support@w4writers.com +44 7743 307695
Feb 08, 2024

Assignment Task

The article, critically evaluated through this report, is entitled Child Sexual Abuse: Consequences and Implications and was published in 2010 in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care by Gail Hornor. It seeks to address the relationships between understanding the short and long-term consequences of child abuse and both the identification of abused children and the anticipation of their needs. The research problem being addressed is how understanding the short and long-term consequences of child abuse can help pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) in identifying sexually abused children and anticipating their physical and mental needs. It is evident from the beginning of the article that it is vital for pediatric nurse practitioners to understand the short and long-term consequences of child sexual abuse as it is a problem of epidemic proportion in the world.

The author defined sexual abuse as “any sexual conduct or contact of an adult or significantly older child with or upon a child for the purposes of the sexual gratification of the perpetrator. The sexual conduct or contact includes both touching and non-touching behaviors, exposure to pornography and/or even oral, anal, or vaginal penetration (Hornor, 2010, p.359). This definition summarizes clearly the different types of behaviors included in sexual abuse. However, it does not include the child’s perception about the abuse, which means that it does not discuss the child’s emotional response to the sexual act.

Similarly, the author failed to consider any situation is which two children have consented to sex, providing the agreement is by choice and with the freedom and ability to make that choice (Temkin and Ashworth, 2004). In addition, according to Kleinhans (2002), even if the victim is of legal age of consent, and this age differs across the globe, the whole context of the relationship between the child and the perpetrator should be evaluated as the victim’s age cannot be the separating line between acceptable and unacceptable sexual behaviour. To conclude, the author should have probably added this important point in her definition of sexual abuse.

Methodology

For her study, the author used a systematic meta-synthesis approach to explore and critically analyse several mixed method studies, all regarding child abuse. This method allows the author to complete an extensive review of existing literature, which allows her to gain knowledge about the topic and develop new theories. In addition, by both choosing this research based approach and using credible peer-reviewed literature, the author ensured the objectivity and validity of her study. However, this method is very time consuming as it is complex to identify appropriate studies and critically evaluate them.

In addition, even if the systematic meta-synthesis approach is reliable, it does not guarantee the author to bring new knowledge to the existing field of study as this approach does not require any primary research. To improve her article, the author could have completed primary qualitative or quantitative research of her own by conducting interviews or surveys and analysing the results obtained. She could have engaged the victims of sexual abuse in order to understand their point of view regarding the matter and understand the main consequences faced following the abuse. By conducting interviews, the author would have added new knowledge to her study, especially given the fact that child’s perceptions of abuse are not extensively discussed in the field of sexual abuse.

Recent Post

Order this Assignment now

Total: GBP120

fables template