Citation

Schein M, Biderman A, Baras M, Bennett L, Bisharat B, Borkan J, Fogelman Y, Gordon L, Steinmetz D, Kitai E. Child Abuse Negl. 2000; 24(5): 667-675.

Affiliation

Family Medicine Unit, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10819098

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of a history of child sexual abuse (CSA) in a random sample of adult patients presenting for routine health care to family practice clinics in Israel. METHOD: One thousand and five randomly selected patients aged 18 to 55, attending 48 clinics, participated in this questionnaire study. RESULTS: Twenty-five percent indicated that they had been sexually abused as children. More women reported CSA (p < .0001 ) than men, as did women originating from Western countries (p = .02) and those with more than 12 years of education (p = .01). There were no significant associations between CSA and the other socio-demographic variables examined. Fondling was the most common and intercourse the least common activity experienced. Forty-five percent of the perpetrators were previously known. The mean age at which the child sexual abuse began varied between 10 and 14. Only 45% of the subjects had ever told anyone about the experience. CONCLUSIONS: Since no other prevalence study has been reported to date in Israel, these findings suggest that as in other Western countries CSA is a relatively common problem. Family physicians and other health professionals should be aware of this high prevalence and its known potential for initial and long-term deleterious outcomes.

Language: en