Abstract
We investigated the effects of gender-based social categories (i.e., men, women, boys, and girls) on attitudes about child sexual abuse and individual differences in the use of such categories. In four experiments, we systematically varied perpetrators’ sex and victims’ sex. In three investigations, we assessed personality variables potentially related to participants’ use of these social categories. Across these four experiments, we varied perpetrator-victim relationships (teacher-student, neighbors) and victims’ ages. In experiment one, individuals had the least negative attitude about child sexual abuse involving adult female neighbors and eighth grade male neighbors. In experiment two, we replicated this effect with fifth grade victims and demonstrated that attitudes were moderated by individual differences in intolerance of ambiguity. In experiment three, we again replicated the aforementioned effect while (a) extending this finding to teacher-student relationships with eighth grade adolescent victims and (b) demonstrating the need for cognition was a moderator. In experiment four, we again replicated (a) our perpetrator sex/victim sex interactive effect and (b) need for cognition moderation while also demonstrating that these effects were applicable to fifth grade victims. Methodological limitations as well as clinical and policy implications (e.g., attenuating the underreporting incidents of child sexual abuse) are discussed.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dawn O’Connor, Bailey Rector, and Sarah Letson for their assistance in collecting portions of the data reported in this manuscript.
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Notes on contributors
Christopher Leone
Christopher Leone is a professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Florida.
LouAnne B. Hawkins
LouAnne B. Hawkins is now a project manager of advocacy in clinical training of nurses at The Arc Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida.
Melissa Bright
Melissa Bright was an assistant research scientist at the Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in early childhood studies at the University of Florida. She is now at the Institute for Child Health Policy, Department of Health Outcomes and Policy.