The prevalence of child sexual abuse in out-of-home care: A comparison between abuse in residential and in foster care
Date
2013
Journal Title
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Publisher
Child Maltreatment
Abstract
We investigated the 2010 year prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in residential and foster care and compared it with
prevalence rates in the general population. We used two approaches to estimate the prevalence of CSA. First, 264
professionals working in residential or foster care (sentinels) reported CSA for the children they worked with (N ¼ 6,281).
Second, 329 adolescents staying in residential or foster care reported on their own experiences with CSA. Sentinels and
adolescents were randomly selected from 82 Dutch out-of-home care facilities. We found that 3.5 per 1,000 children had been
victims of CSA based on sentinel reports. In addition, 58 per 1,000 adolescents reported having experienced CSA. Results based
on both sentinel report and self-report revealed higher prevalence rates in out-of-home care than in the general population, with
the highest prevalence in residential care. Prevalence rates in foster care did not differ from the general population. According to
our findings, children and adolescents in residential care are at increased risk of CSA compared to children in foster care.
Unfortunately, foster care does not fully protect children against sexual abuse either, and thus its quality needs to be further
improved.
Description
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Article
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Keywords
child sexual abuse, prevalence, Residential care, foster care
Citation
Euser, S., Alink, L. R., Tharner, A., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (2013). The prevalence of child sexual abuse in out-of-home care: A comparison between abuse in residential and in foster care. Child maltreatment, 18(4), 221-231.