Gender and age differences in prevalence and incidence of child sexual abuse in Croatia

dc.contributor.authorAjduković, M., Sušac, N., & Rajter, M.
dc.date.accessioned2013-11-12T17:39:13Z
dc.date.available2013-11-12T17:39:13Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractAim To examine age and gender differences in the prevalence and incidence of child sexual abuse, the level of acquaintance of the child and the perpetrator, and correlations between experiencing family violence and sexual abuse on a nationally representative sample of 11, 13, and 16 years old children. Method A probabilistic stratified cluster sample included 2.62% of the overall population of children aged 11 (n = 1223), 13 (n = 1188), and 16 (n = 1233) from 40 primary and 29 secondary schools. A modified version of ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool – Children’s Version was used. Five items referred to child sexual abuse (CSA) for all age groups. Results In Croatia, 10.8% of children experienced some form of sexual abuse (4.8% to 16.5%, depending on the age group) during childhood and 7.7% of children experienced it during the previous year (3.7% to 11.1%, depending on the age group). Gender comparison showed no difference in the prevalence of contact sexual abuse, whereas more girls than boys experienced non-contact sexual abuse. Correlations between sexual abuse and physical and psychological abuse in the family were small, but significant. Conclusion Comparisons with international studies show that Croatia is a country with a low prevalence of CSA. The fact that the majority of perpetrators of sexual abuse are male and female peers indicates the urgent need to address risks of sexualen_US
dc.identifier.citationAjduković, M., Sušac, N., & Rajter, M. (2013). Gender and age differences in prevalence and incidence of child sexual abuse in Croatia. Croatian Medical Journal, 54(5), 469-479.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/1243
dc.identifier.urihttp://neuron.mefst.hr/docs/CMJ/issues/2013/54/5/cmj_54(5)_ajdukovic_24170726.pdf
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherCroatian Medical Journalen_US
dc.subjectchild sexual abuseen_US
dc.subjectstatisticsen_US
dc.subjectInternational Resourcesen_US
dc.subjectCroatiaen_US
dc.titleGender and age differences in prevalence and incidence of child sexual abuse in Croatiaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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