NCJ Number
145411
Journal
Child Welfare Volume: 72 Issue: 6 Dated: (November-December 1993) Pages: 543-554
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article examines how perpetrator gender differentiation across types of child maltreatment influences the design of research on perpetrators of child abuse.
Abstract
Although a large part of the research on child abuse and neglect has focused on perpetration and perpetrator characteristics, researchers have given little attention to the influence of perpetrator gender on child abuse processes and outcomes. Recent studies show, however, that there are important differences in female and male perpetration across the three major types of child maltreatment: physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. These perpetrator-related differences could have an impact on the recognition, treatment, and prevention of child maltreatment. Research designs and sampling procedures that are insensitive to perpetrator gender inhibit valid comparisons of the differential effects of perpetrator gender across the categories of child maltreatment. Although registry-based sampling approaches hold promise for studies of the relationships between perpetrator gender and child maltreatment, other research design and sampling strategies may prove equally or more effective for perpetrator research. Appropriate research design strategies, however, will not be developed until researchers take seriously the possibility that the antecedents, processes, and outcomes of perpetration may differ across the three major types of child maltreatment. 44 references