RE: explaining a finding

[PCAWSON@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

The explanation could also lie at least partly in the characteristics of
abusers. Some research on convicted sex offenders in Scotland has
indicated that men who abuse unrelated children tended to  be more
likely to have had abusive childhoods and other serious social or mental
health problems themselves, so they may be perhaps more likely to be in
socially excluded situations where they have or seek access to
vulnerable children in institutions or  on the streets etc, who are more
likely to be boys. Men who abused children in their family were more
likely to have had apparently normal backgrounds in the Scottish study.
This is  a similar profile to that of men who rape adult women. The
implication of this (or at least a hypothesis that could be developed)is
that family abuse may be more likely to be seen as  'normal' by some
abusers who regard female children in their family as their legitimate
sexual property, a kind of 'droit de seigneur'. Some North American
research on convicted offenders also suggest that men who abuse boys are
more likely to have multiple victims than those who abuse girls,
sometimes running into very large numbers,  so that could contribute to
boys' greater representation in extra-family abuse. 

The study of offenders in Scotland is:
Waterhouse, Lorraine, and Dobash, Russell P., and Carnie, James Scottish
Office. Social Work Services Group;Scottish Office. Central Research
Unit (1994) Child sexual abusers. Edinburgh, Scottish Office. Central
Research Unit. 


I don't know how far this has been replicated or even followed up
elsewhere,

I can't find the reference to the multiple victims at the moment, will
send it on when I locate it

Dr Pat Cawson
Head of Child Protection Research
NSPCC
Weston House
42 Curtain Rd
London EC2A  3NH

020 7825 2648/2751
Fax 020 7825 2762
email pcawson@nspcc.org.uk

For information on our research programme and research findings visit
the Research Dept pages on
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/inform/Research/Home.asp


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu
[mailto:owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu] On Behalf Of
Natalie Powers
Sent: 21 February 2004 01:45
To: Child Maltreatment Researchers
Subject: RE: explaining a finding


You might also check out Bancroft and Silverman's book, "Parents as
Batterers:  Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family
Dynamics" 2002. (Sage series on Violence against Women) They site
several studies regarding the higher incidence of incest in homes where
mothers are being battered. Incest is highly correlated in homes where
domestic violence is an issue. They also compare and contrast profiles
of perpetrators of pedophilia vs. incest.  Pedophiles typically have
100+ victims in a lifetime, usually boys.  Incest perpetrators target
girls and may only have1-2 victims. 
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu
[mailto:owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu] On Behalf Of
Sheri oz
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2004 12:47 PM
To: Child Maltreatment Researchers
Subject: Re: explaining a finding

Shelley, I'll venture a response - could it be in part because boys are
given more free rein to wander around outside the home unsupervised than
are most girls?

> In the study cited below, Finkelhor et al. (1990) found that "Boys
> were
more likely to be abused by strangers (40% vs. 21% for women), whereas
girls were more likely to be abused by family members (29% vs. 11%)."
(p. 21). What are the plausible explanations for this finding?
>
> Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I. A., & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual
abuse in a national survey of adult men and women: Prevalence,
characteristics, and risk factors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14, 19-28.
>