Citation

Putman KM, Lantz JI, Potts AA, Gallegos AM, Herrera S, Eriksson CB, Steenwyk M, Foy DW. J. Child Adolesc. Trauma 2008; 1(4): 349.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1080/19361520802505891

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study documents Guatemalan aid workers' and parents' definitions of child sexual abuse (CSA), understandings of indicators and etiology of CSA, and training needs. Focus groups were conducted with aid workers and parents living in the Guatemala City dump. Conceptualizations of CSA included rape, contact molestation, and noncontact molestation. Aid workers and parents identified emotional and behavioral symptoms as indicators of CSA. Parents reported systemic understandings of CSA, such as poverty and the cycle of violence. Parents requested education on positive parenting; aid workers wanted training about working effectively with the legal system. Prevention and intervention implications are discussed.

Keywords: child sexual abuse; Central America; definitions of CSA; symptoms of CSA; cultural understandings of CSA