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An Overarching Picture
Abstract
This chapter seeks to identify and explore core lessons learnt through the amalgamation of both studies. Furthermore, this section aims to critically examine the implications of the data considering broader societal and structural narratives surrounding sexual abuse. Utilising this exploratory analysis, we offer a detailed discussion of possible next steps in bolstering the prevention of and recovery from sibling sexual abuse. Ultimately, we conclude that a significant uptick in understanding and material support is needed to ensure children, young people and families impacted by SSA receive the best quality care in their recovery.KeywordsSexual culturesDisclosureInterventionsPractitioner responsesPrevention
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This paper reports on a research project that heard the perspectives on and experiences of the Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) programme of a range of stakeholders in post-primary schools. The researchers listened to students aged from 13 to 18 years, to teachers of RSE, to principals and to parents/guardians in six post-primary schools across the Republic of Ireland. We found that teacher comfortability is one of the key components in the delivery of high-quality and effective RSE. By ‘comfortability’ we mean knowledge, expertise, confidence and appropriate pedagogical skills to teach this particular material. This view was shared by students, teachers, principals as well as some parents who commented on this aspect of RSE. We found that there are several factors that impede teacher comfortability, namely lack of qualification in Social Personal and Health Education/RSE, lack of initial teacher education input in this area, limited access to continuing professional development, an absence of mandated curriculum content and fear of external criticism especially by parents. Our findings are very similar to those of the NCCA [2019. Report on the Review of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in Primary and Post-Primary Schools. December. Dublin: NCCA] evaluation that took place in a similar time-frame and included a similar range of participants.
A good representation of gender issues in sexuality education not only enriches the contents of sexuality education but makes it more effective. To unravel if and how gender is represented in England's policy on sexuality education, two important policy documents: Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) Guidance 2000 and Guidance for Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education 2019 were thematically analyzed. The results indicate that gender is presented as a characteristic to be respected, as a diverse reality to be included, as a social reality laced with stereotypes and needs. These representations indicate that England's policy on sexuality education is gender-sensitive and seeks to be gender-transformative.
There are also indications that policy has evolved to include diverse gender understandings.
In this review, we discuss the relationship between childhood trauma, early-life stress, and substance use, abuse, and addiction. We further provide theories and neural studies to explain this relationship as well as potential treatment strategies for alcohol and drug abuse and addiction based on understanding types of early-life stressors that lead to both drug use and relapse.
This article proposes a more multifaceted way of thinking about victim-survivors’ perceptions of justice; what we have termed ‘kaleidoscopic justice’. Developed from an empirical investigation with 20 victim-survivors of sexual violence, kaleidoscopic justice understands justice as a constantly shifting pattern; justice constantly refracted through new experiences or understandings; justice as an ever-evolving, nuanced and lived experience. Within this framework, a number of justice themes emerged, namely justice as consequences, recognition, dignity, voice, prevention and connectedness. This approach develops current understandings, in particular by emphasizing the fluidity of justice, as well as the centrality of prevention and connectedness in sexual violence survivors’ understandings of justice. We suggest that it is only by better understanding victim-survivor perspectives on justice, and embedding the concept of kaleidoscopic justice, that we can begin to address the sexual violence ‘justice gap’.
Preschoolers’ knowledge of genital names facilitates disclosure of sexual abuse and provides the foundation for subsequent sex education. Surveys of preschoolers in the early 1990s found that few children knew proper names for the genitals. To determine knowledge among a current cohort of culturally diverse children, 128 preschool children were tested for their knowledge of the correct terms for their genitals. Almost all children knew the correct terms for their nongenital body parts, but few knew the correct terminology for their genitals. Significantly more English-speaking children correctly labeled their genitals compared to Spanish-speaking children. The importance of teaching preschool children the correct terminology for their genitals is discussed as well as the role of this concept in sexual abuse prevention programs. Suggestions are made for how program staff can work with Hispanic families to overcome cultural barriers to sexuality education.
This paper examines the thematic treatment issues presented in a small, clinical practice setting by eight women aged 56 through
69 who were sexually abused by their brothers/stepbrothers during childhood and seeking therapy for issues dealing with a
terminally ill and/or dying parent. The reemergence of traumatic issues and family dynamics with aging parents and end-of-life-issues,
dealing with a previously abusive brother, and treatment recommendations on managing reactions, affect, and boundaries are
presented.
KeywordsSibling sexual abuse-Aging parents-Older sexual abuse survivors
This case study focused on the process of making sense of abuse in two Latino families experiencing sibling incest. Participants
included five male children ranging in age from 8 to 15 that were members of two families dealing with the issue of sibling
incest. The purpose of this study was to build understanding of how families experience sibling incest and its role in their
families. Clinical data from therapy sessions was analyzed to reveal that families made sense of the incest in different ways
including abuse as normal and abuse as a mistake. Central concepts that explained how the families responded to the sibling
incest included (1) level of family cohesion, (2) role of secrecy, and (3) view of outside systems. The findings suggest that
treatment needs to include an in-depth assessment regarding these issues.
Society's awareness of sibling incest and assault, and its response, has lagged behind other child abuse issues and concerns. In comparison with parent–child abuse, intersibling abuse is generally underreported by parents, teachers, mental health professionals, and the community. Child Protective Services and the legal system are reluctant to accept and respond to sibling abuse reports that are filed. This article reviews an integrative, multidimensional approach for conducting assessment and psychotherapy with children and families where sibling abuse has occurred. Clinical examples and selected research results are included to illustrate fundamentals of treating sibling incest and assault victims and their families. Treatment for sibling incest and assault requires multidisciplinary cooperation and usually, the coordination of services among several provider systems. Like child abuse treatment in general, it is complex and challenging work that requires ongoing specialized training and ability.
Cultural norms affect the likelihood that child sexual abuse will be discovered by an adult or disclosed by a child. Cultural norms also affect whether abused children's families will report child sexual abuse to authorities. This article explores the ways ethnic and religious culture affect child sexual abuse disclosure and reporting, both in the United States and internationally. Guidelines for culturally sensitive child abuse interviewing are provided to facilitate disclosures of abuse from culturally diverse children in formal settings.
Although sibling sexual abuse (SSA) is one of the most common forms of sexual abuse, it has been particularly neglected in previous research. Hence, characteristics of this form of abuse and its longer term implications are not well understood. The aims of the current review were to precisely characterize the phenomenon of SSA and to condense the implications known to date of SSA on survivors. We included 15 studies with a total sample size of 14,680 individuals. Our results indicate that SSA has some unequivocal features such as an early onset, an extended duration and frequency, and a particularly high intensity (i.e., involvement of coercion, force, superiority, and manipulation). Our findings also revealed that SSA is linked to later depression, anxiety, impaired self-esteem, and sexual functioning. The findings of the current review suggest that (1) SSA is common, (2) SSA has various negative effects on survivors’ mental health, and that (3) SSA and its implications have been and to date are marginalized in research and practice. Results are discussed with a special focus on clinical implications.
Concerns about professional and system errors and mistakes have dominated policy and practice debates and changes in England ever since the problem of child abuse was (re)discovered over forty years ago. The period has been punctuated by a series of high profile scandals usually where a child has died and where professionals have failed to intervene effectively. A major policy response has been the use of public enquiries and, more recently, ‘serious case reviews’ to investigate what has gone wrong with the aim of learning from the experiences to ensure that such a tragedy could be avoided in the future. The chapter considers the question of how far the changes introduced have had the effect of increasing learning and developing a system better able to identify and respond appropriately to the need for protection, or have primarily intensified the culture of blame and failure in which professionals are expected to operate. It suggests that while the changes introduced over the last 40 years have perhaps made for a safer system protecting children the system has become more ‘risk averse’ and reactive rather than being able to develop policies and practices which are able to develop longer term preventative strategies.
The importance of the involvement of parents in treatment approaches for children and young people who have engaged in harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) has been consistently highlighted within the literature. Despite this, very little is known about their lived experiences of their relationship with their child following HSB and their representations of meaning remain largely unexplored. Semi-structured interviews with six parents were conducted to address this gap in the literature. Interviews were examined using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), resulting in five main themes; Feelings evoked: “it’s disturbing to be honest”; Searching for meaning: “where is this coming from?”; Child’s identity as fragmented: “you never knew what you got”; Wanting distance: “I just couldn’t bear to be around him”; and Moving forwards; “I gave him a cuddle”. Policy and clinical practice implications are discussed including the importance of systemic approaches to intervention.
Few studies, particularly few qualitative studies, have focused on the family and social contexts of young people with harmful sexual behaviours. This article, therefore, seeks to provide insight into the more detailed, lived experience of this group of young people. The article involved a thematic analysis of 117 cases, identified from nine services that work with children with sexual behaviour problems. While a number of young people were from stable backgrounds, others were from highly disrupted sociological situations characterised by chaotic families, erratic living situations, poor family relationships, unstable parental backgrounds, generalised neglect and abuse, sexual abuse and school/social problems. Many of these young people's lives appear to be characterised by varying degrees of liminality and chaos. Such chaos may not only be traumatic, it may potentially be traumagenic, and contribute to the emergence of sexual behaviour problems in some young people.
It is estimated that 30-50% of all childhood sexual abuse involves other young people as perpetrators. The treatment of harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) in young people has evolved from interventions developed for use with adult perpetrators of sexual offenses. Increasingly these approaches were not seen as appropriate for use with young people. The purpose of this qualitative systematic review was to establish what intervention components are viewed as acceptable or useful by young people and their families in order to inform the development of interventions for young people with HSB. We conducted searches across 14 electronic databases, as well as contacting experts to identify relevant studies. Thirteen qualitative studies were included in the analysis, reporting findings from intervention studies from the UK, USA, New Zealand, Australia and Ireland. Thematic analysis was used to combine findings from the studies of young people and parent/carers views. Five key themes were identified as critical components of successful interventions for young people with HSB. These included the key role of the relationship between the young person and practitioner, the significance of the role of parents and carers, the importance of considering the wider context in which the abuse has occurred, the role of disclosure in interventions and the need to equip young people with skills as well as knowledge. The evidence was limited by the small number of studies which were mainly from the perspectives of adolescent males.
Practitioners, academics and policymakers are increasingly questioning the sufficiency of safeguarding practice in protecting young people from peer‐on‐peer abuse in England. Using the findings from an in‐depth analysis of nine cases where young people either raped or murdered their peers, this article explores approaches to assessing and intervening with those affected by peer‐on‐peer abuse. Building upon international calls for a contextual account of abuse between young people, the article identifies a professional struggle to address the interplay between young people's homes and the public and social spaces in which peer‐on‐peer abuse often manifests. Findings from this study are used to illuminate wider research into peer‐on‐peer abuse which has indicated a professional inability to: assess young people's behaviours with reference to the contexts in which they occur; change the environmental factors that influence abusive behaviours; and recognise the vulnerability of those who abuse their peers. The article concludes that to effectively respond to peer‐on‐peer abuse, multiagency partnerships are required which can identify, assess and intervene with the harmful norms in peer groups, schools and public spaces that can facilitate peer‐on‐peer abuse and undermine parental capacity to keep young people safe – thereby adopting a more contextual approach to safeguarding adolescents. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
‘Explores approaches to assessing and intervening with those affected by peer‐on‐peer abuse’
Key Practitioner Messages
• Social contexts such as peer groups, schools and neighbourhoods can make young people vulnerable to peer‐on‐peer abuse.
• Assessing and intervening with young people and families affected by peer‐on‐peer abuse will not impact upon the social contexts associated with the phenomenon.
• Multiagency partnerships need to intervene with social contexts that, albeit beyond the traditional remit of child protection, facilitate peer‐on‐peer abuse and undermine the capacity of parents to keep young people safe.
‘Social contexts such as peer groups, schools and neighbourhoods can make young people vulnerable to peer‐on‐peer abuse’
Aims and objectives
To explore two hypotheses for explaining why there is little written about sibling sexual abuse and to raise awareness of the subject in order better to protect children and to facilitate sensitive patient care.
Background
While there is no universal agreement over its definition, sibling sexual abuse is acknowledged internationally as a prevalent form of child sexual abuse but tends not to be recognised by health professionals. It is also under‐represented within the literature in comparison with other forms of intrafamilial sexual abuse. Understanding why this is may help to illuminate the potential barriers to effective professional responses. Two explanations which emerge strongly are the existence of a sibling incest taboo and a prevailing belief that sibling sexual behaviour is largely harmless.
Design
Discursive position paper.
Method
The paper examines the two hypotheses through exploration of the extant literature on sibling incest and sibling sexual abuse.
Conclusions
Sibling sexual abuse accounts for a significant minority of child sexual abuse and has the potential to be as harmful as sexual abuse by a parent. An abhorrence at the thought of sibling sexual activity and a prevailing view of its harmlessness may hinder nurses’ detection of and appropriate responses to sibling sexual abuse, but do not provide convincing explanations for the dearth of literature. Instead, a deeply held perspective of sibling relationships as non‐abusive offers a more profound explanation.
Relevance to clinical practice
A knowledge of sibling sexual abuse and its consequences are important both for the effective protection of children and the sensitive and appropriate treatment of patients who present with a variety of physical and mental health concerns. A perspective that sibling relationships are non‐abusive provides a deeper level of understanding of the powerful obstacles to raising awareness of and responding appropriately to this form of abuse.
Overwhelmingly, school-based sexuality education programmes focus on the prevention of infection, pregnancy and abuse, with little if any attention given to positive views of sexuality and rarely the inclusion of sex positive issues such as pleasure, intimacy and desire. This paper explores the experience of teaching about pleasure to pre-service health and physical education teachers as part of compulsory studies in a unit on sexuality education designed to prepare them to teach sexuality education in secondary schools. Drawing on the aims, theoretical framework, content and pedagogical structure of the unit, and data collected from 42, third-year pre-service teachers (PST) in Australia via surveys and student assessment, the paper provides some practical examples of what teaching about pleasure might look like in practice. It argues that with adequate preparation, a framework to celebrate sex and sexuality, a gender lens to examine normative discourses, and the opportunity for reflection, PST can develop the confidence, skill and willingness to include pedagogies of pleasure in their school-based work.
This writing illuminates a possible stance for an ethic of justice-doing as a frame for community work and therapy. This approach to justice-doing is offered as an imperfection project, and while incomplete and necessarily flawed, it has been helpful to groups of workers striving to practice more in line with our collective commitments for social justice. This approach is profoundly collaborative and informed by decolonizing practice and anti-oppression activism. I will describe the intentions that guide this stance, which include striving towards centering ethics, doing solidarity, addressing power, fostering collective sustainability, critically engaging with language, and structuring safety. Even an imperfect orientation towards justice-doing can open our work to transformations for ourselves, the people we work alongside, and our communities and society, and offer the potential for experiencing the social diving. This article is framed from a keynote delivered at the Winds of Change Conference held in Ottawa, Ontario in June 2012. I acknowledge the Algonquin people whose territories we met on.
Finally, marcela polanco (2011), who describes her work as a therapy of solidarity, will offer a reflection on my position for an ethic of justice-doing.
This article will focus on responding to harmful sexual behaviour by young people towards their siblings and other young children in their family network. It will explore a framework for practice of engaging children and their families following disclosure of sexual abuse, developed by the Sexual Abuse Counselling and Prevention Program at the Children's Protection Society (CPS) in Melbourne, Australia. This article will detail statutory and policy frameworks that provide a context for therapeutic intervention. This particularly applies to consideration of the separation of young people from their families, and where this occurs, to the matter of their reunification with their families. The CPS is particularly exercised by the challenge of achieving a balance in individual safety and the wellbeing of all family members. The article will look at examples of work in which balancing the best interests of different family members which at times are in potential if not actual conflict poses a challenge to counselling staff. The article will provide ideas and approaches to consider for those programmes that walk this difficult journey with families. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
‘This article will detail statutory and policy frameworks that provide a context for therapeutic intervention’
‘Safety planning needs to occur in partnership with parents and statutory bodies’
Increasing empirical evidence points to the prevalence and devastating effects of sibling incest. The dynamics of incestuous sibling relationships are complex and typically embedded in severely dysfunctional families. Often confused and/or distressed by their incestuous experiences, many victims fail to disclose the abuse. Left undisclosed and untreated, unresolved issues of mutuality and consequent shame and guilt can lead to life-long emotional problems and dysfunctional behavioral patterns that are difficult to repair. Two cases illustrate common therapeutic themes, the importance of timely disclosure and coordinated, multi-dimensional treatment approaches, as well as the therapeutic challenges of assisting sibling incest victims who present for treatment as adults.
Adolescence is a moment when sexuality, identity, and relationships are heightened; at adolescence women begin to be vulnerable to losing touch with their own thoughts and feelings. Reporting from a larger study of adolescent girls' experiences of sexual desire, the author focuses on how adolescent girls who have different sexual orientations describe their experiences of sexuality and their responses to their own sexual desire. Cultural contexts that render girls' sexuality problematic and dangerous divert them from the possibilities of empowerment through their sexual desire.
The present paper reports on an exploratory qualitative study of 19 women on the reactions of those the women encountered in their everyday lives—family, professionals, and community members—when they became aware that the women were survivors of sibling sexual abuse. The study asked whether negative attitudes towards sibling sexual abuse were as harmful as the abuse experience. Data were collected from three focus group discussions and taped transcripts were analysed in terms of themes in public discourse on sibling sexual abuse. The aim of the study was to increase understanding of the impact of people's attitudes and responses to this phenomenon. The findings highlighted the harmful impact of negative attitudes that are reinforced by public discourse that generally fails to problematise the issue and the need for education in professional, community, and school settings.
The impact of sibling sexual abuse (SSA) has been culturally and therapeutically minimised and has received scant research attention. Furthermore, prior research has focused upon the separate experiences of the victim or the offender, or upon seeking family dysfunction explanations. In contrast, this qualitative study attempts to understand the experiences of all family members (victims, offenders, parents and other siblings) when SSA is disclosed. The pathway to recovery for each family member is identified. A systemic analysis of these (often conflicted) pathways of recovery provides some surprising findings and contributes to an understanding of the difficulties facing families in this situation, the constraints on family support and connectedness, validation for the victim and offender accountability.
Despite a growing awareness and acknowledgement of the incidence of sexually harmful behaviour by children and young people, research on this group remains limited. A number of recent publications have reviewed UK systems and practice and suggest that the issue is better appreciated than a decade ago. To date, however, there is no published information on this group in a Scottish context. As a first step in addressing this lack of empirical data, a joint exercise was conducted between the Criminal Justice Social Work Development Centre for Scotland and a number of specialist services for children and young people involved in harmful sexual behaviour to develop a picture of this group. Data on 189 such individuals were collected from cases active during 2004. This forms part of an ongoing data collection process, which is intended to provide practice relevant information and contribute to the development of services and interventions for this client group.
This article deconstructs the shame of sexual victimization by highlighting shame as a culturally mediated response triggered by threats to victims’ gendered selves. An exploration of victims’ narratives from the National Crime Victimization Survey reveals that 13% of respondents who experience rape or sexual assault express shame (i.e., self-blame, humiliation, or fear of public scrutiny) in their narratives. Looking separately at women’s and men’s shame narratives, the study delineates the cultural ideologies regarding gender and sexuality that contribute to victims’ definitions of their situations as shameful, and ultimately, to their reluctance to report incidents to the police.
IntroductionWhat are ‘Problematic’, ‘Abusive’ and ‘Harmful’ Sexual Behaviours in Children and Young People?Who are Pre-Adolescent Children with Sexual Behaviour Problems?Who are Young People with Harmful Sexual Behaviours?Young Women with Harmful Sexual BehavioursYoung People with Learning Disabilities with Harmful Sexual BehavioursRisk Factors and the Likelihood that Adolescents with Harmful Sexual Behaviours will ReoffendFamilies of Children and Young People with Harmful Sexual BehavioursHow should Professionals Respond?Effective Therapeutic InterventionsConclusions and Key MessagesReferences
In this chapter, we undertake to present the ecological model of human development that has been introduced in a prior edition of this Handbook. The bioecological model is an evolving theoretical system for the scientific study of human development over time. The model presented in this chapter represents major theoretical innovations from the 1983 chapter in both form and content. The new model is not a paradigm shift, but rather represents a transition from a focus on the environment to a focus on proximal processes as engines of development. We begin with the defining properties of the model, which involves four principal components (process, person, context, and time), and the dynamic, interactive relationships among them. We then turn to the research designs required for testing the model. In doing so, we not only present the next stage in the evolution of an ecological theory of human development, but we also document the requirements for conducting developmental research in the discovery mode. We conclude with a look to the future—and what the bioecological model means for the future development of our species.
Keywords:
bioecological;
context;
macrosystem;
microsystem;
person;
proximal processes;
time
The occurrence of sibling incest is underrecognized, and its impact is debated. Professionals may be inadequately sensitized to its occurrence since it is considered less traumatic to victims than other forms of incest and assigning responsibility in such contact between minors is difficult. Survivors may be unlikely to reveal such a history because of guilt and shame. Four case presentations of females who expereinced sibling incest illustrate problem areas, including issues of enforced secrecy, interpersonal power differentials, influences on sexual development, individual aftereffects, disturbance in family dynamics, and genderbased differences in relationship styles. Recommendations for identification and treatment are included.
A case study is presented of a female adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse where the perpetrator was her older brother. The children belonged to a clergy family where the father was a clergyman in a mainstream Christian church. The family dynamics are described, emphasizing the physically absent father, the emotionally distant mother, and the surrogate parent status of the perpetrator. The victim's adult years are described, revealing recurrent failures both socially and in the workplace, and a general dissatisfaction with life. Her several attempts to seek appropriate help are described. Eventually, one of these proved successful, and the victim's emotional outlook was transformed into that of a survivor. She is now able to view the world from a contented and achieving aspect. Her experiences of disclosing the abuse to her parents and confronting the church hierarchy are described. Concern is expressed at the perceived inappropriateness of some of the professional assistance the victim was offered as she came to terms with her experience of sibling incest.
Sibling sexual abuse is identified as the most common form of familial sexual abuse. Extant literature is plagued by definitional inconsistencies, data limitations, and inadequate research methodology. Trivialized as "normal" sexual exploration, sibling sexual abuse has been linked to psychosocial/psychosexual dysfunction. Research has relied on retrospective, convenience, and/or homogenous samples. This work drew on eight years of National Incident-Based Reporting System data (2000-2007) to provide aggregate level baseline information. This work extended prior research exploring victim-, offender-, and incident-based characteristics. Results highlight the need for expanded definitional criteria relating to both age and gender to better inform risk assessment and prevention. Findings both corroborate and contrast prior work and suggest victim- and offender-based gender differences.
This paper reports on the first national survey of adults concerning a history of childhood sexual abuse. Victimization was reported by 27% of the women and 16% of the men. Higher rates of abuse were found among men who grew up in unhappy families, lived for some period with only their mothers, who were currently residing in the West and who came from English or Scandinavian heritage. Higher rates of abuse were found among women who grew up in unhappy families, lived for some period without one of their natural parents, received inadequate sex education, were currently residing in the West or who were born after 1925.
The purpose of the present study was to explore the frequently observed dynamics distinctive to the sibling incest family system, and to evaluate how these dynamics might predispose the family system to act out its dysfunction through sibling sexual conduct. Being a descriptive study by nature, the data is based on 25 families which were reported to the Boulder County (Colorado) Sexual Abuse Team between May 1982 and December 1985. The 25 families yielded a significant pattern of common dynamics. Those dynamics which were repeatedly observed throughout these cases were: distant, inaccessible parents; parental stimulation of sexual climate in the home; and family secrets, especially with regard to extramarital affairs. The implications of the findings suggest that the patterns that are emerging are becoming more predictable, making prognosis and therapeutic intervention far more encouraging.
In a survey of 796 undergraduates at six New England colleges and universities, 15% of the females and 10% of the males reported some type of sexual experience involving a sibling. Fondling and touching of the genitals were the most common activities in all age categories. One-fourth of the experiences could be described as exploitative either because force was used or because there was a large age disparity between the partners. Reactions to the experiences were equally divided among those who considered them positive and those who considered them negative. Females were more likely than males to have been exploited and feel badly about it. Few participants of either sex ever told anyone. The research finds evidence that such experience may have long-term effects on sexual development. Females who report sibling sexual experiences, both positive and negative, have substantially higher levels of current sexual activity. Their level of sexual self-esteem may also have been affected, but more selectively. Those with positive sibling experiences after age 9 have more sexual self-esteem. However, experiences with much older siblings taking place before age 9 are associated with generally lower levels of self-esteem and no increase in current sexual activity.
Young African-American women are the fastest growing group of crack cocaine users in the United States. Despite this increase, relatively little is known about women who use crack cocaine and the possible reasons for their drug use. This descriptive, exploratory study focused on data from a sample of 105, predominantly African-American women who use(d) crack cocaine, of whom 60 were in drug treatment and 45 were still using crack cocaine. Significant correlations were found between variables such as family drug use, first age of sexual abuse, age of first depressive symptoms and age of first illicit drug use. These data are consistent with other studies which have noted high rates of depression and sexual abuse in samples of predominantly Euro-American, alcoholic women. Implications for the treatment of women are discussed.
This article presents the findings of a study exploring current levels of consensus among practitioners in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) about good practice in relation to youth who are sexually abusive. A three-stage Delphi procedure was used to survey the views of 78 practitioners, experienced in this field, on a range of matters relating to preferred responses to this population. The exercise indicated high levels of agreement that youth who are sexually abusive should be seen as a group clinically distinct from adult sex offenders and that all of their developmental needs, and their problematic behavior, should be targeted in intervention. A strong level of consensus was found among respondents about the goals and content of ideal practice with this user group, although there was less consensus about the theoretical models that should underpin practice.
An exploratory study was conducted with a convenience sample of 41 adult survivors of sibling incest using a retrospective survey design. Participants were interviewed about their childhood sexual experiences with a sibling. Most participants reported vaginal or oral intercourse and coercive experiences. Half of the sample reported sexual experiences with family members, as well as other child abuse. Half of the participants showed evidence of distorted beliefs about child sexual abuse. Disclosure of the incest during childhood was rare. doi:10.1300/ J070v15n04_02.
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