Perkins, Daniel F. and Tom Luster. 1999. “The Relationship between Sexual Abuse and Purging: Findings from Community-Wide Surveys of Female Adolescents.” Child Abuse and Neglect vol. 23, pp. 371-382.
Abstract: To examine the
relationship between sexual abuse & bulimic behavior, namely purging, a
contingency table chi-square test & a logistic regression analysis were
conducted of questionnaire data from 7,903 female adolescents in a large
midwestern state. Bivariate analyses indicated such a relationship, but did not
remain significant when several other factors, including physical abuse, were
included. Several individual (history of physical abuse & religiosity),
familial (family support & parent-adolescent communication), & extrafamilial
(other adult support) factors were significantly related to purging. [Source: SA]
Shillinglaw, Regina Dillingham. 1999. “Protective Factors among Adolescents from Violent Families: Why Are Some Youth Exposed to Child Abuse and/or Interparental Violence Less Violent Than Others?” Ph.D. Thesis, University of South Carolina.
Abstract: The transactional
model of development suggests that the development of violent behavior is the
result of reciprocal processes between individual, family, and environmental
variables, some of which increase the probability of violent behavior and some
of which decrease the probability of violent behavior. The purpose of this
study was to identify factors which are associated with less violent behavior
among at-risk adolescents. The risk status of the participants was defined as
being a victim of familial violence, a witness to familial violence, or both.
In addition, the participants were juvenile delinquents which also placed them
at risk for violent behavior. The following protective factors were examined:
flexible temperament, positive mood, positive relationship with a non-parental
adult, empathy, religious beliefs, cognitive ability, positive attitude toward
school, approach-oriented temperament, high self-esteem, internal locus of
control, and prosocial success. Data was obtained from 226 male adolescents
committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice via self-report measures and
file review. An analysis of covariance revealed that the protective factors which
are significantly associated with lower levels of violence were: a
withdrawal-oriented temperament, empathy, religious beliefs, and high
self-esteem. Possible explanation of the findings and implications for future
research are discussed. [Source: PI]
Gilman, Sander L. 1998. “Sibling Incest, Madness and the 'Jews'.” Jewish Social Studies vol. 4, p. 157.
Abstract: Focuses on the
history and philosophy of child abuse and the Jewish perception of sibling
incest. Pathological relationship of the Jews to the economy and child abuse;
Consideration of sibling incest as the highest form of sexual expression;
Understanding of separation as sexual perversion; View of incest as a category
of deviance in modern culture. [Source:
AS]
Goodman, Gail S., Jodi A. Quas, Bette L. Bottoms, Jianjian Qin, Phillip R. Shaver, Holly Orcutt, and Cheryl Shapiro. 1997. “Children's Religious Knowledge: Implications for Understanding Satanic Ritual Abuse Allegation.” Child Abuse and Neglect vol. 21, pp. 1111-1130.
Abstract: Examined the
extent of children's religious, especially satanic, knowledge and the influence
of children's age, religious training, family, and media exposure on that
knowledge. Using a structured interview, 48 3- to 16-yr-old children were
questioned about their knowledge of: (a) religion and religious worship; (b)
religion-related symbols and pictures; and (c) movies, music, and television
shows with religious and horror themes. Although few children evinced direct
knowledge of ritual abuse, many revealed general knowledge of satanism and
satanic worship. With age, children's religious knowledge increased and became
more sophisticated. Increased exposure to nonsatanic horror media was
associated with more nonreligious knowledge that could be considered precursory
to satanic knowledge, and increased exposure to satanic media was associated
with more knowledge related to satanism. The results suggest that children do
no generally possess sufficient knowledge of satanic ritual abuse to make up
false allegations on their own.
[Source: PI]
Nagel, Deborah Eve. 1997. “Current Coping Styles and Psychological Adjustment among Sexually Abused and Non-Abused Adolescent Females.” Ph.D. Thesis, The George Washington University.
Abstract: This study
examined the role of current coping strategies in the psychological adjustment
of a low socioeconomic status, ethnically diverse sample of adolescent females.
Participants were part of a longitudinal research project examining the effects
of childhood sexual abuse on long-term psychological and physiological
development. Forty-two survivors of childhood sexual abuse and 42
non-sexually-abused participants were administered a self-report measure to
assess coping strategies they employ to manage current stress. The
questionnaire was derived from subscales of four existing coping measures. The
coping strategies assessed were distancing, action/planning, social support,
and turning to religion. Participants also assessed their current stress levels
and rated their current psychological adjustment in terms of depressive and
anxious symptomology and appraisals of their self-esteem. Findings indicated
that the two groups did not significantly differ on measures of psychological
adjustment or in their use of the four targeted coping strategies. Within the
groups, there was no significant difference in the relative use of the four
coping strategies. For both sexually abused and non-sexually abused
adolescents, distancing was inversely related and action/planning was
positively related to psychological adjustment. Reliance on social support was
positively related to psychological adjustment for the abuse group and
inversely related for the control group. Turning to religion was not
significantly related to outcome for either group. In both groups, levels of
perceived stress were inversely related to psychological adjustment regardless
of the coping strategies employed. A possible explanation for the lack of
differences between the abuse and non-abuse groups included high levels of
non-sexual-abuse traumas experienced by the control group. Findings indicated
the importance of the coping strategies of distancing, action/planning, and
social support, as well as the importance of individuals' perceptions of their
daily stress in psychological adjustment. These findings presented areas in
which interventions can occur to reduce long-term effects associated with
childhood trauma. [Source: DA]
Chandy, Joseph M., Robert W. Blum, and Michael D. Resnick. 1996a. “Female Adolescents with a History of Sexual Abuse: Risk Outcome and Protective Factors.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence vol. 11, pp. 503-518.
Abstract: Examined the
school performance, suicidal involvement, disordered eating behaviors,
pregnancy risk, and chemical use of 1,011 female teenagers with a history of
sexual abuse and a comparison group of 1,011 female teenagers without a
background of abuse. Results show that abused Ss had higher rates of these
adverse outcomes than nonabused Ss. Among abused Ss, protective factors against
adverse outcome included a higher degree of religiosity, perceived health,
caring from adults, living with both biological parents, and the presence of a
clinic or nurse at school. Risk factors that increased the likelihood of
adverse outcome included perceived substance use in school, mothers' use of
alcohol, family stressor events during the past year, and worry about sexual
coercion. [Source: PI]
Chandy, Joseph M., Robert W. Blum, and Michael D. Resnick. 1996b. “Gender-Specific Outcomes for Sexually Abused Adolescents.” Child Abuse and Neglect vol. 20, pp. 1219-1231.
Abstract: Studied sex
differences in outcomes related to school performance (SP), suicidal
involvement (SI), disordered eating (DE), sexual risk taking (SRT), substance
abuse and delinquency of 3,051 teenagers with a history of sexual abuse. Males
(mean age 15.26 yrs) were found to be at higher risk than females (mean age
15.37 yrs) in poor SP, delinquency and SRT. Females showed higher risk for SI
and DE, and more frequent use of alcohol, but males showed more extreme use of
alcohol and more frequent and extreme use of marijuana. For females, protective
factors against adverse correlates were higher emotional attachment to family,
being religious or spiritual, presence of both parents at home and overall
health perception. Augmenting factors were stressful school environment due to
perceived high levels of substance use in and around school, worry of sexual
abuse, maternal alcohol consumption, and physical abuse. For males, the
protective factors were maternal education and parental concern. [Source: PI]
Chandy, Joseph M., Robert W. Blum, and Michael D. Resnick. 1996c. “History of Sexual Abuse and Parental Alcohol Misuse: Risk, Outcomes and Protective Factors in Adolescents.” Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal vol. 13, pp. 411-432.
Abstract: Examined the
factors of school performance, suicidal involvement, disordered eating
behaviors, pregnancy risk, and chemical use among 1,959 teenagers with a
history of sexual abuse or parental alcohol misuse. It was found that Ss had
higher rates of adverse outcomes than among a comparison group of teenagers
without such background risk factors. Adolescents with dual-risk background
reported higher levels of suicide risk, disordered eating, sexual behaviors,
and chemical abuse than did Ss with only one background risk factor. Among
index group members, protective factors against adverse outcomes included a
high degree of religiosity and the ability to discuss problems with family or
friends. Risk factors that increased the likelihood of adverse outcomes
included depression, perceived substance use in school, and worries about
family financial security. [Source: PI]
Alexander, Hanan A. (ed.). 1994. “Religious Education and Child Abuse.” Religious Education vol. 89, pp. 458-592.
Abstract: Cease Fire!
Stopping the Gun War Against Children in the United States, by M Edelman. Faith
on the Loose: Russia's New Experience of Religious Freedom, by J Lucinio. Ida, The
Subway Station, and Thinking About Learning, by K Anderson. God in the Inner
City, by C Johnson. For the Life of a Child: The "Religious" in the
Education of the Public, by C Foster, R O'Gorman, and J Seymour. Educating
Children Spiritually and Psychologically, by M Kelsey. Keeping Faith with God
and Our Children: A Practical Theological Perspective, by J Fowler. Strategies
to Halt Violence Against American Youth: Too Late, Too Soon, by P McLaren. The
Role of Educators in Combatting Violence, by N Noddings. Serving Idols or
Faithfulness: Will We Heed Marian Wright Edelman's Call?, by P O'Hare. Using
the Tools of Contestation: A Response to Marian Wright Edelman's "Cease
Fire," by M Warren. Response to "For the Life of a Child," by C
Martinez Estrada. Response to "For the Life of a Child," by D
Heischman. Response to "For the Life of a Child," by R Novak. [Source: RI]
Capps, Donald. 1992. “Religion and Child Abuse: Perfect Together.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion vol. 31, pp. 1-14.
This 1991 Presidential
Address to the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion centers on
religious legitimations for the physical punishment & emotional tormenting
of children by parents & other adults, who maintain that physical
punishment is a means to break the natural will of the child so that the child
will be conformed to the will of God. Parents contend that they are punishing
their child in God's behalf, while children appeal to God to save them from
punishment inflicted by their parents. Recent empirical research suggests that
physical punishment succeeds in the internalization of a loving God. However,
there is little evidence to support the claim that physical punishment leads to
improved behavior; on the contrary, children are likely to continue to disobey
their parents as this is a means to effect a punishment in which the parents'
& God's love is reaffirmed. Religious beliefs & ideas that torment
children because children do not have the capacity to put such ideas in a
meaningful context or to dismiss these ideas as lacking merit are also
examined, showing how beliefs that evoke fear & that demonstrate the
child's incompetence (eg, prayers that fail to save the life of a relative or
friend) are especially tormenting. There is a tendency for adults who, as
children, were exposed to such religious ideas to view religion from a detached
& neutralized perspective; eg, the virginal conception of Jesus, widely
taught in Christian churches, effectively denies Jesus's own childhood trauma
& desensitizes adults from childhood traumas, including their own. If
religion is strongly associated with child abuse, it is also strongly
associated with the protection of children from those who would abuse them in
the name of religion. The prophets of Israel & Jesus himself are cited as
allied with those religionists who seek to break the vicious cycle of child
abuse. [Source: SA]
Johnson, W. Brad and Mark C. Eastburg. 1992. “God, Parent and Self Concepts in Abused and Nonabused Children.” Journal of Psychology and Christianity vol. 11, pp. 235-243.
Giller, Betsy. 1990. “All in the Family: Violence in the Jewish Home.” Women and Therapy vol. 10, pp. 101-109.
Abstract: Discusses a study
of Jewish family violence (JFV [B. Giller and E. Goldsmith, 1980]) based on a
survey of active members of a number of synagogues. From 209 respondents, a
total of 22 spousal abuse and 118 child abuse cases were revealed. Four cases
of sexual abuse and 11 cases of social isolation were also reported. It is
suggested that the Jew in American society functions with conflicting standards
regarding the family. This conflict contributes to the existence of JFV and to
the difficulty in acknowledging that such violence exists. JFV will continue as
long as institutions both within and beyond the Jewish community perpetuate
myths about women, Jewish women, and Jewish families. Suggestions for therapy,
interventions, and services are discussed.
[Source: PI]
Pantle, Mark L. and Sherry L. Oegema. 1990. “Sexual Abuse and Depression in an Adolescent Female Inpatient Population.” Journal of Psychology and Christianity vol. 9, pp. 55-63.
Abstract: Among 111
adolescent female inpatients, 35 had a documented history of sexual abuse.
Abused and nonabused Ss did not differ significantly in frequency of diagnosis
of depressive disorder, nor did they differ on any of the 11 scales of a
self-report depression instrument, the Multiscore Depression Inventory. Within
the sexually abused group, duration of abuse and the family's reaction to
disclosure of the abuse were significantly related to self-esteem and
sociability. A long duration of abuse also was associated with cognitive
difficulty, sad mood, and a higher overall depression score. Type of abuse, age
at the time of the abuse, relationship of the perpetrator to the victim, belief
in God, and church attendance were not significantly related to depression in
the sexually abused group. [Source: PI]