Abusive histories in youth/young adult students

A survey of a college student population indicates that psycical abuse is prevalent in our society. The self-reported data was found to be similar to that occurring in the literature on parent-reported child abuse, documenting that approximately one-third of college students had a history of moderate abuse and 5 to 10 percent had a history of a severe abuse during their developmental years. Through an awareness of its high prevalence, the health care provider will question a history of physical violence when evaluating a student with a medical or psychosocial complaint and appropriately plan a management program inclusive of therapeutic counseling to decrease the effect of the prior or current physical abuse. VioLit summary OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this experiment by Miller and Miller was to determine the frequency of community college students who experienced physical and sexual abuse as children and as adults. METHODOLOGY: A quasi-experimental, one-shot study using self-reported data from 103 students (who received services at a learning center at a community college in the fall of 1981) was employed. Although students were given the option of not completing the anonymous, self-administered survey, all students at the learning center chose to participate. Students were either self-referred to the learning center or by school counsellors or faculty. The experimental group was 10% of the total school population. No control groups were used in this study. The data analysis consisted of simply tabulating the results of the survey. The definition of physical abuse used by the author was the same as that used by R. J.Gelles: non-accidental injury caused by violence ranging from slapping or spanking through the use of a weapon. This definition also included sexual exploitation. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: The demographics of the group were as follows: 59% of the participants were female and 41% male; age ranged from 17-59 years (mean 26.5%); 80% white, 13% Asian Pacific Islanders, 3% black, 3% Native American, and 1% Hispanic; 71% single, 22% married, and 7% either divorced or separated. The full spectrum of academic skills was represented based on cognitive and basic skills. Ethnic group, marital status, and referral source made no difference in the frequency and severity of abuse experienced by the college students both in their childhood and as adults. Females, however, reported physical abuse twice as frequently as males, and were the only ones to report sexual abuse in their childhood. During childhood and adolescence, 77% of the participants were slapped or spanked, 33% hit with an object, 24% pushed or shoved, 13% kicked, bit, or hit with a fist, 4% sexually abused, and 2% threatened with a knife or gun. The adults (defined as participants over 20 years old and represented 65% of the sample), who experienced abuse were also studied. Females were 1.5 times more likely to have been physically abused as adults than males, and 5 times more likely to have been victims than males. Once again, all sexual abuse victims were females. During adulthood, 30% had been pushed or shoved, 10% hit with a fist, 9% kicked or hit with an object, 7% threatened with a knife or gun, and 7% sexually abused. AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS: The authors stated that these results are of similar order of magnitude to those found by Gelles in his study of parental reported experiences of abuse by their children. The higher victimization rates for females is difficult to account for. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) KW - College Student Research KW - Physical Assault Victim KW - Gender Differences KW - Childhood Victimization KW - Sexual Assault Victim KW - Domestic Violence Victim KW - Child Abuse Victim KW - Child Sexual Abuse Victim KW - Child Physical Abuse Victim KW - Adult Victim KW - Juvenile Victim KW - Child Victim KW - Self Report Studies KW - Child Female KW - Child Male KW - Juvenile Female KW - Juvenile Male KW - Adult Female KW - Adult Male KW - Male Victim KW - Female Victim