The Impact of Contextual Ambiguity on the Interpretation and Recall of Child Sexual Abuse Media Reports

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 1063-1074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Collings
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Contextual Ambiguity

The Impact of Contextual Ambiguity on the Interpretation and Recall of Child Sexual Abuse Media Reports

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 1063-1074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Collings
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Press Report ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
Written Descriptions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Contextual Ambiguity

Previous research indicates that approximately 40% of child sexual abuse media reports areambiguous in the sense that information relating to the nature of abuse, the identity of the perpetrator,and/or the location of abuse is not specified. This research examined the impact of suchcontextual ambiguity on the recall and interpretation of child sexual abuse media reports. The189 respondents were recruited through media appeals and presented with one of three versionsof a child sexual abuse press report (stereotype congruent, stereotype incongruent, or contextuallyambiguous). Respondents were asked to provide written descriptions of their thoughts andfeelings about abuse incidents, which were analyzed for attributional content. Recall wasassessed after a 2-week interval. Results indicate that stereotypes affect the recall and interpretationof child sexual abuse media reports in the presence of contextually ambiguous individuatinginformation but not in the presence of nonstereotypic information that is contextuallyunambiguous.

Father-perpetrators of child sexual abuse who commit suicide

1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine Walford ◽  
Marie-Therese Kennedy ◽  
Morna K. C Manwell ◽  
Noel McCune
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Attempted Suicide ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Recent Letter ◽  
The Family ◽  
Sex Offences ◽  
The Guardian ◽  
The Impact

Two cases of fathers who committed suicide following the revelation that they had sexually abused their own or other children, are described. The importance of being alert to the possibility of suicide and suicidal acts by family members following a disclosure, is emphasised. Improved liaison and co-ordination between agencies working with these families may enable vulnerable cases to be more readily identified and consequently offered appropriate support and treatment.The revelation that the father in a family has sexually abused his own or other children often precipitates a crisis within the family. The distress suffered by the children themselves and by their mothers is well documented. (Browne and Finkelhor, Hildebrand and Forbes). Goodwin reported suicide attempts in 11 of 201 families, in which sexual abuse had been confirmed. Eight of the attempts were made by daughter-victims. In three of the five cases of mothers who attempted suicide, the abuse was intrafamilial. The impact on father perpetrators, previously a less well researched field, has been receiving more attention of late. Maisch, in a sample of 63 fathers convicted of incest reported that two fathers subsequently committed suicide. Wild has reported on six cases of suicide and three of attempted suicide by perpetrators following disclosure of child sexual abuse. The Cleveland Inquiry Report mentions one father, charged with several sex offences, who committed suicide while awaiting trial. A recent letter to The Guardian newspaper (18th February 1989) by 11 local paediatricians in that area suggests that there are now two such cases of suicide committed by alleged perpetrators.

Should parents shiver?

1997 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-44
Author(s):  
Chris Goddard
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Western World ◽  
World Views ◽  
The Public ◽  
Culture Of Fear ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports

According to at least one author, our lives are increasingly dominated by a ‘culture of fear’, in which possible adverse outcomes dominate our world views. Throughout the Western world, awareness of child sexual abuse has led to action by members of the public to draw attention to horrific crimes against children. This article reviews some of the media reports and seeks to explain why so many are concerned by those that prey on children.

Personality Disorders in Adult Female Child Sexual Abuse Survivors: Dimensions of Personality Pathology and Characteristics of Abuse

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052090313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Izdebska
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Personality Pathology ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Abuse Survivors ◽  
Sexual Abuse Survivors ◽  
Personality Organization ◽  
The Impact

The relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and later personality disorders (PDs) has been established in numerous studies. However, there are still a number of uncertainties about the specifics of this association. This study further explored the child sexual abuse survivors’ (CSASs) vulnerability to PDs by introducing the variable of personality organization (PO) and dimensions of personality pathology as conceptualized by Kernberg, and by including additional variables of CSA characteristics. It was hypothesized that in the CSA group, the occurrence of borderline personality organization (BPO) would be significantly higher than in the non-CSA group and that characteristics of abuse associated with its higher severity would prevail in individuals with BPO. The study group consisted of 329 women who completed measures of PO and experiences of CSA. The results were consistent with formulated hypotheses. Significantly more CSASs than those who did not experience CSA were characterized by close to BPO (cBPO). Moreover, CSASs group differed from the group without the CSA experience with regard to all BPO dimensions. The biggest difference between the CSA and the control group concerned the dimension referring to the difficulties in creating close, intimate relationships. With regard to CSA features, women characterized by cBPO, in contrast to those characterized by neurotic personality organization (NPO), significantly more often reported having experienced CSA more than once, involving physical contact, from more than one offender and from the offender they previously known. The findings of the study support the idea that the optimal treatment approach for CSASs should address both the personality structure and the specificity of the impact of CSA along with its characteristics.

Speaking the Unspeakable: Exploring the Impact of Family Dynamics on Child Sexual Abuse Disclosures

2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramona Alaggia ◽  
Stacey Kirshenbaum
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Family Dynamics ◽  
Retrospective Data ◽  
Family Assessment ◽  
Indirect Communication ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Interview Method ◽  
The Impact

This qualitative study utilized the long interview method to identify a range of family dynamics that may affect a child's ability to disclose sexual abuse. It is estimated that 30% to 80% of victims do not purposefully disclose child sexual abuse (CSA) before adulthood. Retrospective data about disclosure processes were elicited through interviews with 20 male and female CSA survivors. Four major themes emerged suggesting that CSA disclosure can be significantly compromised when certain conditions exist: rigidly fixed, gender roles based on a patriarchy-based family structure; family violence; closed, indirect communication patterns; and social isolation. It is important to identify disclosure barriers in order to ameliorate them effectively, because when children are not able to disclose sexual abuse, the effects are potentially devastating. Results are discussed in relation to implications for practice with children and their families, including relevance of established models of family assessment.

Child Sexual Abuse: An Overview

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul E. Mullen ◽  
Neville J. King ◽  
Bruce J. Tonge
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Potential Risk ◽  
Developmental Model ◽  
Potential Risk Factors ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis overview examines the nature, prevalence, and impact of child sexual abuse. Associations and potential risk factors are identified, thus showing that child sexual abuse is not randomly distributed through the population. Finally, we discuss the ways in which clinicians and researchers have conceptualised the impact of child sexual abuse. A social and developmental model is outlined.

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