American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 126, No. 6: 1141-1153
Copyright © 1987 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
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THE PREVALENCE OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ASSAULT
THE LOS ANGELES EPIDEMIOLOGIC CATCHMENT AREA PROJECT
1Division of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, UCLA School of Public Health Los Angeles, CA
2Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute Los Angeles, CA
3The Rand Corporation Santa Monica, CA
Reprint requests to Judith M. Siegel, Division of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90024
This study reports childhood sexual assault data collected as part of a community-based population study on mental health. A household sample, stratified by catchment area, was selected using a two-stage probability technique. A total of 3,132 adults (18 years or older) were interviewed between January 1983 and August 1984. The sample was 46% Hispanic and 42% non-HispanIc whIte, 47% male and 53% female. Childhood sexual assault was defined as incidents before age 18 years which involved pressure or force for sexual contact The prevalence (weighted for sampling design and nonresponse) of childhood sexual assault for the total sample was 5.3%. Rates were higher for non-Hispanic whItes (8.7%) compared with Hispanics (3.0%), women (6.8%) compared with men (3.8%), and younger persons at the time of intervIew (6.5%) compared with older persons (3.9%). Most assaults were by an acquaintance and occurred for the first time around age 10 years. Data from a subsample of assaulted respondents show that childhood sexual assaults are not usually accomplished through physical aggression, but rather through persuasion, and through the psychological threat of the assailant being bigger or stronger. Research Is needed on the natural history and sequelae of childhood sexual assault.
child abuse; Hispanic Americans; prevalence studies; rape; sex offences
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