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Updated: Jun 28, 2026

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among Mexican adolescents
A G Pineda-Lucatero1, B Trujillo-Hernández, R O Millán-Guerrero
1Unidad de Investigación Epidemiológica Clínica, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Colima, México.
Background:
To determine the characteristics and prevalence of previous child sexual abuse among a group of Mexican junior high school students.
Methods:
A total of 1067 adolescents of both genders were selected to fill out a survey about child sexual abuse.
Results:
The prevalence of child sexual abuse was 18.7% (n = 200). It was more frequent in girls (58%) than in boys (42%). Sexual abuse involved physical contact in 75% of those cases reporting abuse. The aggressors were neighbours (50.3%), relatives (36.8%) and strangers (13.9%). Abuse was committed through deception in 90% of the cases and involved physical mistreatment in 10% of the cases. Of the victims, 14.4% had spoken about the problem and 3.7% had taken legal action. And 9.6% of those surveyed stated that they required psychological counselling.
Conclusions:
In the population studied, the prevalency of child sexual abuse was greater than that reported in Mexico City (4.3-8.4%), although it was similar to that found in the Spanish child population (15-23%). The risk of sexual abuse is greater for girls and the principal aggressors are male neighbours, family friends and relatives; the abuse is committed in the home of the aggressor or the victim and very few cases are reported to the authorities.
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