Abstract
ABSTRACT Child sexual abuse myths legitimize abusive behaviors, involving high levels of victim blame and low levels of offender liability. The present study aims to: (i) adapt a measure of endorsement of child sexual abuse myths to the Portuguese context (i.e., Child Sexual Abuse Myth Scale – CSAMS); and (ii) provide validity and reliability evidence for this measure. A total of 423 adults (66.2% female) filled out a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, and the CSAMS. The CSAMS validity and reliability results supported the original structure, which comprises three dimensions: Blame Diffusion (e.g., ‘Adolescent girls who wear very revealing clothing are asking to be sexually abused’), Restrictive Stereotypes (e.g., ‘Most children are sexually abused by strangers or by men who are not well known to the child’), and Denial of Abusiveness (e.g., ‘Older children, who have a better understanding of sexual matters, have a responsibility to actively resist sexual advances by adults’). Configural and metric invariance by sex were held, and criterion validity was observed through significant associations between myths, sexism and sex. This study provided evidence in support of the validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of the Child Sexual Abuse Myth Scale.
Highlights
Previous research has consistently shown that sexual abuse myth acceptance legitimizes sexual violence (Yapp & Quayle, 2018), which may negatively affect both the judicial decision-making process (Dinos, Burrowes, Hammond, & Cunliffe, 2014; Grubb & Turner, 2012) and the victim's well-being (Greeson, Campbell & Fehler‐Cabral, 2016)
With regard to Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), negative effects have been reported on social, psychological, and sexual individual functioning (Sanjeevi, Houlihan, Bergstrom, Langley & Judkins, 2018), and there is a need to prevent secondary victimization that might occur through the endorsement and dissemination of myths
To address the need for reliable and valid measures in this focal topic, the present study aims to provide psychometric evidence of the Child Sexual Abuse Myth Scale (Collings, 1997), on construct and criterion-related validity and reliability in the Portuguese context
Summary
Previous research has consistently shown that sexual abuse myth acceptance legitimizes sexual violence (Yapp & Quayle, 2018), which may negatively affect both the judicial decision-making process (Dinos, Burrowes, Hammond, & Cunliffe, 2014; Grubb & Turner, 2012) and the victim's well-being (Greeson, Campbell & Fehler‐Cabral, 2016). Previous research has consistently shown that sexual abuse myth acceptance legitimizes sexual violence (Yapp & Quayle, 2018), which may negatively affect both the judicial decision-making process (Dinos, Burrowes, Hammond, & Cunliffe, 2014; Grubb & Turner, 2012) and the victim's well-being Rape myth acceptance tends to be associated with lower perceived defendant liability and higher victim blame, especially when the relationship between the victim and the defendant is closer With regard to Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), negative effects have been reported on social, psychological, and sexual individual functioning (Sanjeevi, Houlihan, Bergstrom, Langley & Judkins, 2018), and there is a need to prevent secondary victimization that might occur through the endorsement and dissemination of myths. Teachers often consider that CSA necessary involves violent behaviors and hold stereotypes about offenders (e.g., people who have mental disorders; Márquez-Flores et al, 2016)
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