NONSEXUAL ASSAULTS TO THE GENITALS IN THE YOUTH POPULATION

Objective.-To assess the frequency with which youth suffer nonsexual a ssaults to the genitals and their context and consequences. Design.-Te lephone survey with follow-up interview 1 year later. Setting.-General population of the United States living in households with telephones. Participants.-Random sample of 1042 boys and 958 girls aged 10 throug h 16 years. Results.-A nonsexual assault to the genitals was experienc ed by 9.2% of the boys and 1.0% of the girls in the year prior to the initial interview and 9.1% of the boys and 2.2% of the girls in the ye ar prior to the follow-up interview. Among the boys, about a quarter o f the assaults involved some injury, but only one in 50 needed medical attention. The most common assailants were same-aged peers. The assau lts occurred in a variety of contexts including gang attacks, peer fig hting, bullying, and some situations in which girls retaliated against the genitals of harassing boys. Boy victims of nonsexual genital assa ult had significantly higher levels of posttraumatic and depression sy mptomatology than boys without such assaults. Conclusions.-Nonsexual g enital violence needs additional clinical and research attention. Yout h should be educated about its possible consequences. Clinicians shoul d ask about nonsexual genital violence when taking a history, particul arly with youth who have experienced other kinds of assaults.