Child Sexual Abuse - Chapter 3 - Victims

from Finkelhor 1984 p.23-32

[p.24] Quite a large pool of information was gathered in that study. [...] I want to present those findings here and comment on some of their theoretical implications.

Other factors

[p.28] Many people have wondered whether physical abuse and sexual abuse are closely related, and on the basis of these data and other research (Finkelhor & Hotaling, 1983), the conclusion we would make is that they are not.

We also note that religion, ethnicity, family size, and crowdedness were not related to victimization. These all are factors which have, at times, been speculated in the literature, but which had no relationship to sexual abuse in the sample we surveyed. It should be said, however, on matters of religion and ethnicity in particular, that the sample was students from New England and therefore not especially varied, containing a small representation of blacks and very few Hispanics.

Risc Factor Checklist

[...]

[p.29] Factors:

Stepfather
Ever live without mother
Not close to mother
Mother never finished high school
Sex-punitive mother
No physical affection from father
Income under $10,000
2 friends or less in childhood

Table 3-1

Family Characteristics  and Sexual Victimization of Girls

Whole Family Characteristics

Income under $10,000                        +          33      (72)
Lived on farm                               +          44      (16)
Religious background                        0
Ethnic background                           0
Family size                                 0
Crowded home                                0
Parents had unhappy marriage                +          25     (155)
Parent showed little mutual affection       +          27     (162)

Father's Characteristics

Child ever lived without father             +          29     (86)
Child has a stepfather                      +          47     (30)
Child not close to father                   0
Blue Collar                                 +          26    (179)
Never finished high school                  0
Often ill                                   0
Often drank                                 0
General inadequacy                          0
Little affection toward child               +          31    (42)
Conservative family values                  +          38    (37)
Sexually modest or immodest                 0
Gave no sex education                       0
Punitive sexually                           0
Violent toward child or mother              0
Spanked child at age 12                     0

Mother's Characteristics

Child ever lived without mother            +           58     (19)
Child has a stepmother                     +           35     (17)
Child not close to mother                  +           34    (105)
Employed                                   0
Never finished high school                 +           38     (77)
Often ill                                  +           35    (134)
Often drank                                0
General inadequacy                         0
Little affection toward child              +           32    (108)
Conservative family values                 0
Conservative sexual values                 0
Sexually modest or immodest                0
Gave no sex education                      0
Punitive sexually                          +           35    (97)
Violent toward child or father             0
Spanked child at age 12                    +           24   (241)

The total victimization rate was 19%. A positive association was considered
to exist only if subgroup in the table had significantly higher percentage
of victimized children than the rest of the sample, as tested by chi-square
at p < .05.