Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Staff Perceptions Of Risk For Prison Rape Perpetration And Victimization, Valerie M. Gonsalves, Kate Walsh, Mario J. Scalora

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2012 SAGE Publications, http://tpj.sagepub.com Used by permission.

Development And Initial Psychometric Properties Of The Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (Cami): A Comprehensive Self-Report Measure Of Child Maltreatment History, David K. Dilillo, Sarah A. Hayes-Skelton, Michelle A. Fortier, Andrea R. Perry, Sarah E. Evans, Terri L. Messman Moore, Kate Walsh, Cindy Nash, Angèle Fauchier

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: The present study reports on the development and initial psychometric properties of the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI), a web-based self-report measure of child maltreatment history, including sexual and physical abuse, exposure to interparental violence, psychological abuse, and neglect.

Methods: The CAMI was administered to a geographically diverse sample of college students (N= 1,398). For validation purposes, participants also completed a widely used measure of maltreatment (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) as well as measures of social desirability. To examine test–retest reliability, a subset of participants (n = 283) completed the CAMI a second time 2–4 weeks after …

Neuropsychological Effects Of The Traumatic Stress Response In Sexually Abused Adolescents Throughout Treatment, Kathryn R. Wilson

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Child maltreatment is a pervasive problem in our society that has long-term detrimental consequences to the development of the affected child such as future brain growth and functioning. The alteration of the biochemical stress response system in the brain that changes an individual’s ability to respond efficiently and efficaciously to future stressors is conceptualized as the traumatic stress response. The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of the traumatic stress response on sexually abused adolescents’ through a two-tiered study of neuropsychological functioning throughout treatment. It was determined that there are measurable differences in neuropsychological processing in sexually …

Nonoffending Parent Expectations Of Sexually Abused Children: Predictive Factors And Influence On Children’S Recovery, Haig Kouyoumdjian, Andrea R. Perry, David J. Hansen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study examined the influence of parental expectations on the functioning of sexually abused children. Participants included 67 sexually abused youth and 63 of their nonoffending primary caregivers. Parental expectations about how sexual abuse will impact children were predictive of parents’ ratings of children’s behavior at pretreatment, while parental expectations of children’s overall future functioning were not predictive of parents’ ratings of children’s behavior. Parental expectations about how sexual abuse will impact their children and about their children’s overall future functioning were not predictive of parents’ ratings of children’s behavior at posttreatment. Results highlight the influential role the sexual abuse …

Child Maltreatment History And Subsequent Romantic Relationships: Exploring A Psychological Route To Dyadic Difficulties, David K. Dilillo, Terri Lewis, Andrea Di Loreto-Colgan

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

A sample of 174 college students involved in heterosexual dating relationships was studied lo investigate the role of psychological distress in mediating links between child maltreatment (CM) history and current couple functioning. Females, but not males, with a history of CM reported greater levels of psychological and relationship difficulties than did non-maltreated women. Psychological distress among females was also found to mediate associations between abuse history and various aspects of couple functioning including intimacy, sexuality. and conflict resolution. No such relationships were found for males. The implications of these results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Child Abuse In The Eyes Of The Beholder: Lay Perceptions Of Child Sexual And Physical Abuse, Brian H. Bornstein, Debra L. Kaplan, Andrea R. Perry

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective: The purpose was to explore the effects of victim and perpetrator gender, type of abuse, and victim-perpetrator relationship on university students’ and non-students’ perceptions of different kinds of child abuse.

Method: One hundred and ninety-nine participants (including university students and non-student adults) evaluated each of 24 vignettes (within-subjects design) describing an abusive interaction between a child and an adult. The following four variables were manipulated: the victim’s gender, the perpetrator’s gender, the type of abuse (physical, relatively mild sexual, or relatively severe sexual), and the perpetrator’s relationship to the victim (parent or babysitter). Participants rated each vignette on a …

Retrospective Assessment Of Childhood Sexual And Physical Abuse: A Comparison Of Scaled And Behaviorally Specific Approaches, David Dilillo, Michelle A. Fortier, Sarah A. Hayes, Emily Trask, Andrea R. Perry, Terri Messman-Moore, Angèle Fauchier, Cindy Nash

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study compared retrospective reports of childhood sexual and physical abuse as assessed by two measures: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which uses a Likert-type scaling approach, and the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI), which employs a behaviorally specific means of assessment. Participants included 1,195 undergraduate students recruited from three geographically diverse universities. Agreement was high across the two measures in the classification of victim status (92% and 80% for sexual and physical abuse, respectively). However, the CTQ classified more participants as sexually abused than did the CAMI, whereas the opposite trend was found for physical abuse. For child physical …

Parenting Characteristics Of Women Reporting A History Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, David Dilillo, Amy Damashek

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This article reviews research on the parenting characteristics of female survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Various aspects of parenting are considered, including (a) childbearing patterns, (b) the intergenerational transmission of CSA, (c) maternal reactions to child CSA disclosure, (d) parenting skills and behaviors, (e) parental violence toward children, (f) attitudes toward parenting, and (g) adjustment of survivors’ children. Overall patterns suggest CSA survivors may experience difficulties with some aspects of parenting. Among the more consistent trends are findings that survivors may have difficulties establishing clear generational boundaries with their children, may be more permissive as parents, and may be …

Adult Survivors Of Childhood Abuse: An Analysis Of Coping Mechanisms Used For Stressful Childhood Memories And Current Stressors, Kristine T. Futa, Cindy L. Nash, David J. Hansen, Calvin P. Garbin

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Coping mechanisms used to deal with stressful childhood memories and current stressors were assessed for 196 women in each of 4 groups: no abuse history, sexual abuse history, physical abuse history, and both sexual and physical abuse history. Current psychological adjustment was also examined. Discriminant function analyses revealed a variety of significant differences between the groups in use of strategies for coping with memories of abuse or another childhood stressor. There was no relationship between childhood history of abuse and the manner in which women coped with a current stressor. Women with an abuse history reported significantly poorer adult adjustment …

Co-Occurring Forms Of Child Maltreatment And Adult Adjustment Reported By Latina College Students, John C. Clemmons, David Dilillo, Isaac G. Martinez, Sarah Degue, Michelle Jeffcott

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study had two primary objectives: First, to examine the nature and co-occurrence of various forms of child maltreatment (sexual, physical. emotional, and witnessing violence) reported by Latina college students, and second, to explore coexisting maltreatment types and acculturation status as possible contributors to long-term adjustment difficulties.

Method: Participants were 112 Latina undergraduate students categorized by the number of childhood maltreatment types experienced (0, 1, or 2 or more) and acculturation level (1 to 5). The possible effects of co-occurring forms of maltreatment, in conjunction with acculturation status, were investigated with respect to participants’ reported trauma symptomatology. Data were …

Family Factors That Differentiate Sexually Abused And Nonabused Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients, Dawn H.S. Reinemann, Kevin D. Stark, Susan M. Swearer Napolitano

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Sexual abuse research has traditionally focused on adult, retrospective accounts of potential correlates of abuse and their impact on functioning. However, only a few studies have examined sexually abused adolescents’ perceptions of their families, and results have proven inconclusive. This study examined whether family factors would differentiate sexually abused and nonabused adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Fifty-seven psychiatric inpatients, ages 11 to 17, who either had experienced sexual abuse or had no history of sexual victimization completed a diagnostic interview and were assessed on a variety of family indices. Results indicated that after controlling for level of depression, sexually abused adolescents could …