and conceptually organize multilevel factors associated with the sexual victimization experiences of trans women and trans feminine people to advance violence prevention interventions for health-equity. Between October 2020 and July 2021, we conducted in-depth interviews with 17 expert informants in New York City, which we transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Qualitative insights were derived through an intensive, team-based iterative coding strategy resulting in the development of an exhaustive set of consensus codes which were organized and interpreted in a multi-level structure. Findings revealed a complex constellation of intersecting macro- and micro-structural mechanisms reinforcing sexual violence. Unique characteristics of this violence were characterized hierarchically in terms of: 1) violence forms (e.g. murder, fetishization), 2) perpetrators (e. g. safety-staff; group assault), 3) contexts (e.g. public accommodations), 4) functions (e.g. gender policing), 5) ideological reinforcers (e.g. transphobia, racism), and 6) structural reinforcers (e.g. legislation; linking access to material means of survival to poverty/illness). Results indicate that acute incidents of sexual victimization are "the tip of the iceberg" of the violence impacting trans communities. The community experts we interviewed (e.g. trans women, violence prevention practitioners, social workers) understand chronic functional, ideological, and structural oppression as inextricable from sexual violence. Multi-level determinants of violence therefore constitute essential targets of sexual violence prevention intervention for this population.

The online landscape has shifted since the rise of smartphones and social media in the 2010s and altered the way children use technologies. Along with a reliance on computer-mediated communication (CMC) is the concern of online child sexual exploitation (OCSE). This scoping review provided an updated examination of the prevalence, risk factors, outcomes, and disclosures of OCSE since 2010. Systematic searches were conducted using three databases for studies published between January 2010 and January 2023. Results indicated an alarming prevalence of, and a wide range of risk factors and consequences associated with OCSE worldwide. Many young victims struggled to recognize OCSE as a serious form of abuse. The need to monitor the ever-changing Internet landscape for young users is highlighted.

Sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is a serious social issue and a significant public health problem that has caused extensive harm worldwide. In 2022, an independent commission was established in Spain to investigate sexual abuse within the Church. The commission gathered data from 334 victims (82.3% men, 17.7% women), who were predominantly aged between 55 and 74 years old (62.5%). A majority of victims (71.0%) endured sexual abuse involving physical contact, while 21% reported instances of oral, anal, or vaginal penetration. Over half of the victims (57.5%) reported emotional and behavioral issues, as well as functional problems, problems in relationships, sexuality, and cognition, and attributed these difficulties to the abuse. The majority of participants (79.0%) had disclosed the abuse before the study, with the Church taking action in 45.8% of cases. Approximately 8.4% of victims reported the perpetrator was relocated, while 16.2% described institutional efforts to conceal the abuse. In conclusion, victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Spain faced consequences that had a significant impact on their lives, exacerbated by lack of societal recognition and a prevalent dynamic of cover-up and concealment by the Church.

The current study examined predictors PTSD and problem drinking using survey data (N = 432 matched pairs) from sexual assault survivors and informal support providers (SPs, e.g. family, friend, partner) to whom they disclosed. Perceptions of helpfulness, relationship satisfaction, social reactions to disclosure of sexual assault, coping strategies, and child sexual abuse (CSA) severity were examined in separate survivor and SP regression models. In the survivor model, White-identified and less educated survivors had more PTSD symptoms than those of other races and with more education, respectively. Greater avoidance coping, perceived SP empathy, and unsupportive acknowledgment (UA) reactions were all related to more PTSD symptoms for survivors. In the SP model, those identifying as White reported more PTSD symptoms than those of other races. SPs reporting greater use of approach and avoidance coping, and more ineffective and empathetic support, reported more PTSD symptoms. Those SPs identifying as men and those with higher educational attainment had fewer PTSD symptoms. SPs reporting more positive social reactions to survivors' disclosure also had fewer PTSD symptoms. For survivors, greater avoidance coping, more PTSD symptoms, and receiving more positive reactions from the SP were each related to increased survivor problem drinking. For SPs, greater relationship satisfaction with the survivor and greater UA social reactions made to survivors were each related to less SP problem drinking. In addition, SPs reporting greater CSA severity, more PTSD symptoms, more avoidance coping, and more perceived empathy and positive social reactions to survivors were each related to increased SP problem drinking.

Amid growing concerns over technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV), this study surveyed 943 adults across the United States to investigate its prevalence, demographic risk factors, and emotional consequences. The results reveal an overall victimization rate of 67.9%, with no significant difference between men and women. However, disparities were evident across marginalized groups: LGBQ individuals reported significantly higher rates (84.5%), and Latino/Hispanic respondents experienced elevated victimization compared to other racial/ethnic groups. A substantial portion of TFSV was committed by current or former intimate partners, and many victims reported the experience as emotionally upsetting or traumatic. Importantly, the study identified a correlation between victimization and later perpetration, pointing to a potential cycle of harm. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted prevention strategies, culturally responsive legal protections, and accessible victim support services. The research also highlights the importance of expanding studies to include diverse populations and to evaluate digital safety interventions.

The aim of this study was to explore lay person perceptions of individuals who commit online child sexual offenses. Online sexual abuse of children encompasses a wide range of offenses. Shame due to stigma and fear of consequences are significant barriers to help-seeking among individuals who commit online child sexual abuse. Lay perceptions of individuals committing online child sexual offenses were explored through an online survey in Norway. Responses (n = 573) to a question asking the respondents to describe the typical online child sexual offender were analyzed through a qualitative content analysis resulting in four categories. The largest category, "The average Joe" represents a view that it could be anybody. The other categories substantiate more stereotypical perceptions: social marginalization, mental health issues, and antisocial personality. Results indicate that the lay perceptions of individuals who commit online child sexual offenses convey perceptual complexity in line with empirical findings and that media portrayal may contribute to nuancing perceptions. Knowledge of these perceptions may facilitate the development of interventions aiming at reducing stereotyping that hinders effective treatment.

This study examines the correlations between grooming behaviors within juvenile correctional facilities and their impact on psychological distress among incarcerated youth, including a comparison between sexual minority (N = 648) and heterosexual (N = 4,690) subsamples. Using the National Survey of Youth in Custody-3 (BJS, 2018), the analysis finds that various grooming behaviors - including receiving photos or letters from staff, staff sharing personal details, staff providing contraband, staff giving gifts, staff offering special protection, staff inappropriately discussing sex topics, and youth giving letters or photos to staff - are significantly correlated with varying levels of distress. Further, receiving a special gift from a staff member and being offered special protection from staff both had significantly greater effects on the correlation with distress for the heterosexual subsample; however, staff sharing emotional feelings and juveniles giving photos or letters to staff had significantly greater impacts on the correlation with distress for the sexual minority subsample.

Cannabis use and aggression share common vulnerability factors, including childhood sexual abuse. While genetic predispositions likely shape the association between aggression and cannabis use, specific genes have not been conclusively identified. The underlying causal pathways connecting childhood sexual abuse to both cannabis use and aggression remain poorly understood. Prior research suggests that the MAOA (Monoamine oxidase A) gene interacts with childhood maltreatment to predispose young adults to aggression and substance use. Building on this premise, a preexisting dataset of 498 emerging adults was utilized to investigate whether different MAOA genotypes interact with sexual abuse during childhood to predispose to cannabis use as a means of coping with negative affect and impact aggression levels. Participants underwent genotyping for MAOA alleles associated with either low (MAOA-L) or high (MAOA-H) enzyme activity. They were also surveyed for childhood sex abuse, reactive and proactive aggression, and cannabis use. Among male carriers of MAOA-L variants who described experiencing childhood sexual abuse, those who used cannabis reported a higher likelihood of doing so for coping purposes compared to other males and all females. Surprisingly, MAOA-L genotypes in males appeared to buffer the impact of sexual abuse and high cannabis consumption on various measures of aggression. These findings underscore the complex role of MAOA in moderating the relationship between trauma, substance use, and aggression. If validated by further studies, these results could inform the development of targeted pharmacological and behavioral treatments for individuals with trauma histories and genetic predispositions to aggression.

Experiencing childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a risk factor for the development of substance use disorder (SUD). Men in particular tend to use substances in an effort to self-medicate trauma-related distress. Data suggest that up to 20-25% of men in SUD treatment have histories of CSA. Male survivors of sexual violence face unique challenges related to gender norms, masculinity, and homophobia that influence the healing process. Although there is a growing body of research on the process of male healing, no studies up to this point have specifically explored how men in long-term addiction recovery describe what it means to heal from sexual trauma. To fill this gap, this study is built on semi-structured interviews with 25 men in recovery from SUD with histories of CSA. Grounded theory procedures revealed four overall themes of the healing journey from sexual trauma of men in SUD recovery: (1) Working toward Acceptance; (2) Practicing Forgiveness; (3) Reexamining Masculinity; and (4) Building a Community of Healing. Results suggest that healing from CSA for male survivors in recovery from SUD occurs in the context of community when survivors come forward and beat the shame associated with sexual trauma. Findings also underline the need to continue to challenge societal misbeliefs surrounding the rates and effects of sexual violence perpetrated on boys. Future research should explore differences in the male healing journey based on perpetrator characteristics and should also investigate feasible interventions to address healing from CSA in SUD treatment.