Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Apr;61(4):319-25.
doi: 10.1136/jech.2005.040188.

Men's childhood sexual abuse histories by one-parent versus two-parent status of childhood home

William C Holmes  1
Affiliations

Men's childhood sexual abuse histories by one-parent versus two-parent status of childhood home

William C Holmes. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007 Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate the association between number of parents in the childhood home and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) with adjustment for childhood socioeconomic status (CSES).

Methods: Probability sample of 298, 18-49-year-old men from Philadelphia County, number of parents living in childhood home, socioeconomic data and CSA histories were obtained.

Results: 197 (66%) men participated. 186 (94%) of these lived with at least one parent; 76 (39%) and 110 (56%) lived with one parent versus two parents, respectively. 22 (29%) of 76 and 18 (16%) of 110 reported CSA histories, respectively (OR 2.08, p = 0.04). Two approaches to adjustment for CSES indicated continued association between parent number and CSA (OR 2.38-2.39, p = 0.05-0.07). Parent number was associated with numerous differences in CSA perpetrator characteristics and abuse experiences. Men from one-parent versus two-parent families reported significantly more non-family and female perpetrators (p = 0.03 and 0.01, respectively) and fondling experiences (p = 0.04).

Conclusions: Findings provide additional support for the association between parent number and CSA in boys, suggesting that parent number is not just a proxy for CSES. CSA experiences also differed between one-parent and two-parent homes. Findings generate numerous hypotheses for future study.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

References

    1. Spencer M J, Dunklee P. Sexual abuse of boys. Pediatrics 198678133–138. - PubMed
    1. Janus M, Burgess A W, McCormack A. Histories of sexual abuse in adolescent male runaways. Adolescence 198722405–417. - PubMed
    1. Moisan P A, Sanders‐Phillips K, Moisan P M. Ethnic differences in circumstances of abuse and symptoms of depression and anger among sexually abused black and Latino boys. Child Abuse Negl 199721473–488. - PubMed
    1. McCormack A, Rokous F E, Hazelwood R R.et al An exploration of incest in the childhood development of serial rapists. J Fam Violence 19927219–228.
    1. Finkelhor D, Hotaling G, Lewis I A.et al Sexual abuse in a national survey of adult men and women: prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors. Child Abuse Negl 19901419–28. - PubMed

Publication types