Citation

Amodeo M, Griffin ML, Fassler IR, Clay CM, Ellis MA. Child Maltreat. 2006; 11(3): 237-246.

Affiliation

Boston University School of Social Work, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077559506289186

PMID

16816321

Abstract

Differences in childhood sexual abuse (CSA) between Black women and White women are explored in a community sample of 290 women raised in two-parent families.A self-administered questionnaire and a face-to-face interview assessed CSA characteristics, aftermath, and prevalence as well as family structure and other childhood variables. Siblings served as collateral informants for the occurrence of CSA. Overall, comparisons of the nature, severity, and aftermath of CSA showed similarities by race; some differences, for example, in age of onset, are potentially relevant for the planning of prevention programs. Logistic regression models examined effects of childhood variables on CSA prevalence. Initial analyses showed a higher CSA prevalence among Black women (34.1% 45 of Black women vs. 22.8% 36 of White women) that was attenuated when family structure (e.g., living with two biological parents throughout childhood or not) and social class were considered. Of interest, differences in family structure remained important even among these two-parent families. Understanding the dynamics of abuse by race and family structure will facilitate the design of more targeted CSA prevention programs.

Language: en