Sexually Victimized Children

David Finkelhor

• Publisher: Free Press
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9780029104002
• eBook ISBN: 9781439119037
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Developmental Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Based on a large-scale survey and in light of demographic and cultural factors, the author examines why children are sexually victimized, the sources of trauma, differences between reported and unreported cases of assault, and possible increases in sexual victimization.

Appendix B

QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Student:

We would like to ask you to participate in this study of the family and sexual behavior by filling out this questionnaire.

Some of the questions here are very personal. Because they are personal, social scientists have been reluctant to investigate them in the past. But as you are certainly aware, family life has been undergoing profound changes in recent years, as have people’s attitudes toward sex. If social scientists are to help families become healthier environments for living and growing up, if we are to help answer questions about important social issues like teen-age pregnancy, sex education, child abuse and so forth, we need to know more about these personal things.

We hope with this in mind, and the knowledge that everything you answer here is completely anonymous, that you will decide to participate.

To help you decide, we want to say a little more about the questionnaire. The highly personal questions here include questions about sexual attitudes and sexual experiences, as well as questions about your family. Some of the information you will be providing here is probably not information you would want others to know about. For one thing, it may be personally embarrassing or painful. For another thing, it may involve people beside yourself, who would not want information divulged. Finally, believe it or not, some of the things you may be reporting in the questionnaire may be against the law. This gives you some idea of how sensitive an area this is. So consider carefully whether you really want to participate.

However, we do not want you to take risks that might endanger yourself or others in any way. As a matter of fact, we feel that you are perfectly safe in participating in the study, and we want to tell you the steps we are taking to safeguard your privacy.

First of all, you are under no obligation to participate. It is not a course requirement. Much as we would like your co-operation, you should feel free not to fill out a questionnaire. In fact, if at any point while filling out the questionnaire you decide you no longer wish to participate, you may stop wherever you are and fill out no more. Moreover, if there are any particular questions which you want to skip, you may do so.

If you decide not to participate you may do so very discreetly. All questionnaires have a blank cover sheet. If you decide not to fill out any part, just turn in your questionnaire at the end of the period along with everyone else, and no one will be aware that your questionnaire is incomplete.

Secondly, all questionnaires are completely anonymous. Nowhere on the questionnaire do we ask for your name, and we have carefully avoided asking questions that might identify you indirectly. Your questionnaire will be one of over 800 that we will be collecting, so the possibility of anyone identifying your questionnaire is virtually nil. All questionnaires will be guarded by us with the utmost care. No one but the researchers will have access to them.

Thirdly, because of the sensitive nature of the research, it is important that we have your fully informed consent to use your questionnaire. If you choose to participate, make a check in the box below indicating your consent.

Unfortunately, if there are some of you here who are not at least 18, and thus still legally minors, we will not be able to use your questionnaire. According to law, minors need to obtain parental consent in order to participate in scientific research of this sort. If you are under 18, we are sorry to exclude you from the research, but unfortunately we have no other choice. So please just turn in a blank questionnaire.

Thank you for your cooperation.

I have read the above and I agree to participate [ ]

I have read the above and decided not to participate [ ]

PART A

1. Your sex (circle one answer number):
2. Your age at last birthday _____
3. Marital status (circle one answer number):
4. In what religion were you raised?
5. What is your predominant ethnic background (circle no more than 2):
6. In the first 12 years of your life, did you live mostly in (pick the one you lived in longest):

We would like to gather some information about MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY.

First, about your FATHER

Is he:

1. Living with your mother
2. ivorced or separated from her
3. Widowed
4. Living apart for some other reason
5. Deceased

What is (was) his year of birth? (If unsure, put current age or approximate age.) ______

Was there any time before you were 16 when you did not live with him?

1. Yes
2. No
3. If Yes, give your age, e.g., 6 to 10
4. Age _____ to _____

When you last lived with him, how close did you feel to him?

1. Very close
2. Close
3. Somewhat close
4. Not close
5. Distant

Did you also have a STEPFATHER?

1. Yes
2. No (If no, go to no. 9)

Is your stepfather:

1. Living with your mother
2. Divorced or separated from her
3. Widowed from her
4. Living apart for some other reason
5. Deceased

What is (was) his year of birth? (If unsure, put current age or approximate age.) ______

Was there any time before you were 16 when you did not live with him?

1. Yes
2. No
3. If Yes, give your age
4. Age _____ to _____

When you last lived with him, how close did you feel to him?

Very close

Close

Somewhat close

Not close

Distant

Now, about your MOTHER

Is she:

1. Living with your father
2. Divorced or separated from him
3. Widowed
4. Living apart for some other reason
5. Deceased

What is (was) her year of birth? (if unsure, put current age or approximate age.) _____

Was there any time before you were 16 when you did not live with her?

1. Yes 2. No

If Yes, give your age, e.g., 6 to 10

Age _____ to _____

When you last lived with her, how close did you feel to her?

1. Very close
2. Close
3. Somewhat close
4. Not close
5. Distant

Did you also have a STEPMOTHER?

1. Yes No If no, go to (no. 11)

Is your stepmother:

1. Living with your father
2. Divorced or separated from him
3. Widowed from him
4. Living apart for some other reason
5. Deceased

What is (was) her year of birth? (If unsure, put current age or approximate age.) _____

Was there any time before you were 16 when you did not live with her?

1. 1. Yes 2. No

If Yes, give your age

Age _____ to _____

When you last lived with her, how close did you feel to her?

1. Very close
2. Close
3. Somewhat close
4. Not close
5. Distant

Now, about your BROTHERS (If none, go to no. 15)

Start with Oldest Brother, and work down to Youngest.

Oldest brother, is he:

1. A natural brother
2. A stepbrother (no parents in common)
3. A half-brother (one parent in common)
4. An adopted brother

What is his year of birth? __

Was there any time before you were 16 when you did not live with him?

1. Yes 2. No

If Yes, give your age, e.g., 6 to 10

Age _____ to _____

When you last lived with him how close did you feel toward him?

1. Very close
2. Close
3. Somewhat close
4. Not close
5. Distant

Next BROTHER (If none, go to no. 15)

Is he:

1. A natural brother
2. A step brother
3. A half-brother
4. An adopted brother

What is his year of birth? __

Was there any time before you were 16 when you did not live with him?

1. Yes 2. No

If Yes, give your age

Age _____ to _____

d. When you last lived with him how close did you feel toward him?

1. Very close
2. Close
3. Somewhat close
4. Not close
5. Distant

Next BROTHER (If none, go to no. 15)

Is he:

1. A natural brother
2. A stepbrother
3. A half-brother
4. An adopted brother

What is his year of birth? __

Was there any time before you were 16 when you did not live with him?

1. Yes 2. No

If Yes, give your age

Age _____ to _____

d. When you last lived with him, how close did you feel toward him?

1. Very close
2. Close
3. Somewhat close
4. Not close
5. Distant

Next BROTHER (If none, go to no. 15)

Is he:

1. A natural brother
2. A stepbrother
3. A half-brother
4. An adopted brother

What is his year of birth? __

Was there any time before you were 16 when you did not live with him?

If Yes, give your age

Age _____ to _____

d. When you last lived with him, how close did you feel toward him?

1. Very close
2. Close
3. Somewhat close
4. Not close
5. Distant

Now about your SISTERS (If none, go to no. 19)

Start with Oldest Sister, and work down to the Youngest.

2. Next SISTER (If none, go to no. 19)
3. Next SISTER (If none, go to no. 19)
4. Next SISTER (If none, go to no. 19)
5. Which of these family members were you living with at age 12?

PART B

The rest of the questionnaire applies to your family when you were age 12. All questions should be answered with reference to the members of your family when you were age 72 (unless otherwise indicated). That means when a question asks about your “father,” it means the father you lived with when you were 12.

If you did not live with one or both parents when you were 12, answer for that parent at some earlier age when you were living with him or her.

What were your parents’ occupations when you were 12?

Father	Mother
1	1	Semiskilled or unskilled worker (factory worker, hospital aide, truck driver, etc.)
2	2	Skilled worker or foreman (machinist, carpenter, cook)
3	3	Farmer (owner-operator or renter)
4	4	Clerical or sales (but not manager)
5	5	Proprietor, except farm (owner of a business)
6	6	Professional (architect, teacher, nurse) or managerial position (department head, store manager)
0	0	No occupation outside home
X	X	Don’t know

When you were 12, which of the following came closest to your parents annual income before faxes?

Father	Mother
0	0	Not employed
1	1	Less than $4,000
2	2	$4,000 to $5,999
3	3	$6,000 to $7,999
4	4	$8,000 to $9,999
5	5	$10,000 to $11,999
6	6	$12,000 to $14,999
7	7	$15,000 to $19,999
8	8	$20,000 to $29,999
9	9	$30,000 and over
X	X	Don’t know

What was the highest level of education attained by your parents?

Father	Mother
1	1	Some grade school
2	2	Completed grade school
3	3	Some high school
4	4	Completed high school
5	5	High school and some other training but not college
6	6	Some college
7	7	Completed college
8	8	Some graduate work
9	9	Graduate degree (M.D., M.A.)

How many of your grandparents were born in the United States?

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. None

Did either of your grandparents grow up on a farm?

1. mother
2. father
3. both
4. neither

How many bedrooms were there in the house your family lived in when you were 12?
_____

How many people were living in the house at the time?
_____

At age 12, did you share a bedroom with:

1. No one, had own bedroom
2. One brother
3. More than one brother
4. One sister
5. More than one sister
6. One or more brothers and sisters
7. One or both parents
8. Someone else
9. Other combination ______
   (please indicate)

Did any other people live with you for more than a year while you were growing up, besides mother, father, sisters and brothers? (Circle as many as apply.)

Grandfather

Grandmother

Uncle

Aunt

Other relative

Other nonrelative (e.g., boarder, housekeeper, etc.)

When you were 12, did you have:

1. Many good friends
2. A few good friends
3. One or two good friends
4. No good friends

Answer the following questions about the set of pa...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• CONTENTS
• LIST OF TABLES
• Acknowledgments
• INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
• WHY ARE CHILDREN SEXUALLY VICTIMIZED
• A SURVEY ON CHILDREN’S SEXUAL VICTIMIZATION
• THE EXPERIENCES DESCRIBED
• OLDER PARTNERS
• ALL IN THE FAMILY
• SOURCES OF TRAUMA
• SOCIAL BACKGROUNDS OF SEXUALLY VICTIMIZED CHILDREN
• FAMILY BACKGROUNDS OF SEXUALLY VICTIMIZED CHILDREN
• COMPARISON OF THE FINDINGS WITH OTHER STUDIES
• CONCLUSION
• Appendix A COMPARISON OF STUDIES
• Appendix B QUESTIONNAIRE
• INDEX