Prevalence of child victimization, abuse, crime, and violence exposure.

Abstract

Although the literature about the scope and nature ofthe problem ofchild victimization, abuse, crime, and violence exposure is large and growing, it is still far from satisfying the needs of policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. In this chapter, I examine and document the prevalence of the problem. DEFINITIONAL MATIERSThe epidemiology of child victimization, abuse, crime, and violence exposure is muddled by terminology, making an accurate counting of the problem harder. For example, take three ofthe key terms used to define this field: exposure to violence, child abuse, and child maltreatment. Unfortunately, none of these terms accurately and distinctively covers the domain that professionals are actually concerned about. For example, violence (as in exposure to violence) rigorously defined means acts of physical force intended to cause pain. Yet many people concerned about these issues are interested in inappropriate but nonviolent sex offenses against children that do not require actual force and are not intended to cause pain. This is not technically violence; so violence is not a fully accurate term. 9

Gender Differences in Victimization and the Relation to Personality Disorders in Forensic Psychiatry

“…patients were two to three times higher than among men in population-based samples (e.g., between 8% and 13%; Finkelhor, 2011). It should also be noted that, generally, men may be more hesitant than women to reveal a history of sexual abuse, thus, the actual prevalence rate of childhood sexual abuse may be even higher than found in the present study.…”

“…Overall, it was found that the prevalence rates of childhood victimization were high among forensic psychiatric patients compared to prevalence rates in general populations (Finkelhor, 2011). While higher rates of childhood sexual abuse were observed among female compared to male forensic psychiatric patients, no significant gender differences were found with regard to the prevalence of emotional abuse, physical abuse, and physical neglect during childhood.…”

“…Even though multiple studies indicate that victimization is more prevalent during childhood than during adulthood (e.g., Raj et al, 2008), victimization during adulthood has been demonstrated to constitute a risk factor for future violent behavior as well, especially in women (Benda, 2005). Furthermore, while most studies tend to focus on one specific type of victimization, usually on childhood sexual abuse, it has been found that most juvenile victims experience multiple types of victimization (Finkelhor, 2011). Finkelhor, Omrod, Turner, and Hamby (2005) reported that two thirds of the children with any type of victimization in the last year, suffered from two or more types of victimization.…”

“…Numerous studies have shown that victimization during childhood is an important risk factor for developing mental health problems (Pietrek, Elbert, Weierstall, Müller, & Rockstroh, 2013), substance abuse as a coping mechanism (Bowles, DeHart, & Webb, 2012), being bullied at school, being revictimized later in life (Finkelhor, 2011;Finkelhor, Omrod, & Turner, 2007), demonstrating risky sexual behaviors (Miller, Malone, & Dodge, 2010), and self-harm (Verona, Hicks, & Patrick, 2005). Furthermore, there is a large body of research linking a history of victimization to later antisocial and violent behavior (Douglas, Hart, Webster, & Belfrage, 2013;Temcheff et al, 2008).…”

“…Finkelhor, Omrod, Turner, and Hamby (2005) reported that two thirds of the children with any type of victimization in the last year, suffered from two or more types of victimization. More complex trauma during childhood is associated with an increased incidence of mental illness, addiction, and with worse outcome in terms of social functioning (Anda et al, 2006;Finkelhor, 2011) and severity of personality disorders (Skodol et al, 2005). Prevention of victimization and the intergenerational transmission by providing timely and adequate treatment for parents/caregivers is of utmost importance (de Vogel & Nicholls, 2016).…”