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Vulnerable adolescent participants' experience in surveys on sexuality and sexual abuse: Ethical aspects.

Priebe, Gisela LU ; Bäckström, Martin LU and Ainsaar, Mare (2010) In Child Abuse & Neglect 34(6). p.438-447
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to study the discomfort experienced by adolescents when answering questions in a survey about sexuality and sexual abuse and to investigate factors that may determine possible experience of discomfort. The research focused particularly on vulnerable adolescents-sexually abused and sexually inexperienced. METHOD: Adolescents in their final year of high school in Estonia (n=1,334) and Sweden (n=3,401) who had completed a survey about experiences of sexuality and sexual abuse answered additional questions about experiences of discomfort related to the survey questions. RESULTS: A majority of the participants did not feel discomfort when completing the survey. This was also the case for the two... (More)
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to study the discomfort experienced by adolescents when answering questions in a survey about sexuality and sexual abuse and to investigate factors that may determine possible experience of discomfort. The research focused particularly on vulnerable adolescents-sexually abused and sexually inexperienced. METHOD: Adolescents in their final year of high school in Estonia (n=1,334) and Sweden (n=3,401) who had completed a survey about experiences of sexuality and sexual abuse answered additional questions about experiences of discomfort related to the survey questions. RESULTS: A majority of the participants did not feel discomfort when completing the survey. This was also the case for the two vulnerable groups. Experience of penetrating sexual abuse, sexual inexperience, mental health problems, rape myth acceptance, gender, immigrant background, and country were included in a structural equation model. Experience of penetrating sexual abuse was not significantly related to discomfort in the final model, while sexual inexperience was associated with increased discomfort (standardized coefficient .20) and rape myth acceptance was the strongest indicator of discomfort (.27). The total amount of explained variance was 17%. CONCLUSIONS: Our data do not support the view that adolescents in general or vulnerable subgroups such as sexually abused or sexually inexperienced adolescents experience discomfort when answering a survey about sexuality and sexual abuse. As discomfort ratings were not highly related to any of the predictors further research is needed that includes other factors. It is important to follow existing ethical guidelines since there may always be some individuals who feel discomfort. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Adolescents, Research participation, Ethics, Sexual abuse, Sexuality
in
Child Abuse & Neglect
volume
34
issue
6
pages
438 - 447
publisher
Pergamon Press Ltd.
external identifiers
  • wos:000278047100007
  • pmid:20403636
  • scopus:77952885799
  • pmid:20403636
ISSN
1873-7757
DOI
10.1016/j.chiabu.2009.10.005
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
77d2eb8a-52fa-4f0a-828f-f25e579de697 (old id 1595075)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20403636?dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:10:41
date last changed
2022-01-25 20:31:26
@article{77d2eb8a-52fa-4f0a-828f-f25e579de697,
  abstract     = {{OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to study the discomfort experienced by adolescents when answering questions in a survey about sexuality and sexual abuse and to investigate factors that may determine possible experience of discomfort. The research focused particularly on vulnerable adolescents-sexually abused and sexually inexperienced. METHOD: Adolescents in their final year of high school in Estonia (n=1,334) and Sweden (n=3,401) who had completed a survey about experiences of sexuality and sexual abuse answered additional questions about experiences of discomfort related to the survey questions. RESULTS: A majority of the participants did not feel discomfort when completing the survey. This was also the case for the two vulnerable groups. Experience of penetrating sexual abuse, sexual inexperience, mental health problems, rape myth acceptance, gender, immigrant background, and country were included in a structural equation model. Experience of penetrating sexual abuse was not significantly related to discomfort in the final model, while sexual inexperience was associated with increased discomfort (standardized coefficient .20) and rape myth acceptance was the strongest indicator of discomfort (.27). The total amount of explained variance was 17%. CONCLUSIONS: Our data do not support the view that adolescents in general or vulnerable subgroups such as sexually abused or sexually inexperienced adolescents experience discomfort when answering a survey about sexuality and sexual abuse. As discomfort ratings were not highly related to any of the predictors further research is needed that includes other factors. It is important to follow existing ethical guidelines since there may always be some individuals who feel discomfort.}},
  author       = {{Priebe, Gisela and Bäckström, Martin and Ainsaar, Mare}},
  issn         = {{1873-7757}},
  keywords     = {{Adolescents; Research participation; Ethics; Sexual abuse; Sexuality}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{438--447}},
  publisher    = {{Pergamon Press Ltd.}},
  series       = {{Child Abuse & Neglect}},
  title        = {{Vulnerable adolescent participants' experience in surveys on sexuality and sexual abuse: Ethical aspects.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2009.10.005}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.chiabu.2009.10.005}},
  volume       = {{34}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}