NCJ Number
143269
Date Published
1992
Length
167 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this manual is to serve as a reference guide for health care professionals called upon to evaluate children suspected of being sexually abused.
Abstract
The manual may be useful for various health care team members, including clinical social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists, child protective service workers, and law enforcement personnel. It provides background information on child sexual abuse in order to increase the awareness of health care professionals; to facilitate their consideration of sexual abuse in differential diagnoses, given specific and nonspecific signs and symptoms; to reassure health professionals in their roles as care providers and child advocates; and to provide a reference on how to proceed with medical and psychological assessment. Sections of the manual cover the scope of child sexual abuse, sexual abuse evaluation, interview and history procedures, physical examinations and laboratory specimens, the differential diagnosis of anogenital findings, sexually transmitted diseases, and mental health evaluation. References, tables, figures, and photographs