Prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among Mexican adolescents

• Published in: Child : care, health & development health & development, 2009-03, Vol.35 (2), p.184-189
• Main Authors: Pineda-Lucatero, A. G., Trujillo-Hernández, B., Millán-Guerrero, R. O., Vásquez, C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Child; Child Abuse; Child Abuse, Sexual - psychology; Child Abuse, Sexual - statistics & numerical data; Child development; Child sexual abuse; Children; Crime Victims - psychology; Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data; Cross-Sectional Studies; Fear - psychology; Female; Hispanic Americans; Humans; Male; Mexican people; Mexico - epidemiology; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Secondary school students; Sex crimes; Sex Factors; Sexual Abuse; Social Environment; students; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; Truth Disclosure
• ISSN: 0305-1862; 1365-2214
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00888.x

Background  To determine the characteristics and prevalence of previous child sexual abuse among a group of Mexican junior high school students. Methods  A total of 1067 adolescents of both genders were selected to fill out a survey about child sexual abuse. Results  The prevalence of child sexual abuse was 18.7% (n = 200). It was more frequent in girls (58%) than in boys (42%). Sexual abuse involved physical contact in 75% of those cases reporting abuse. The aggressors were neighbours (50.3%), relatives (36.8%) and strangers (13.9%). Abuse was committed through deception in 90% of the cases and involved physical mistreatment in 10% of the cases. Of the victims, 14.4% had spoken about the problem and 3.7% had taken legal action. And 9.6% of those surveyed stated that they required psychological counselling. Conclusions  In the population studied, the prevalency of child sexual abuse was greater than that reported in Mexico City (4.3–8.4%), although it was similar to that found in the Spanish child population (15–23%). The risk of sexual abuse is greater for girls and the principal aggressors are male neighbours, family friends and relatives; the abuse is committed in the home of the aggressor or the victim and very few cases are reported to the authorities.