Effects of Gender on Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse

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

“…A small number of empirical studies have examined factors that influence perceptions of adult-teen sexual relationships (e.g., Dollar et al 2004;Fromuth et al 2001;Horvath and Giner-Sorolla 2007;Smith et al 1997). With the exception of Horvath and Giner-Sorolla (2007) (who also used vignettes but with different populations), studies presented college students with vignettes describing a sexual encounter between a teacher and a student and a questionnaire asking about their perceptions of the encounters.…”

“…With the exception of Horvath and Giner-Sorolla (2007) (who also used vignettes but with different populations), studies presented college students with vignettes describing a sexual encounter between a teacher and a student and a questionnaire asking about their perceptions of the encounters. The research tends to focus on three main aspects of respondents' perceptions: the criminality of the adult, in terms of the appropriate punishment and appropriate prison sentence (Dollar et al 2004;Horvath and Giner-Sorolla 2007;Smith et al 1997); the "normalcy" of the adult-teen interaction as perceived by the teen's peers (Dollar et al 2004); and the emotional damage to the teen (Dollar et al 2004;Fromuth et al 2001;Horvath and Giner-Sorolla 2007;Smith et al 1997).…”

“…Each showed the persistence of gender role stereotypes as respondents viewed sexual relationships between male teachers and female students as more emotionally and psychologically damaging to the student (Dollar et al 2004;Fromuth et al 2001;Horvath and Giner-Sorolla 2007) than those between female teachers and male students. Also, respondents viewed male teachers as more responsible for the genesis of the relationship and more criminal and dangerous than their female counterparts (Dollar et al 2004;Fromuth et al 2001;Smith et al 1997) (we discuss how these findings vary by respondent's gender later in the review).…”

“…Because most studies on perceptions of adult-teen sexual relationships have focused on teacher-student relationships exclusively (Dollar et al 2004;Fromuth et al 2001;Smith et al 1997), the influence of authority on perceptions is unknown. These relationships necessarily take place within a context of unequal authority (Winks 1982) and betray the trust inherent in the legitimate teacher-student relationship.…”

The role of adult expectations on the recovery of sexually abused children

“…Although criticized for their limited generalizability, these studies provide valuable insight into how child sexual abuse encounters are perceived. Within this literature, researchers have examined perceptions of sexual abuse by manipulating various characteristics of the vignette, such as the age of the victim (e.g., Maynard & Wiederman, 1997), the age of the perpetrator (e.g., Fromuth, Holt, & Parker, 2001), and the gender amalgam of the vignette (e.g., Smith, Fromuth, & Morris, 1997). For example, Maynard and Wiederman (1997) found that sexual experiences were viewed as more abusive when involving younger children (i.e., 7-yearolds versus 15-year-olds) and same-gender interactions.…”