A new study co-written by Ted Cross, a faculty member in the School of Social Work, indicated that child victims of sexual abuse are less likely to receive parental support when the alleged perpetrator is an adolescent rather than an adult. The study, which comprised data from four states, appeared in the October issue of Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Parents are more likely to blame or doubt a child victim of sexual abuse when the suspected perpetrator is an adolescent rather than an adult, according to a new study that examined child molestation cases in four states. The findings also suggest that, regardless of the age of the perpetrator, parental blame/doubt toward the victim significantly increases if the victim is an adolescent. Co-written by scholars at the University of Illinois and the University of New Hampshire, the study is believed to be the first to examine whether parental response differs in accordance with the age of the perpetrator. The findings are noteworthy because adolescents commit a significant number - more than a third, by one estimate - of the sex offenses against minors reported to police. Generally, adolescent offenders know their victims, exploiting family members in about 40 percent of cases. Parental support - believing the child when he or she discloses the abuse, providing emotional support and taking protective actions - is critical to victims' adjustment afterward, said Ted Cross, a professor of social work at Illinois, who co-wrote the study with Lisa M. Jones and Wendy A. Walsh, who are professors of psychology and sociology, respectively, at the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.
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