Steven J. Ondersma
Wayne State University
Mark Chaffin
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Lucy Berliner
University of Washington
Ingrid Cordon and Gail S. Goodman
University of California. Davis
Douglas Barnett
Wayne State University
PsychologicaJ Bulletin Vol. 127. No 6.707-714
B. Rind. P. Tromovitch, and R. Bauserman (1998) reported a meta-analysis of the relation between sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence and psychological functioning among college students. Several aspects of their work have proven to be highly controversial, including their assertion that the relation between child sexual abuse and adjustment is quite small and their questioning of whether child sexual abuse should be labeled abuse in scientific inquiry. In this commentary, the authors summarize the controversy that has ensued, place it in a historical context, discuss the limitations of B. Rind et al.'s findings, and critique the manner in which those findings are presented. The authors also argue for the appropriateness of the term abuse and for scientific terminology that reflects rather than contradicts consensual public morality.
Analysis of Rind et al. (1998)
Methodology
Presentation and Interpretation of Findings
Definition of CSA
- The empirical harm standard
- The moral standard
- Value-neutral terminology
Science and Morality
Scientific Responsibility and Scientific Freedom
Steven J. Ondersma, Merrill-Palmer Institute, Wayne State University; Mark Chaffin, Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center; Lucy Berliner, Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress, University of Washington; Ingrid Cordon and Gail S. Goodman, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis; Douglas Barnett, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University.
This article is a revised and extended version of a commentary previously published in the newsletter of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and was sponsored. in part, by the Section on Child Maltreatment of Division 37 (Child, Youth, and Family Services) of the American Psychological Association.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Steven J. Ondersma, Merrill-Palmer Institute. Wayne State University, 71 East Ferry A venue, Detroit, Michigan 48202. Electronic mail may be sent to s.ondersma@wayne.edu .