Situational correlates of disclosure of child sexual abuse

Date

2005-02-17

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Publisher

Texas A&M University

Abstract

Often, a sexually abused child?s disclosure is the only evidence of the abuse. However, most victims do not disclose until adulthood, if ever. This study explores situational correlates of child sexual abuse disclosure. An archival data set comprised of 1120 cases of child sexual abuse was analyzed. Questions asked include whether or not any variable differentiates between the type of disclosure a child makes, the identity of the recipient of the disclosure, whether or not a child will recant, and if a child does recant, in what timeframe this occurs. Variables included victim characteristics (gender, ethnicity, age, family income) and abuse characteristics (relationship to the perpetrator, nature of the abuse, threat involved, frequency of abuse, and duration of abuse.) T-tests, chi-square analyses, and log linear modeling were used in the analysis of the data. Although statistical limitations were an issue, age and threat were found to be influential in the disclosure process.

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