Abstract

PEREDA, Noemí; ABAD, Judit; GUILERA, Georgina  and  ARCH, Mila. A self-report study of sexual victimization in Spanish community adolescents and at-risk groups. Gac Sanit [online]. 2015, vol.29, n.5, pp.328-334. ISSN 0213-9111.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2015.05.003.

Objective: To determine the extent of sexual victimization in four groups of Spanish adolescents based on their own reports. Method: An observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted. Sexual victimization was assessed by seven questions included in the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire. The samples were composed of 1,105 adolescents (mean age [M] = 14.52, standard deviation [SD] = 1.76) from seven secondary schools; 149 adolescents (M = 14.28; SD = 1.45) from 14 child and adolescent mental health centers; 129 adolescents (M = 14.59, SD = 1.62) institutionalized in 18 long-term (78.3%) and short-term (21.7%) residential centers belonging to the child protection system; and 101 adolescents (M = 16.08, SD = 0.99) recruited from three detention centers (77.2%) and five open regime teams or follow-up services for court orders for minors not requiring loss of freedom (22.8%). Results: The extent of lifetime sexual victimization ranged from 14.7% of the adolescents in the community sample to 23.5% of youths attended in mental health services, 35.6% of youths involved in the juvenile justice system, and 36.4% of children protected by the child welfare system. Most of the victims were female, the only exception being the group of male victims from the juvenile justice system. Conclusions: Sexual victimization of children is widespread in Spain and its distribution differs depending on the group of children under study.

Keywords : Adolescence; Children; Prevalence; Epidemiology; Violence; Sexual violence.

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