Citation

Hebert M, Parent N, Daignault IV, Tourigny M. Child Maltreat. 2006; 11(3): 203-216.

Affiliation

Department of Sexiology, University of Québec, Montréal, Canada. hebert.m@uqam.ca

Copyright

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

DOI

10.1177/1077559506287866

PMID

16816319

Abstract

A cluster analysis is used to explore differential outcomes in 123 French Canadian children reporting sexual abuse contrasted with 123 control children. Mothers' reports of behavioral problems on the Child Behavior Checklist, abuse-related variables, personal factors, and family characteristics are used as potential variables discriminating clusters. Results reveal four clusters: (a) anxiety constellation group refers to children displaying behavior problems on a subset of scales, (b) the severe distress group refers to children showing a broader array of behavior problems, (c) victims of less severe sexual abuse (SA) group consists of children disclosing mostly extrafamilial SA, and (d) resilient children refers to children who, while disclosing severe abuse, rely less on avoidance coping. Findings underscore the need to go beyond abuse-related variables to orient treatment for children disclosing sexual abuse and for tailoring interventions to distinct subgroups.

Language: en