This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Google Scholar Articles by Stein, R. E. Articles by Nofziger, S. D. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Adolescent Sexual Victimization

Choice of Confidant and the Failure of Authorities

The University of Akron

Stacey D. Nofziger

The University of Akron

This study investigates the experience of sexual victimization among American youth. The objective is to determine who adolescents tell of their victimization and whether the choice of confidant influences the likelihood of the offender being arrested. Using data from the 1995 National Survey of Adolescents, the authors found that most adolescents do not turn to official sources but instead tell family members and friends about their sexual victimization. Although only 13% of sexual assault disclosures resulted in an arrest of the offender, arrest was more likely to occur when the assault was initially reported to the victim's mother. A much less common choice of confidant was mandatory reporters, professionals in contact with children who are required by law to report suspected and known child abuse. However, when mandatory reporters were informed, they were not consistent in reporting the offense to officials. Therefore, the authors suggest mandatory reporters are not offering the necessary support to adolescent victims of sexual abuse.

Key Words: adolescent victimization • confidant • sexual abuse

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?