Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-80). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

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.

The literature on sexual crimes against children has shown different factors contributing to consequences for the victims. Yet, less has been investigated on consequences of sexual abuse mediated by the Internet. The aim of the present study was to examine consequences of Internet-initiated sexual abuse on female victims’ mental health. Analyses of self-rating questionnaires were conducted to examine the victims’ mental health status at the time before, during and after the abuse, during the disclosure, police interrogations, trials and today (six years after trials). Results showed that their mental health today was overall good and how they felt during the disclosure contributed most on how they felt today. Victims that got some support compared to victims that did not after the abuse had better mental health today. The findings provide better understanding of the consequences of Internet-initiated sexual abuse which might help building up more effective treatment programs for victims of such crimes.

This study investigated the working representations of self, others and relationships in seven women who have been sexually abused as children. A qualitative approach was employed. Representations of self, others and relationships were defined as the theories of self, others and relationships that the women used to process information in the world. They included assumptions, beliefs, attributions, behavior and affect. The women who participated experienced sexual abuse as children (i.e., 3 to 16 years of age) by important male figures (i.e., family friend, father-figure, uncle). Participants were currently in or had recently received therapy for issues involving their experiences of child sexual abuse. The study consisted of two meetings. In the first meeting, the participants were interviewed regarding: (a) their representations of self, others and relationships; (b) the impact of child sexual abuse on their representations; (c) their understanding of any changes that may have occurred in their representations since the time of the abuse; and (d) the influence that therapy and other important experiences may have had on the way they perceived the impact of child sexual abuse on their representations. In the second meeting, the participants were given the opportunity to respond to the researcher's reconstructions of their thoughts and descriptions given in the first meeting. Information about the details of the abuse, such as number of perpetrators, severity of abuse, and duration of abuse; and life circumstance information, such as level of education and marital status, was obtained through a questionnaire filled out by the participant and/or her therapist. A thematic content analysis was employed to abstract themes regarding the women's understanding of the impact of the sexual abuse on their working representations. A narrative was constructed for each woman outlining the specific effects and a summary of the dominant themes found across women was written. The dominant themes found across women regarding their representations of self included: (a) low self-worth; (b) lack of knowledge of self; (c) confusion about female identity; (d) distorted body image; (e) disrupted sexuality; (f) biased perceptions of the world. The dominant themes found across women regarding their representations of others and relationships included: (a) disrupted relationships with men; (b) revictimization; (c) disrupted relationships with women; (d) distorted and generalized representations of others. Despite the common themes found across women, unique underlying dynamics of the effects of child sexual abuse were apparent for all of the women. The results offer a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of child sexual abuse. Implications for further research and clinical application are discussed.

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.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

No description available.

This thesis examines the experiences of mothers whose children have been sexually abused by a male adult family member. It explores the relationships between the effect of biographical and social factors on mothers' perceptions and their experiences on learning of their children's sexual abuse. It also includes interrelated aims: a)to identify implications from the research for the development and extension of qualitative research methodology, and b)to develop and extend the understanding of the mothers' role in the sexually abusive situation. The mothers' perspectives and how they experienced the phenomenon of the sexual abuse of their child are central to the study. Historically the mother has been marginal to empirically based research while central to explanations regarding the causes and responsibility for the sexually abusive situation. Increasingly as the extent of sexual abuse as a social problem has been realised, the mother's role has been seen as central in the support of her children after the disclosure. In the literature, however, the lack of empirical research relating to the mother's experiences results in adherence to general prescriptive knowledges about motherhood. The primacy of the mothers' narratives in this study is therefore emphasised. Thirty mothers participated in the study and were a self selecting sample. They were contacted through social workers, self referral through other participants, and a private agency. The study combined quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative approaches allowed the collection of socio-economic, demographic data and characteristics of the sexually abusive situation. This data was used to compare findings within and between cases and between this study and others reported in the literature. The interview guide was used as a prompt sheet rather than a structure of the interview process. The interview data contained the mothers' perceptions of their life experiences and how these affected their responses and reactions to events and relationships before and after disclosure of the abuse. This study, however, differed from much of the previous research in using qualitative approaches and in encouraging mothers to discuss what was of importance to them. The focus throughout the study was on the mothers' subjective realities and how they changed over time, as they attempted to make sense of their role in the establishment and maintenance of the abusive situation. The mothers were able to report their experiences in their own way, and were able to make their own links between ideas and perceptions which were not structured by the research process. The thirty transcripts were sorted and analysed using NUD*IST, a computer software programme for manageing non numerical, unstructured data. From the mothers' narratives four regularities and processes were noted: childhood socialisation in the family of origin, courtship and marriage, relationship to the abuser, and the disclosure of the abuse. Within each of these regularities and processes, similarities and differences were identified in relation to a number of themes and sub themes as the mothers reconstructed their experiences. The study focuses on how they experienced: the disclosure process; their relationship to the abuser, the child and perception of the abuser/child relationship; and who caused and was responsible for the perpetration of the abuse. The mothers' life experiences within different family and social contexts impacted on them in various ways. All the mothers contended, however, that for the abuser to sexually abuse the child in secret required not only the manipulation of the child but also the manipulation of others in the family and social environment. The primacy given to the mothers' experiences gives an alternative perspective to the understanding of the environments and processes involved in the maintenance and establishment of the sexually abusive situation and the mothers' role. Their accounts are local, contextualised and grounded in their life experiences. Their experiences are used as a basis for a critical analysis of family systems theory. A tentative theoretical development has also been presented using concepts from chaos theory and Foucault in a heuristic way. This study has implications for workers in the areas of investigation and therapeutic intervention. The mothers' perspectives challenge views presented in the literature about the culpability or powerlessness of the mother. Their experiences of the sexually abusive environment and processes involved, give insight into the manipulative and controlling strategies of the abusers. While the findings have limited generalisability, the methodological approach, analytical processes and extension of the theoretical understanding could be applied to other areas of social science research.

Dissertation (Ph.D.) -- The Institute for Clinical Social Work, 2002. / A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Institute of Clinical Social Work in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.