title: Child sexual abuse as reported by Israeli adolescents: social and health related correlates.
abstract: The objectives of the study were to assess the prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in a nation-wide representative sample of 14-17 year old Israeli adolescents, and to examine the associations between CSA, socio-demographic correlates and various measures of physical and mental health. The study population consisted of 906 mother-adolescent dyads, belonging to a community based, representative sample of Israeli 14-17 year olds, interviewed in 2004-5. Response rate was 68%. Subjects provided demographic data, and information about CSA, physical symptoms, body image, well-being and use of mental health services. DAWBA was used to obtain information regarding mental disorders and suicidality. SDQ was used to obtain data on bullying. Statistical analyses were conducted using an SPSS-17 complex sample analysis module and multivariate analyses were conducted to assess the associations between CSA and risk factors and social and health related correlates. Findings show that CSA was reported by 3.3% of adolescents. Higher risk of exposure to CSA was found among girls, among adolescents living in a one-parent household and among adolescents with a chronic disability. In multivariate models adjusting for gender, learning disabilities and depression, CSA was associated with suicidal attempts, stomach ache, dizziness, sleep problems, well being at home and bullying behaviors. No association was found with suicidal ideation or other physical symptoms. Our findings confirm that the associations between CSA and different outcomes vary depending on the socio-psychological context, and underline the importance of addressing the complexity of variables associated with CSA.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Ivonne
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mansbach-Kleinfeld
authors.affiliation: The Israel Center for Disease Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Anneke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ifrah
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Schneider Medical Center for Children in Israel, Petach Tikvah, Israel.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Apter
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ziv Hospital, Zfat, Israel.
authors.forename: Ilana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Farbstein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D058445:Bullying; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Adolescents; CSA; Health correlates; Risk factors