Children's anticipation of and response to colposcopic examination

Children's response to the medical visit for allegations of sexual abuse: maternal perceptions and predicting variables

“…These findings are similar to previous studies of Lazebnik et al (1994), where 99 children were examined without colposcopy, and of Steward et al (1995), who performed a colposcopic examination on 43 children. However, Money and Lamacz (1987) and Berson et al (1993) reported reactions of anxiety, fear, anger and opposition in children consulting for medical examination for alleged sexual abuse.…”

“…In fact, in their videotape study, Steward et al (1991) showed that the children expressed less distress during colposcopic genital examination than during venipunctures or spinal taps. Moreover, in their study of 43 girls whose medical evaluation for alleged sexual abuse included a colposcopic examination, Steward et al (1995) reported that the children demonstrated significantly increased positive feelings after the examination, while their negative feelings decreased significantly. In addition, the children participating in their study did not perceive the touch to the genital area as more painful than the touch to another part of the body.…”

“…There was no 'Children were not directly interviewed about their own perceptions about the medical visit' assessment of the mother's mental and emotional status and it is possible that maternal distress and depression might have contributed to a negative perception of their child's adjustment (Deblinger et al, 1999). Steward et al (1995) have reported that maternal anxiety levels remained largely unchanged after the completion of the medical examination, while children tended to show reduced anxiety. One could think that maternal anxiety might influence the child's perceptions of their experience.…”

“…In their cross-sectional sample of 99 children, Lazebnik et al (1994) reported a relatively low rate of intense distress associated with the medical examination for alleged sexual abuse, and suggested that previous negative medical experiences might influence children's perception of the evaluation for sexual abuse. In their comparison between children's and mothers' reactions to colposcopic examination, Steward et al (1995) noted that while children were poorly prepared, they were not retraumatized by Abuse of Children) invitational conference held in May 1997 on the theme 'Establishing a medical research agenda for child sexual abuse' highlighted the need for further research on the emotional impact of the child sexual abuse medical examination (Kerns, 1998). We decided to take advantage of an ongoing larger study of coping mechanisms and family support of sexually abused children to evaluate: (a) predictor variables of mother's perception of their child's anxiety related to a hypothetical second visit; (b) the role of abuse-related characteristics in the children's level of fear of the medical evaluation as perceived by their mothers.…”

Do Children's Advocacy Centers improve families’ experiences of child sexual abuse investigations?

“…Identification of a trusted professional is related to lower trauma scores for children (Henry, 1997) and more positive ratings of the investigation (Berliner & Conte, 1995). Children describe wanting more information about what is happening with their case and what to expect during different procedures (Davies et al, 2000;Steward, Schmitz, Steward, Joye, & Reinhart, 1995). Some research suggests that specific case outcomes (placement into foster care, prosecution, conviction) may be less important to children's appraisal of the investigation than an overall impression that the investigation increased their safety (Henry, 1997).…”