Child Abuse in the Eyes of the Beholder: Lay Perceptions of Child Sexual and Physical Abuse

• NCJ Number: 218763
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 31 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 375-391
• Author(s): Brian H. Bornstein; Debra L. Kaplan; Andrea R. Perry
• Date Published: April 2007
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study explored the effects of various victim and perpetrator characteristics on university students’ and non-students’ perceptions of different types of child abuse.

Abstract

Results indicated that participants’ perceptions of abuse were impacted by all of the manipulated variables and the participant’s gender. Specifically, sexual abuse was considered more traumatic and severe if perpetrated by a parent rather than a babysitter. Homosexual abuse was rated as more traumatic and repressible than heterosexual abuse. Male participants were more impacted in their perceptions of abuse based on the gender of the perpetrator and the abuse type than were female participants. Female participants perceived the abuse as more severe and more likely to reoccur, and they were more believing of abuse victims than their male counterparts. The abuse of females was considered more severe and traumatic by both male and female participants and abuse perpetrated by a male was also perceived as more traumatic, severe, and repressible than abuse perpetrated by a female. The findings have implications for practice because it is possible that a clinician’s own beliefs about how severe, traumatic, or repressible different types of abuse are can influence the course of treatment. Future research should continue to shed light on stereotypes and expectations about child abuse. Participants were 199 university students and non-student adults who were recruited from a large midwestern university. Each student participant was asked to recruit one non-student adult into the study. Participants evaluated 24 vignettes/scenarios that described abusive interactions between children and adults. Four variables were manipulated in these vignettes: (1) victim’s gender; (2) perpetrator’s gender; (3) type of abuse (physical, mild sexual, and severe sexual); and (4) perpetrator’s relationship to the victim (parent or babysitter). Participants were asked to rate each vignette of several dimensions: (1) degree of trauma and severity; (2) likelihood of general occurrence and reoccurrence; (3) victim believability; and (4) “repressibility” of the event. Table, figures, references