Sexual victimization of child and adolescent patients

Extrafamilial abuse of hospitalized or institutionalized patients has not often been studied. Five categories of caregivers (N = 272) reported physical, psychological and "socially acceptable" instances of abuse, with most incidents occurring one or more times per week. Abuse of children, especially sexual abuse, was singled out for further study. Case reports supplement the presentation. Implications for understanding abuse, for practice and for research are presented.