TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - The public's knowledge about child sexual abuse influences its perceptions of prevention and associated policies
JO  - Child abuse and neglect
A1  - Fix, Rebecca L.
A1  - Newman, Alex T.
A1  - Assini-Meytin, Luciana C.
A1  - Letourneau, Elizabeth J.
SP  - e106447
EP  - e106447
VL  - 146
IS  - 
N2  - BACKGROUND: Child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention requires efforts from all members of society. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to examine factors associated with (1) perceptions of CSA as unpreventable and (2) support for policies to prevent CSA and to punish people who perpetrated CSA. We focused on the roles of knowledge and misperceptions about child sexual abuse. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: We collected survey data online from a large (N = 5068), nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. <br><br>RESULTS: Analyses revealed factors promoting perceptions of CSA as unpreventable. Support for or against policies that aim to prevent CSA or to punish perpetrators of CSA were associated with individual factors such as older age (B = 0.08, -0.13), Republican political affiliation (B = 0.10, 0.07), and misperceptions about CSA (B = 0.15, 0.06). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight malleable factors that could be targeted to collectivize calls for CSA prevention and to promote support for effective policies to prevent CSA. In particular, ensuring accurate knowledge about CSA, and collective responsibility and government efficacy specific to CSA prevention, were identified as helping shape views of CSA as preventable.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0145-2134
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106447
ID  - ref1
ER  -