Knowledge of sexual abuse and resistance ability among children with intellectual disability
- Title
- Knowledge of sexual abuse and resistance ability among children with intellectual disability
- Creator
- Jojo N.; Nattala P.; Seshadri S.; Krishnakumar P.; Thomas S.
- Description
- Background: Sexual abuse is a global concern among children with intellectual disabilities. Sexual abuse is frequent and long-lasting when the victim is a child with an intellectual disability. Moreover, the rate of sexual abuse is two to eight times the rate in the general population. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of sexual abuse and resistance ability among children with intellectual disabilities. Participants and setting: The study was conducted among 120 children with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities attending twelve schools for specific purposes. Methods: We adopted a cross-sectional design to assess knowledge and resistance ability. Personal Safety Questionnaire and Modified What If Situation Test were administered verbally during individual interviews. Institutional Ethics Committee approved our study. Results: Current study suggests that children with intellectual disabilities have average knowledge (M = 6.6, SD = 1.6) regarding sexual abuse. More than 90 % of children demonstrated poor reporting skills. Although children exhibited good knowledge in differentiating appropriate from inappropriate touch requests, most children reported they would not disclose this incident to anyone. Conclusions: This study strongly suggests the need for a structured training program for children with intellectual disabilities to prevent sexual abuse. 2022 Elsevier Ltd
- Source
- Child Abuse and Neglect, Vol-136
- Date
- 2023-01-01
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Subject
- Children with intellectual disability; Developmental disability; Intellectual disability; Knowledge of sexual abuse and resistance ability; Self-protection skills; Sexual abuse; Sexual abuse prevention
- Coverage
- Jojo N., Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Bruce, ACT, Australia; Nattala P., Department of Nursing, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India; Seshadri S., Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India; Krishnakumar P., Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS), Kerala, Kozhikode, India; Thomas S., Department of Statistics, Christ University, Bangalore, India
- Rights
- Restricted Access
- Relation
- ISSN: 1452134; PubMed ID: 36603444; CODEN: CABND
- Format
- Online
- Language
- English
- Type
- Article
Collection
Citation
Jojo N.; Nattala P.; Seshadri S.; Krishnakumar P.; Thomas S., “Knowledge of sexual abuse and resistance ability among children with intellectual disability,” CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Institutional Repository, accessed November 4, 2025, https://archives.christuniversity.in/items/show/14410.