Sexual Abuse Prevalence Rates of Residents in Institutional Care Settings Compared with a Population Representative Sample. Issue 4 (2nd October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Allroggen, Marc; Ohlert, Jeannine; Rau, Thea; Fegert, Jörg M.
• Is Part Of: Residential treatment for children & youth. Volume 35:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 286
• Page End: 296
• Publication Date: 2018-10-02
• Subjects: Lifetime prevalence -- sexual assault -- penetration -- sexual violence; Children -- Institutional care -- Periodicals; Youth -- Institutional care -- Periodicals; 362.732
• DOI: 10.1080/0886571X.2018.1455561
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0886-571X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Adolescents in residential institutions are considered to be a high-risk group for experiencing sexual abuse. The aim of this study was to provide a comparison of sexual abuse lifetime prevalence rates between residents in institutional settings and the general population. In total, 271 adolescents from 32 different institutions took part in the survey. Overall, 5.9% of the participants had experienced exhibitionism and 7.0% vaginal/anal penetration. Compared with the general population, significantly higher prevalence rates were evident for penetration. It has to be discussed whether population representative surveys should explicitly include these high-risk groups in order to avoid underestimating sexual abuse.