Thanks, Jim. Those are helpful ideas. The student will have access to some archival records of a high risk population (sex abuse offenders) which he would like to compare to some general population prevalence figures. So he will treat the different levels you mention in 2) as a variable. As to 1), I assume that one of the biggest variables in prevalence estimates has to be the definition of abuse used. I think his best approach will be to narrow the prevalence estimates by making a direct comparison to previous research that uses as close to the operational definition of sexual abuse as the original record keepers used and also focus on previous research that uses a sample as similar as possible to the one he will use.
Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Professor of Psychology John Brown University 2000 W. University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (479) 524-7295 http://www.jbu.edu/academics/hss/faculty/rfroman.asp "Pete, it's a fool that looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart." - Ulysses Everett McGill -----Original Message----- From: Jim Clark [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, October 08, 2007 1:32 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Prevalence of sexual abuse of children Hi Rick You've probably thought of these, but two major impediments to getting a limited range of estimates for sex abuse are: (1) the varying definitions of what constitutes sex abuse, with more liberal definitions providing higher estimates, and (2) the varying populations surveyed, ranging from the general population to higher risk groups to even higher risk groups. Your student might want to classify estimates along such dimensions and see if any sense results, or limit him/her self to the kind of measure/population she will be researching. Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> "Rick Froman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 08-Oct-07 12:07:20 PM >>> I have a student doing research on this and, as you might imagine, the claimed ranges of percent of people who have been sexually abused as children runs the gamut. Do any of you have any specific guidance as to helpful review articles of methodologically sound research in this area? This isn't really my area and the student is quite frustrated by the wide range of estimates. Thank you. Rick Dr. Rick Froman Associate Professor of Psychology John Brown University 2000 W. University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (479) 524-7295 http://www.jbu.edu/academics/sbs/faculty/rfroman.asp --- --- ---
