Attributions in a hypothetical child sexual abuse case: Roles of abuse type, family response and respondent gender

Lisa Graham, Paul Rogers, Michelle Davies

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The present study examines the impact abuse type, family response, and respondent gender have on attributions of blame in a hypothetical child sexual abuse (CSA) case. Three hundred and ninety three respondents read a hypothetical CSA scenario describing the sexual assault of a 14 year old girl by a 25-year-old man and completed 14 attribution items. Overall, the assault was deemed more serious, the perpetrator more culpable, and the family less culpable when CSA involved (vaginal) penetration. Contrary to expectations, respondents were more negative towards a family who denied the abuse took place versus one which blamed or supported the victim. Finally, male respondents deemed the abuse to be less serious, were more negative towards the victim and their families, and more positive towards perpetrators than were female respondents. The role these factors play in CSA attributions, together with ideas for future research, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)733-745
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Family Violence
Volume22
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Aug 2007

Keywords

  • attributions
  • hypothetical child sexual abuse
  • abuse type
  • family response
  • respondent gender
  • Attribution
  • Child Abuse
  • Family
  • Human Sex Differences
  • Sexual Abuse

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