Elsevier

Child Abuse & Neglect

Volume 17, Issue 2, March–April 1993, Pages 249-260
Child Abuse & Neglect

Child provocativeness and gender as factors contributing to the blaming of victims of physical child abuse

https://doi.org/10.1016/0145-2134(93)90044-6Get rights and content

Abstract

This study was an investigation of factors contributing to blame attributions directed toward victims of physical child abuse. The total sample consisted of 897 college undergraduates. Subjects read eight vignettes describing physically abusive parent-child interactions, and indicated their attributions of responsibility toward parent and child. We predicted that: (a) aggressively provocative children (compared to nonprovocative) would be ascribed greater blame; (b) male subjects would be more likely to blame the child; (c) in situations in which the abusive parent is male (compared to female), the child would be blamed more; and (d) male children (compared to females) would receive greater blame. The results supported all hypotheses. The data also suggested several interaction effects. Significance tests were supplemented with effect size analyses.

Résumé

Cette étude a analysé; les facteurs qui contribuent à attribuer la responsabilité de l'abus physique à l'enfant qui en est la victime. L'échantillon a comporté 897 étudiants préparant la licence. Les sujets ont lu 8 vignettes décrivant des interactions parents-enfants physiquement maltraités et ont attribué la responsabilité au parent ou à l'enfant. Nous avions prédit que: (a) les enfants provocants et aggressifs seraient considérés plus fréquemment comme fautifs que les enfants non provocants; (b) que les sujets masculins seeraient plus enclin à blâmer l'enfant; (c) que les enfants seraient plus blâmés dans les situations ou l'abuseur est de sexe masculin (par rapport à féminin); (d) que les enfants de sexe masculin seraient plus blâmés que les enfants de sexe féminin. Les résultats ont confirmé toutes les hypothèses. Les résultats suggèrent aussi plusieurs effets d'interactions. Les tests de signigication ont ete renforces par une analyse d'effet de taille.

Resumen

Este estudio fue una investagación de los factores que contribuyen a culpar los atributos dirigidos hacia las víctimas de abuso fisico contra los niños. La muestra total consistio en 897 estudiantes unversitarios. Los sujetos leían 8 “vignettes” describiendo interacciones padre/madre-hijo fisicamente abusivas, e indicando sus atributos de responsibilidad hacia el/la padre/madre y el niño(a). Nuestras predicciones fueron que: (a) a los niños agresivamente provocativos (en comparación con los non-provoocativos) se les adjudicaría mayor;(b) los sujetos varones tendrían más inclinición ha culpar al niño(a); (c) en las situaciones en que el padre abusivo es hombre (en comparación con la mujer), el niño(a) sería más culpado; y (d) los niños varones (en camparación con las niñas), recibirían mayor culpa. Los resultados apoyan todas las hipótesis. Los datos también sugirierón varios efectos de interacción. Las pruebas de significación fueron complementadas con análisis sobre el efecto del tamaño.

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      There are at least five studies investigating gender differences in adults’ reactions to other forms of child abuse. Muller, Caldwell, and Hunter (1993) found that men were more likely than women to blame a child for the child's own physical abuse. Dukes and Kean (1989) found that women undergraduates rated vignettes depicting child psychological abuse, physical abuse, and neglect as more abusive than did men undergraduates.

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    This research was funded by fellowships granted to the first author. We wish to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for their support (grants #452-89-0451 and 452-90-0226).

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