More kids are reporting negative incidents, survey reveals

By Staff Writer

A new telephone survey by University of New Hampshire researchers reveals that about half of U.S. children who are the victims of crime and abuse later report the incident to an adult.

The results, which appeared in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, have been met with mixed reactions, according to Reuters. On the positive side, it shows that a lot of kids who are the victims of abuse have the courage to stand up for themselves and tell someone. However, the number of kids who admitted to being victims of abuse has alarmed many experts.

The team of researchers interviewed parents of children up to age 9, as well as kids age 10 to 17. Approximately 58 percent of the children and teens said that they had been personally victimized at least once in the past year, which could have included a conventional crime, maltreatment, domestic or peer abuse, sexual abuse and indirect exposure to violence.

About 46 percent of the victims said that they told an authority figure about the incident, which is up significantly from a similar study in 1992, which revealed that about 25 percent of victims went to an adult, the news provider reported.

Adolescents who are the victims of emotional or physical abuse may benefit from wilderness therapy, which is designed to provide help for troubled teens.