This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Amodeo, M. Articles by Ellis, M. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Amodeo, M. Articles by Ellis, M. A. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Childhood Sexual Abuse Among Black Women and White Women From Two-Parent Families

Margaret L. Griffin

Irene R. Fassler

Cassandra M. Clay

Michael A. Ellis

Boston University

Differences in childhood sexual abuse (CSA) between Black women and White women are explored in a community sample of 290 women raised in two-parent families.A selfadministered questionnaire and a face-to-face interview assessed CSA characteristics, aftermath, and prevalence as well as family structure and other childhood variables. Siblings served as collateral informants for the occurrence of CSA. Overall, comparisons of the nature, severity, and aftermath of CSA showed similarities by race; some differences, for example, in age of onset, are potentially relevant for the planning of prevention programs. Logistic regression models examined effects of childhood variables on CSA prevalence. Initial analyses showed a higher CSA prevalence among Black women (34.1% [45] of Black women vs. 22.8% [36] of White women) that was attenuated when family structure (e.g., living with two biological parents throughout childhood or not) and social class were considered. Of interest, differences in family structure remained important even among these two-parent families. Understanding the dynamics of abuse by race and family structure will facilitate the design of more targeted CSA prevention programs.

Key Words: racial differences • family structure • two-parent families • African American • White • sibling reports • perpetrators in the household • prevalence

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. McDaniels-Wilson and J. Belknap The Extensive Sexual Violation and Sexual Abuse Histories of Incarcerated Women Violence Against Women, October 1, 2008; 14(10): 1090 - 1127. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. Malley-Morrison and D. A. Hines Attending to the Role of Race/Ethnicity in Family Violence Research J Interpers Violence, August 1, 2007; 22(8): 943 - 972. [Abstract] [PDF]