A comparison of the psychological functioning of sexually abused Mexican-American and non-Hispanic White children and adolescents /
Child sexual abuse is a serious problem with great human and economic costs. A vast amount of research has been conducted in this area, leading to an understanding of the prevalence rate and its social and psychological effects. However, few studies have included Hispanics, and even a smaller numb...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
2002.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=764786381&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | Child sexual abuse is a serious problem with great human and economic costs. A vast amount of research has been conducted in this area, leading to an understanding of the prevalence rate and its social and psychological effects. However, few studies have included Hispanics, and even a smaller number have compared them with non-Hispanics. When included, the diversity between subgroups of Hispanics is ignored, sample sizes are usually small, limited (often non-standardized) measures of impact are used, and the findings are inconsistent and unclear. This study was an attempt to identify the correlates and psychological consequences of child sexual abuse among a specific subgroup of Hispanics (Mexican-Americans), using a relatively large sample, and including a variety of adjustment patterns as measured by the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992). The sample consisted of 240 sexually abused children and adolescents within the age range of 3 to 18 years. They were selected from a population referred to a large private mental health facility for evaluation. The BASC Parent Rating Scale (PRS) and Self Report of Personality (SRP) were used to evaluate the levels of anxiety, depression, withdrawal, somatization, social skills, hyperactivity, aggression, conduct problems, locus of control, social stress, interpersonal relations, and self-esteem. Descriptive analyses were performed to examine the circumstances of abuse in the obtained sample and create the profiles. Multivariate and univariate ANOVAs were used for comparing groups, with ethnicity (two levels, Hispanic vs non-Hispanic White), and gender as factors. The proportion of clinically significant scores between the Hispanic group and the Hispanics in the BASC standardization sample was compared. The results showed few differences between the two ethic groups. The only difference between the two groups was in the area of conduct problems, and no gender differences were found. However, there were considerable differences between the Hispanic group in this study and the Hispanic sample in the BASC standardization sample. Overall, sexually abused Hispanic children were perceived by their parents as manifesting higher overall levels of behavioral disturbance than the non-abused Hispanic comparison group. Additionally, a greater percentage (19%) of sexually abused Hispanics manifested clinically significant scores in depression. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: School Psychology". |
| Physical Description: | xi, 200 leaves ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 175-199). |