@article{ref1,
title="Cycle of child sexual abuse: links between being a victim and becoming a perpetrator",
journal="British journal of psychiatry",
year="2001",
author="Glasser, M. and Kolvin, I. and Campbell, D. and Glasser, A. and Leitch, I. and Farrelly, S.",
volume="179",
number="",
pages="482-94; discussion 495",
abstract="BACKGROUND: There is widespread belief in a 'cycle' of child sexual abuse, but little empirical evidence for this belief. AIMS: To identify perpetrators of such abuse who had been victims of paedophilia and/or incest, in order to: ascertain whether subjects who had been victims become perpetrators of such abuse; compare characteristics of those who had and had not been victims; and review psychodynamic ideas thought to underlie the behaviour of perpetrators. METHOD: Retrospective clinical case note review of 843 subjects attending a specialist forensic psychotherapy centre. RESULTS: Among 747 males the risk of being a perpetrator was positively correlated with reported sexual abuse victim experiences. The overall rate of having been a victim was 35% for perpetrators and 11% for non-perpetrators. Of the 96 females, 43% had been victims but only one was a perpetrator. A high percentage of male subjects abused in childhood by a female relative became perpetrators. Having been a victim was a strong predictor of becoming a perpetrator, as was an index of parental loss in childhood. CONCLUSIONS: The data support the notion of a victim-to-victimiser cycle in a minority of male perpetrators but not among the female victims studied. Sexual abuse by a female in childhood may be a risk factor for a cycle of abuse in males.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0007-1250",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}