Citation

Broussard S, Wagner WG, Kazelskis R. J. Fam. Violence 1991; 6(3): 267-278.

Affiliation

Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, Southern Station Box 5012, 39406-5012 Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF00980533

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Written descriptions of sexual interaction between an adult and. a 15-year-old were utilized to study the impact of victim sex, perpetrator sex, respondent sex, and victim response (i.e., encouraging, passive, resisting) on labeling of child sexual abuse, perception of realistic victim behavior, and effect on the child. Results of responses collected from 180 male and 180 female undergraduate students revealed that participants tended to view the interaction of a male victim with a female perpetrator as less representative of child sexual abuse. Respondents also thought that male victims of this interactional pattern would experience less harm than would victims of other interactional types (e.g., female victim-male perpetrator). Findings are discussed with regard to their generalizability and the need for child sexual abuse education programs.