ERIC Number: EJ919622
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1053-8712
EISSN: N/A
Undergraduate Students' Attributions of Depicted Adult-Adolescent and Adolescent-Adolescent Sexual Interactions
Sherrill, Andrew; Renk, Kimberly; Sims, Valerie K.; Culp, Anne
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, v20 n2 p157-181 2011
The grayest areas of defining child sexual abuse appear to involve the age and sex of the individuals involved, resulting in a potential for different attributions regarding child sexual abuse across individuals. As a result, this study examines the responses of 262 male and female college student participants after viewing a series of hypothetical sexual abuse vignettes that depicted a 15-year-old victim that neither resisted nor encouraged the advances of a 15-, 25-, or 35-year-old perpetrator's actions. Gender roles and sexual attitudes were examined as potentially important covariates. Using a series of analyses of covariance, female participants gave more pro-victim ratings than male participants, and younger perpetrators were viewed less negatively than older perpetrators. Gender roles and sexual attitudes served as significant covariates. These findings emphasized the need to educate individuals about child sexual abuse and unwanted sexual contact involving individuals under the age of consent. (Contains 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, Sexuality, Victims of Crime, Adolescents, Age Differences, Attitude Measures, Student Attitudes, Vignettes, Gender Differences, Sex Role, Females, Gender Bias, Contraception, Interpersonal Communication
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A