Influence of Gender Roles on Perceptions of Teacher/Adolescent Student Sexual Relations

Dollar, Katherine M.; Perry, Andrea; Fromuth, Mary Ellen; Holt, Aimee R.

doi:10.1023/b:sers.0000011075.91908.98

Cited by 41 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The present study extends previous findings by addressing laypersons' (including students' and non-students') perceptions of abuse as a function of the gender of the victim, gender of the perpetrator, the relationship between victim and perpetrator, and the type/severity of abuse. Previous research (e.g., Dollar et al, 2004) focusing on perceptions of abuse has held the type of abuse and relationship between victim and perpetrator constant. Given that the actual incidence of abuse varies widely in terms of these characteristics, we sought to fill this gap in the literature by experimentally manipulating the factors of abuse type (i.e., mild sexual, severe sexual, or physical) and relationship (i.e., parent or babysitter).…”

Section: Aims and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Relationship: Numerous studies have examined perceptions of abuse committed by a non-family member, such as a teacher (e.g., Dollar et al, 2004;Smith, Fromuth, & Morris, 1997) or a neighbor (e.g., Back & Lips, 1998). Because the impact of CSA increases the closer the relationship is between perpetrator and victim (Kendall-Tackett et al, 1993), as does the probability that it will not be recalled (Williams, 1994), the current study varied the relationship in order to compare the perceived impact of abuse committed by a family member (parent) to abuse by a non-family member (babysitter).…”

Section: Type Of Abusementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Bornstein and Muller, in a mock jury study, found that an alleged sexual abuse victim's testimony of repressed/recovered memory was less credible and was associated with lower perceptions of the defendant's culpability than a condition in which the victim had remembered the abuse all along, but only in instances of heterosexual abuse; the victim's testimony exerted no effect in instances of homosexual abuse. If homosexual abuse is indeed perceived as more harmful to the victim (e.g., Dollar et al, 2004;Maynard & Wiederman, 1997), then it follows that mock jurors would view such events as more "repressible." For physical abuse, although gender did not appear to have a substantial impact in the Dukes and Kean (1989) study, the authors found that physical abuse was perceived as being the most abusive (in comparison to psychological abuse and neglect), yet was rated as less likely to be reported than neglect.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers also have reported that perceptions of child sexual abuse (CSA) vary according to characteristics of the case (Broussard, Wagner, & Kazelskis, 1991;Dollar, Perry, Fromuth, & Holt, 2004). For example, Broussard et al, in a study examining college students' perceptions of out-of-court cases of sexual abuse, asked participants to evaluate sexual abuse vignettes, which varied by perpetrator gender, victim gender, and victim response (encouraging, passive, or resisting), in terms of the extent to which they represented CSA.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

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

Bornstein¹,

Kaplan²,

Perry³

2007

Child Abuse & Neglect

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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.

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Section: Aims and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Type Of Abusementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

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

Bornstein¹,

Kaplan²,

Perry³

2007

Child Abuse & Neglect

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Conversely, women tended to view the scenarios more negatively, as evidenced by elevated ratings of teacher responsibility and years of incarceration warranted. When extending this research to include cross-and same-gender dyads, Dollar, Perry, Fromuth, and Holt (2004) found, for example, that same-gender scenarios were more likely to elicit perceptions of sexual harm than cross-gender scenarios. When assessing for the "normalcy" of the experience (e.g., "Student will brag to friends") and potential psychological ramifi cations (e.g., "Student will be very upset"), the male teacher/male student dyad was consistently rated as the most damaging, whereas the female teacher/male student scenario was rated as the least aversive.…”

Section: Perceptions Of Child Sexual Abusementioning

confidence: 99%

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

Kouyoumdjian

Perry

Hansen

2005

Aggression and Violent Behavior

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Child sexual abuse is a disturbingly prevalent problem that has continued to receive increased attention in the United States. Because there is substantial variability in how sexual abuse impacts children, it is important to examine potential mediating variables, including the ways in which child and family factors contribute to children's recovery. One of the most extensively researched family variables has been parental support, and this research has demonstrated a positive relationship between parental support and children's functioning following sexual abuse. Another family variable that likely infl uences parent-child interactions and children's recovery is parental expectations. Although adults' expectations about children who are disadvantaged, gifted, or from varying family structures have been shown to infl uence children's functioning, research has only begun to examine the impact of adults' expectations on children's adjustment from sexual abuse. In light of the consistent fi nding that adults, including parents, teachers, and professionals, appear to hold negative expectations about the outcomes of sexually abused children, it is important to systematically investigate the relationship between parental expectancies and children's recovery from sexual abuse. Recommendations for future research and intervention are provided in an eff ort to better understand the role of adult expectations on the recovery of sexually abused children.

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