VISTAS Online is an innovative publication produced for ACA by Dr. Garry R. Walz and Dr. Jeanne C. Bleuer of Counseling Outfitters, LLC. Its purpose is to provide a means of capturing the ideas, information and experiences generated by the annual ACA Conference and selected ACA Division Conferences. Papers on a program or practice that has been validated through research or experience may also be submitted. This digital collection of peer-reviewed articles is authored by counselors, for counselors. VISTAS Online contains the full text of over 900 proprietary counseling articles published from 2004 to 2017.
2017
Child Sexual Abuse and Rural Areas
Courtney Evans-Thompson, Michael Brooks, and Samantha J. Green
2017
Rural populations have certain characteristics and cultural patterns requiring sensitivity and understanding. This study examined child sexual abuse in one rural community by surveying parents of children who were brought into a child advocacy center in a rural county in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Several factors were found that might have impacted the experience of child sexual abuse in this rural community. This research provides information to better inform professionals working with child sexual abuse in rural areas.
Keywords: children and adolescents, sexual abuse, trauma, rural, mental health