Citation

Ménard KS, Ruback RB. Law Hum. Behav. 2003; 27(4): 385-402.

Affiliation

Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, American Psychological Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12916227

Abstract

This study investigated how contextual factors affect the processing of child sexual abuse cases, from reporting to sentencing. We analyzed three types of data: (a) data compiled by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape from monthly reports by all rape crisis centers in the state; (b) data from the Pennsylvania Office of Children, Youth, and Families; and (c) sentencing data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing. Results indicated that aggregate rates of reporting, substantiation, and sentencing were affected by county levels of expenditure. In addition, reporting and substantiation were affected by county-level factors, such that rural counties, counties with a higher percentage of individuals living below the poverty level, counties with higher expenditures, and counties with a higher percentage of stranger assaults had higher rates of child sexual abuse reporting.

Language: en