Citation

Fuselier DA, Durham RL, Wurtele SK. Sex. Abuse 2002; 14(3): 271-280.

Affiliation

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, PO Box 7150, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80907-7150, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12087687

Abstract

College students and members of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) were compared as to their beliefs and attitudes concerning perpetrators of child sexual abuse. Analyses of a 44-item inventory (assessing beliefs about an abuser's demographics and attitudes concerning an abuser's cognitions and behaviors) indicated that the groups differed on perceived demographic descriptors (e.g., students believed perpetrators to be older when they first begin offending, more educated, and more likely to be gay than the professionals) and behaviors (e.g., students believed that the perpetrator was more likely to use force to gain the child's compliance). In addition, 2 subscales (Cognitive Distortions and Perceived Social Functioning) were identified. Compared to professionals, students were less likely to believe perpetrators use cognitive distortions and were more likely to believe perpetrators function at a lower interpersonal level. Results are discussed in terms of the efforts to educate the public about the characteristics of child sexual abusers.

Language: en