TY - JOUR
T1 - The Prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse in Out-of-Home Care
T2 - A Comparison Between Abuse in Residential and in Foster Care
AU - Euser, Saskia
AU - Alink, Lenneke R.A.
AU - Tharner, Anne
AU - van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.
AU - Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.
PY - 2013/11/1
Y1 - 2013/11/1
N2 - 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 = 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.
AB - 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 = 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.
KW - child sexual abuse
KW - foster care
KW - prevalence
KW - residential care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84886566587&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1177/1077559513489848
DO - 10.1177/1077559513489848
M3 - Article
C2 - 23671258
AN - SCOPUS:84886566587
SN - 1077-5595
VL - 18
SP - 221
EP - 231
JO - Child Maltreatment
JF - Child Maltreatment
IS - 4
ER -