| 1. |
- Aho, Nikolas, 1970-
(författare)
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Victimization, Prevalence, Health and Peritraumatic Reactions in Swedish Adolescents
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis was to expand the knowledge of victimization in children and youth in Sweden. Victimization, prevalence, health and peritraumatic reactions were explored in a cross sectional, representative sample of 5,960 second grade high school students in Sweden. A computerized survey was developed and administered in class room setting.Lifetime victimization was found in 84.1% of the sample (m=83.0%, f=85.2%), and, in relation to the five domains, 66.4% had experienced conventional crime, 24% child maltreatment, 54.4% peer and sibling victimization, 21.8% sexual victimization, and 54% had experienced witness victimization. Females experienced significantly more child maltreatment, peer and sibling victimization, sexual victimization, and witnessed victimization, males more conventional crime (p<0.001). Using logistic regression risk factors for victimization were confirmed by a significant increase OR regarding gender, environment and lack of both parents.Symptoms (TSCC), were clearly associated with both victimizations per se and the number of victimizations. The results indicated a relatively linear increase in symptoms with an increase in number of events experienced. Mental health of the polyvictimized group was significantly worse than that of the non-polyvictimized group, with significantly elevated TSCC scores (t<0.001). Hierarchical regression analysis resulted in beta value reduction when polyvictimization was introduced supporting the independent effect on symptoms. Social anxiety was found in 10.2 % (n = 605) of the total group (n = 5,960). A significant gender difference emerged, with more females than males reporting social anxiety. Elevated PTSS was found in 14.8 % (n=883). Binary logistic regression revealed the highest OR for having had contact with child and adolescent psychiatry was found for the combined group with social anxiety and elevated PTSS (OR = 4.88, 95 % CI = 3.53–6.73, p<001). Significant associations were also found between use of child and adolescent psychiatry and female gender (OR = 2.05, 95 % CI = 1.70–2.45), Swedish birth origin (OR = 1.68, 95 % CI = 1.16–2.42) and living in a small municipality (OR = 1.33, 95 % CI = 1.02–1.73).Mediation models used peritraumatic reactions (PT): total, physiological arousal (PA), peritraumatic dissociation (PD), and intervention thoughts (IT) and JVQ and TSCC. Of the n=5,332 cases, a total of n=4,483 (84.1%) reported at least one victimizing event (m = 83.0%, f = 85.2%). Of these, 74.9% (n=3,360) also experienced a PT reaction of some kind. The effect mediated by PT tot was b= 0.479, BCa CI [0.342 – 0.640], representing a relatively small effect of 7.6%, κ2=0.076, 95% BCa CI [0.054- 0.101]. The mediating effect of JVQ on TSCC was mediated by PD more for males (b=0.394 BCa CI [0.170-0.636]) than for females (b=0.247, BCa CI [0.021-0.469]). The indirect effect of the JVQ on the TSCC tot mediated by the different PT reactions was significant for PD (b=0.355, BCa CI [0.199- 0.523]. In males a mediating effect of PD could be seen in the different models, while females had a more mixed result. IT did not show any indirect effect in males, but had a mixed effect for females.The empirical findings in this thesis lead to the conclusion that victimization is highly prevalent in children and youth and is related to health issues. The association of victimization on symptoms was mediated by peritraumatic reactions. Using a comprehensive instrument such as the JVQ provides the researcher or clinician the opportunity to acquire more complete measurement and also makes it possible to identify polyvictimization, a high-level category of events with severe impact on health.
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| 2. |
- Back, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Managing the legal proceedings: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of sexually abused children's experience with the legal process
- 2011
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Ingår i: International Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect. - : Elsevier. - 0145-2134 .- 1873-7757. ; 35:1, s. 50-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe how sexually abused children experience the legal process, a process that includes being questioned by the police during the preliminary investigation and by lawyers and the prosecutor in the courtroom, and meeting other professionals from various agencies.METHOD: Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 children-9 girls and 1 boy between 9 and 15 years old-who had experienced child sexual abuse (CSA). The interviews were semi structured and carried out and analyzed by interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The aim of IPA is to explore the participants' views of the world and to adopt as far as possible an "insider perspective." IPA draws on a tradition of phenomenology and symbolic interactionism in attempting to understand how people make sense of their experiences.RESULTS: Five major themes emerged through the analysis: not being believed, making CSA visible, need for support, sanctions for offenders, and lack of respect for the child's integrity. Almost all the children had a feeling of not being believed. They described feelings ranging from anxiety to dread and even terror when they had to describe the CSA they had experienced. Even though the importance of support for such children is already well understood, the children stated that the support they were given was not sufficient. The children said that they wanted support from a single professional who was well informed about both the legal process and CSA. When the children were asked to reflect on sanctions against the abusers, they said that it was important that the perpetrator got treatment/therapy but they also said that imprisonment was desirable. Financial compensation was not as important to them; the damage had been done and money could not compensate for that damage. The children also said that both the lawyers and the media had treated them with disrespect.CONCLUSIONS: It is valuable for children who have been exposed to CSA to learn that they can take part in the legal process as equal partners with the other participants, and it is evident that the quality of psychological care and support needs to be improved. The children want to be participants in the legal process rather than passive objects of that process.
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| 3. |
- Gustafsson, Per E., 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Sociocultural Disadvantage, Traumatic Life Events, and Psychiatric Symptoms in Preadolescent Children
- 2009
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Ingår i: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. - : American Psychological Association (APA). - 0002-9432 .- 1939-0025. ; 79:3, s. 387-397
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous research has demonstrated impact of psychosocial adversity on the mental health of children. This cross-sectional study examined the differential relationships between life-time exposure to interpersonal and non-interpersonal traumatic life events as well as sociocultural factors (family social class and immigrant family), and the level of externalizing versus internalizing symptoms. Participants included 258 children aged 6 to 12 years from two Swedish elementary schools. Information was obtained from their parents by means of questionnaires (a demographic form including information about parental occupation and country of origin, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Life Incidence of Traumatic Events checklist). While controlling for gender, age and the other symptom dimension, the sociocultural factors were associated to internalizing but not to externalizing symptoms. In contrast, traumatic life events and especially interpersonal traumas related to externalizing symptoms but not to internalizing symptoms. These findings provide some support for specificity of psychosocial adversities and for the importance of interpersonal traumas, in the impact on child mental health.
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| 4. |
- Larsson, Ingbeth, 1953-
(författare)
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Children and sexuality : "Normal" sexual behaviour and experiences in childhood
- 2001
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Child sexual behaviour has until recently remained largely unexplored in Sweden, despite theoretical interest in normal childhood sexuality. Issues about sexual abuse and its consequencies has, however, created a need for research on developmentally "normal" sexual behaviour and experiences among boys and girls, while growing up.The overall purpose of the present thesis was to gain knowledge about sexual behaviour and experiences before adolescence, in normative groups of children in contemporary Sweden. The empirical work consists of five papers based on three separate quantitative studies. Two studies include preschool children (n=251 and n=185, and a sample from the USA, n=467) with questionnaires to parents and preschool staff. The thesis is also addressing adult views on child sexuality. One study focus on childhood sexual experiences up until the age of 13 (n=269), in which young adults (18-20 years old) answered questionnaires about solitary, mutual and nonconsensual childhood sexual activities.A wide range of sexually related behaviour was observed, most of which was developmentally related. Parents reported more sexual behaviour in their children compared to preschool teachers' reports. Adult-like sexual behaviour, and behaviour of intrusive character, were extremely rare in the preschool children. Gender differences were explored and found on some aspects and there was a correlation between reported behaviour and family factors. A Swedish sample of preschool children's' behaviour according to parental reports, was compared to a similar sample from the USA, and similarities as well as cultural differences were found.In self-reports from students, solitary experiences and mutual sexual activities together with a same-aged friend were common before adolescence. Non-consensual sexual activities, with same-aged children was relatively common. In other cases the non-consensual experiences happened together with an older teenager, or with an adult.The results provide an incipient frame of reference for further studies on child sexual behaviour in Sweden. Observable behaviour is one very important factor to consider when clinicians and other child-care professionals are to make assessments of a child's developmental status and situation, and knowledge in this area therefore holds importantimplications. Child sexuality need to be addressed within paediatrics and child psychiatry, as well as in social work, not only in terms of risk andeffects after abuse, but also as an integral part of healthy child development.
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| 5. |
- Larsson, Ingbeth, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Differences and similarities in sexual behaviour among pre-schoolers in Sweden and USA
- 2000
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0803-9488 .- 1502-4725. ; 54:4, s. 251-257
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Studies of childhood sexual behaviour in a cross-cultural perspective are important in that they increase our knowledge of normative behaviour in general and enhance our understanding of cultural influences on child sexual development. Two studies, one from Sweden (n=185) and one from Minnesota, USA (n=467) of 3-6 year old children, were assessed with a 25-item scale derived from the Child Sexual Behaviour Inventory. Both studies were screened for the absence of sexual abuse. The Swedish parents completed the questionnaire about their child's behaviour at home and the US parents typically completed the questionnaire in the waiting room of a paediatric clinic. Pre-school children in Sweden exhibited more sexual behaviour than American children of the same age according to parental reports. These differences were most pronounced in boys. In both studies exhibitionistic or voyeuristic behaviour and touching behaviour was most frequent. Both intrusive and sexually explicit behaviour was very unusual. The results reflect how cultural context influences which behaviour is permitted in young children, and consequently what adults think constitutes normal and problematic childhood sexual behaviour.
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| 6. |
- Larsson, Ingbeth, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Sexual behaviour in Swedish preschool children, as observed by their parents
- 2001
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Ingår i: Acta Paediatrica. - : Wiley. - 0803-5253 .- 1651-2227. ; 90:4, s. 436-444
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Issues of what constitutes normal and healthy childhood sexual behaviour have acquired new implications in the light of child sexual abuse. Increased knowledge in this area is therefore of vital importance and studies in different countries are needed. In the present study parents of 231 children aged 3–6 y were asked to answer questionnaires about their child's behaviour at home. The questionnaire consisted of four sections: demographic data, a general behaviour checklist, a sexual behaviour inventory, and attitudinal questions to the parents. The results showed that children in Sweden exhibit a wide range of sexual behaviour, most of them developmentally related. Some behaviour appeared to be very rare in a normative sample of preschool children and included behaviours usually referred to as sexualized and problematic. Reports on sexual behaviour in the children were also related to general behaviour reports, the parent's socio-economic level, parental attitudes towards child sexuality and the openness of family habits.
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| 7. |
- Larsson, Ingbeth, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Sexual experiences in childhood : Young adults' recollections
- 2002
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Ingår i: Archives of Sexual Behavior. - 0004-0002 .- 1573-2800. ; 31:3, s. 263-273
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Childhood sexuality and children’s sexual experiences have become increasingly important to study because our knowledge on the impact of sexually abusive experiences on children’s developing sexuality has increased. The main aim of this paper was to study aspects of young adults’ recollections of their sexual experiences before the age of 13, solitary and shared, mutual as well as coercive. Anonymous questionnaires were answered by 269 final year, senior high-school students, mean age 18.6 years; 82.9% of the students reported solitary sexual experiences and 82.5% had mutual experiences together with another child. Most of the children had their experiences together with a same-age friend. Girls had more same-sex experiences than boys did. Thirteen percent reported coercive experiences where they had been tricked, bribed, threatened, or physically forced into participation. Some children, 8.2%, had coerced another child into participation in sexual activities. The majority thought of their childhood experiences as normal. There were also 6.3% of the respondents who had had inappropriate sexual experiences with someone at least 5 years older, the majority being girls. Gender differences were evident in several respects: girls were more often coerced, they felt more guilt, and they had far less experience of masturbation, whereas boys were somewhat more active in explorative activities on their own as well as with peers. Some kind of coercive sexual experiences appears to be part of growing up for quite a few children, although in general the years before puberty seem to be years of frequent mutual sexual exploration and experimentation.
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| 8. |
- Larsson, Ingbeth, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Teachers’ and parents’ reports on 3- to 6-year-old children’s sexual behavior : a comparison
- 2002
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Ingår i: International Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect. - 0145-2134 .- 1873-7757. ; 26:3, s. 247-266
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: The main purpose of the study was to compare observed range and frequency of sexual behavior in 3- to 6-year-olds in two different environments: the home and the daycare center. The study also aimed to investigate parental and staff opinions on child sexual behavior.Methods: Parents and daycare teachers of 185 preschool children, from different socio-economic housing areas, answered extensive questionnaires about each child’s sexual and general behavior. They were also asked about their own opinions on child sexual behavior.Results: Parents observed significantly more sexual behavior in their children at home compared to teachers’ observations at the daycare centers in all age groups, while teachers reported more general behavior problems. Significant gender differences on sexual behavior were displayed at the daycare centers but not at home. Rare behaviors at home were also very unusual at the daycare center. Parental and staff attitudes toward child sexuality were quite open, although 67% of the parents and 41% of the teachers never spoke to the children on sexual matters. One fifth of the adults used no term for genitals at all, and even fewer had a name for girls’ genitals.Conclusions: The findings indicate that young children explore their sexuality more at home than in settings with groups of children where the daily activities may be more structured and monitored. It enhances the importance of looking at the context in which the sexual behavior is taking place when investigating problematic sexual behavior.
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| 9. |
- Lindblad, Frank, et al.
(författare)
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Preschoolers' sexual behavior at daycare centers : An epidemiological study
- 1995
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Ingår i: International Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect. - : Elsevier BV. - 0145-2134 .- 1873-7757. ; 19:5, s. 569-577
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The frequency of sexual behaviors in a population of preschoolers (n = 251) attending Swedish daycare centers was studied using a questionnaire given to the staff. Some behaviors turned out to be frequently occurring, like searching for body contact and responding to such contact. However, several behaviors were very uncommon (1% or fewer): touching an adult's genitals; attempting to make the adult touch the child's genitals; using objects against own or other childs genitals/anus; to masturbate obsessively, without pleasure or in a way that caused pain. Other behaviors occurred more frequently but were still uncommon (less than 2% of the children displayed such a behavior “sometimes” or “often/daily”): exhibiting own genitals; playing sexually explorative games; initiating games with a similarity to adult sexual activity; using sexual words; attempting to touch a woman's breast. Only masturbation and clinging body contact were positively correlated with behavioral disturbance. The correlations between age and single behaviors may be summarized as manifestations of the process of socialization. The results offer an incipient frame of reference for statistically normal expected sexual behaviors in preschoolers at daycare centers. The rarity of certain behaviors implies that their occurrence in an individual case may necessitate special clinical attention.
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