Child sexual abuse in preschool age: Victims, perpetrators and familial risk factors

Background: Child sexual abuse (CSA) causes several psychological problems in preschool children and affects their lives. However, in the literature, much of that research is focused primarily on the impacts of CSA on school-aged and adolescent-aged children, and researchers are left with a gap in knowledge regarding the preschool-aged victims. Method: In this study, the characteristics of 205 preschool-aged victims who were referred to the Child Advocacy Center within five years were analyzed retrospectively. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. SPSS 23.0 statistical program was used for the analysis. Results: According to the research findings, the victims who were determined to be subject to CSA under the age of seven were 5.98% (n = 205). While 86.3% (n = 177) of preschool-aged children had no penetration, it was detected that 13.7% (n = 28) had penetration. It was also found that boys (n = 17, 23.3%) were more exposed to penetration than girls (n = 11, 8.3%; chi(2) (1, N = 205) = 8.914, p = .003]. Of the perpetrators, 4.2% (n = 7) were female, two of whom helped the male perpetrator for CSA while the other five sexually abused the children on their own. According to the information obtained from the Family Interview Form, at least one familial risk factor for child abuse/neglect was found in 58% (n = 119) of the victims. Conclusions: As a result, much information about the characteristics of individuals and families of the sexually abused preschool-aged children and the nature of CSA events were obtained with this sample in large numbers. It may be thought that certain familial features may increase the risk of CSA for school-aged children.