title: Prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse in the Nordic Countries: A Literature Review.
abstract: This review examined child sexual abuse in the Nordic countries focusing on prevalence rates and victims' age and relationship to the perpetrator. The results show a prevalence of child sexual abuse (broadly defined) between 3-23% for boys and 11-36% for girls. The prevalence rates for contact abuse were 1-12% for boys and 6-30% for girls, while 0.3-6.8% of the boys and 1.1-13.5% of the girls reported penetrating abuse. The findings suggest an increased risk of abuse from early adolescence. In adolescence, peers may constitute the largest group of perpetrators. The results highlight the need for preventive efforts also targeting peer abuse. Future research should include cross-national and repeated studies using comparable methodology.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Economics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Kathrine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kloppen
authors.affiliation: b Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Siren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haugland
authors.affiliation: c Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Carl Göran
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Svedin
authors.affiliation: d Department of Social Science, Sogn og Fjordane University College, Sogndal, Norway.
authors.forename: Magne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mæhle
authors.affiliation: b Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Kyrre
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Breivik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019548:Crime Victims; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Adolescence; childhood; incest; peer sexual abuse; perpetrator; sexual victimization; systematic review