Prevalence of Contact Child Sexual Abuse Victimization in the US: Perpetration Types and Cohort Differences

We investigated the prevalence of contact child sexual abuse (CSA) victimization in the US by comparing perpetration types in two adult cohorts. Participants included a nationally representative sample of adults aged 18-22 (n = 3,174) and 32-36 (n = 3,237). We used weighted proportions to obtain prevalences, Rao-Scott χ2 tests to assess for differences between cohorts. Analyses were also stratified by gender. The overall prevalence was 21.7% and similar between the two cohorts; 9.7% reported abuse by adults and 16.9% by youth under age 18. Most said that offenses were perpetrated by people known to them. CSA perpetration by youth was greater in the younger cohort than in the older cohort (18.8% vs. 15.1%). Among women, intrafamilial abuse by adults and youth declined from the older to the younger cohort. This study highlights emerging trends in CSA victimization by age of people who offend, by relationship to survivors, and by survivor gender.