ABSTRACT
This study investigated how 99 children who were examined for suspected sexual abuse (SSA) perceived their own medical evaluation experiences. Each child was interviewed about the degree of pain and fear associated with the experience, the kindness of the doctor, general fear of doctor visits, and degree of fear associated with a hypothetical second examination. The majority of children did not perceive their SSA examination to be strongly negative. However children did report greater fear associated with the SSA evaluation compared to an ordinary doctor visit. Using multiple regression, general fear of doctor visits and fear and pain associated with the SSA examination contributed to the prediction of intensity of fear about a hypothetical second SSA evaluation. Perceived kindness of the doctor, patient sex and age, and physician sex and age did not contribute to the regression equation. The relatively low reported rate of intense distress associated with medical evaluation of SSA suggests that fear and pain can be minimized and effectively managed for many children. The results of the regression analysis suggest that previous negative medical experiences may play an important role in determining how a child interprets the experience of an SSA medical evaluation.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Health , Child Abuse, Sexual/diagnosis , Child Abuse, Sexual/psychology , Physical Examination/psychology , Psychology, Child , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Cross-Sectional Studies , Fear , Female , Humans , Male , Pain/etiology , Physical Examination/adverse effects , Physician-Patient Relations , Regression AnalysisABSTRACT
The impact of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic on a group of adolescents was investigated by surveying 197 sexually active, predominantly African-American, urban high school students. Reported sexual behavior changes were evaluated in relation to AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes. Over 50% of the students decreased their frequency of sexual activity, increased their condom use, and/or decreased their number of partners. These students had significantly higher scores on a measure of worry about vulnerability to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection than those whose behavior had not changed. AIDS knowledge, AIDS beliefs, and AIDS-related anxiety interacted with gender to affect sexual behavior change. Male students reporting decreased frequency of sexual activity, for example, had more accurate beliefs about AIDS than males reporting no decrease. Among female students, however, those reporting decreased frequency had less accurate beliefs than those reporting no decrease. These results highlight the importance of considering gender and specific sexual behaviors when designing AIDS education interventions.
