NCJ Number
209696
Journal
Acta Criminologica Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: 2005 Pages: 1-9
Date Published
2005
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study explored the prevalence of child sexual abuse myth acceptance among a sample of South African helping professionals.
Abstract
The way in which helping professionals respond to victims of child sexual abuse is critical to preventing secondary victimization. Despite the deleterious outcomes for child victims associated with secondary victimization, there have been few attempts to examine the nature and extent of the problem. Toward this end, the current study assessed the degree to which a representative probability sample of 484 South African psychologists (N=163), social workers (N=165), and medical practitioners (N=156) accepted common child sexual abuse myths. Participants completed a mailed survey in which the main dependent measure was the Child Sexual Abuse Myth Scale. Results of statistical analyses indicated that over 90 percent of participants across all three professions expressed some degree of myth acceptance. Males reported greater myth acceptance than females after controlling for age and professional experience. There was also a significant main effect for profession, with medical practitioners reporting the highest levels of myth acceptance, psychologists reporting the lowest, and social workers falling between the two extreme scores for myth acceptance. Future research should attempt to replicate these findings among professionals from other regions. Bibliography