Encyclopedia of Sociology

CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE

CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE

Although child abuse is probably as old as child-
hood itself, serious research into child abuse ar-
guably began in 1962 with the publication of Kempe
and colleagues’ seminal paper, ‘‘The Battered Child
Syndrome’’ (Kempe, Silverman, Steele,
Droegemuller, and Silver 1962). Not long after-
wards, health care professionals began to direct
their attention to the specific problem of child-
hood sexual abuse (Cosentino and Collins 1996).
In the past few decades, numerous instances have
been documented in detailed case histories, and
important research into the causes and conse-
quences of childhood sexual abuse has been
initiated.

Numerous extensive reviews have been pub-
lished that summarize what is presently known
about childhood sexual abuse, focusing on the
following domains.

• Short-term effects (Beitchman et al. 1991;
  Beitchman et al. 1992; Briere and Elli-
  ott 1994; Browne and Finkelhor 1986;
  Finkelhor 1990; Gomes-Schwartz et al.
  1990; Green 1993; Kelley 1995; Kendall-
  Tackett et al. 1993; Trickett and McBride-
  Chang, 1995).


• Long-term consequences (Beitchman et al.
  1991; Briere 1988; Briere and Elliott 1994;
  Briere and Runtz 1991; Cahill et al.1991a;
  Collings 1995; Ferguson 1997; Finkelhor
  1987; Gibbons 1996; Glod 1993; Green
  1993; Murray 1993; Polusny and Follette
  1995; Trickett and McBride-Chang 1995;
  Wolfe and Birt, 1995).


• Prevention of abuse (Adler and McCain
  1994; Berrick and Barth 1992; MacMillan
  et al. 1994; Olsen and Widom 1993; Wolfe
  et al. 1995).


• Treatment of both survivors and abusers
  (Cahill et al. 1991b; Cosentino and Collins
  1996; Faller 1993; Finkelhor and Berliner
  1995; O’Donohue and Elliot 1993).

Consequently, this chapter is not intended to
provide a detailed analysis and review of the litera-
ture on childhood sexual abuse. Rather, it is meant
to serve as a brief overview of, and introduction to,
this area of inquiry.

DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM

Before delving into the field of childhood sexual

abuse, one must first understand what is meant by

the term. Indeed, the lack of a standard definition

has been a major criticism of the field and contro-

versies abound (Finkelhor 1994a; Gibbons 1996;

Gough 1996a; Green 1993). In general, the legal

and practical research definitions of child sexual

abuse require the following two elements: (1) sexu-

al activities involving a child (sometimes construed

as including adolescence), and (2) the existence of

an ‘‘abuse condition’’ indicating lack of consensuality

(Faller 1993; Finkelhor 1994a). ‘‘Sexual activities’’

refer to behaviors intended for sexual stimulation;

such activities need not involve physical contact,

however, leading to separate definitions for ‘‘con-

tact sexual abuse’’ and ‘‘noncontact sexual abuse.’’

Contact sexual abuse includes both penetrative

(e.g., insertion of penis or other object into the

vagina or anus) and nonpenetrative (e.g., unwant-

ed touching of genitals) acts. Noncontact sexual

abuse refers to activities such as exhibitionism,

voyeurism, and child pornography (see Faller 1993

and Finkelhor 1994a for reviews on definitions of

childhood sexual abuse).

An abuse condition is said to exist when there

is reason to believe that the child either did not, or

was incapable of, consenting to sexual activity.

Three main conditions can be distinguished: (1)

the perpetrator has a large age or maturational

advantage over the child; or (2) the perpetrator is

in a position of authority or in a caretaking rela-

tionship with the child; or (3) activities are carried

out against the child’s will using force or trickery.

As evident from this brief summary, ‘‘Childhood

Sexual Abuse’’ covers a wide range of acts and

situations, and therefore is open to considerable

subjective interpretation.

INCIDENCE AND PREVALENCE OF

CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE

Increasing attention has been directed toward

childhood sexual abuse not only because of the

psychosocial sequelae associated with its occur-

rence, but also because it now appears to be more

widespread than previously thought (Adler and

McCain 1994). However, accurate estimates of the

occurrence of childhood sexual abuse are difficult