ABSTRACT
Child sexual abuse and neglect represents a national problem of epidemic proportions. In fact, recent national statistics suggest that nearly 2 million reports of alleged maltreatment were filed in 1995 involving approximately 3 million children in the United States (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 1997). More than 1 million of these children were substantiated as victims of maltreatment. For children younger than 18 years of age, this represents a victimization rate of 15 in every 1,000 children. Cases of neglect (52%) were more than twice as frequent as physical abuse (25%), and sexual abuse occurred in about 12% of the cases identified. In just under 1,000 of these cases, maltreatment resulted in a child fatality. Although victim impact is found to vary based upon a number of factors, including the type of maltreatment, significant short-term and long-term consequences are often associated with child abuse and neglect (Briere, Berliner, Bulkley, Jenny, & Reid, 1996).
