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An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime
Published on: May 3, 2016
Do parents blame or doubt their child more when sexually abused by adolescents versus adults?
Wendy A Walsh1, Theodore P Cross, Lisa M Jones
1University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA. Wendy.walsh@unh.edu
Abstract:
Although the importance of parental support for child sexual abuse victims is well documented, the nature of parental support for victims sexually abused by adolescents is less understood. In this exploratory study, we examine whether parents differ in their levels of blame or doubt for their child when sexually abused by adolescents versus adults. Data included 161 reports of child sexual abuse. Parental blame toward their child was higher when sexually abused by an adolescent versus an adult suspect. In the bivariate and multivariate analysis, parental blame was significantly higher as victim age increased, for Black, non-Hispanic children, and when there was an adolescent suspect. Practitioners need to recognize that high levels of blame and doubt could exist for adolescent victims of sexual abuse and when children are sexually abused by adolescents.
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