Child abuse in the eyes of the beholder: Lay perceptions of child sexual and physical abuse

Abstract

Objective: The purpose was to explore the effects of victim and perpetrator gender, type of abuse, and victim-perpetrator relationship on university students' and non-students' perceptions of different kinds of child abuse. Method: One hundred and ninety-nine participants (including university students and non-student adults) evaluated each of 24 vignettes (within-subjects design) describing an abusive interaction between a child and an adult. The following four variables were manipulated: the victim's gender, the perpetrator's gender, the type of abuse (physical, relatively mild sexual, or relatively severe sexual), and the perpetrator's relationship to the victim (parent or babysitter). Participants rated each vignette on a number of dimensions: degree of trauma and severity, likelihood of general occurrence and reoccurrence, victim believability, and "repressibility" of the event.Results: Significant interactions emerged on each dimension. For example, sexual abuse (whether mild or severe) was rated as being more traumatic and severe if perpetrated by a parent, but relationship type did not affect perceptions of physical abuse. In addition, significant perpetrator gender by victim gender interactions indicated that homosexual abuse was perceived as more traumatic and repressible than heterosexual abuse, but as less likely to occur; and male participants tended to be more affected by the gender of the perpetrator and abuse type than female participants. Conclusion:The results suggest that people have stereotypes about the circumstances and consequences of child abuse. These stereotypes are often, though not always, consistent with existing empirical findings.

Differences in Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse Based on Perpetrator Age and Respondent Gender

“…CSA perpetrated by males was seen as more abusive and more severe than CSA done by females (Bornstein, Kaplan & Perry, 2007;. Victims of males were also seen as more credible and more believable in their accounts of CSA .…”

“…Some studies have found that the gender of the victim did not influence perceptions of the CSA (Kennel & Agresti, 1995;Wiley & Bottoms, 2009). However, one study found that the abuse of female children was seen as more traumatic and more severe, though this perception did not influence the believability of these female victims (Bornstein et al, 2007). The discrepancy in perceptions may be a result of different samples, as one study utilized licensed psychologists (Kennel & Agresti, 1995) and the two others utilized a sample of undergraduate students (Bornstein et al, 2007;Wiley & Bottoms, 2009).…”

The Sexual Double Standard and Gender Differences in Predictors of Perceptions of Adult-Teen Sexual Relationships

“…Studies of child sexual abuse have demonstrated that the gender of the abuser strongly determines how offenders are perceived, with men viewed more negatively than women (Bornstein et al 2006;Rogers and Davies 2007). The four key studies on perceptions of adult-teen sexual relationships examined how the genders of the adult and teen influenced perceptions.…”

A Preliminary Investigation: Children’s Awareness of Child Sexual Abuse in Malaysia

“…Studies found that the victims of the sexual abuse are traumatized greatly in life compared to other types of child abuse [22]. Reference [23] adds that a child who is abused will be traumatized and will need counseling and professional intervention by a child psychologist or psychiatrist.…”