“My daughter is not like that”: A qualitative study of parental perception on child sexual abuse risk

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore parental beliefs on the risk of CSA, specifically victim- and perpetrator-specific risk of child sexual abuse to their children, as well as parents' approaches to protecting their children. Data were collected from 22 parents during focus group interviews (n=6) combined with activity-oriented questions. Based on data, four perpetrator and two victim-specific risk profiles were created. When parents find similarities between their children and perceived victims or perpetrators, it triggers the defensive othering effect, which acts as a subconscious protection mechanism, yet often creates inaccurate risk assessment and false confidence. The findings also tender that most parents do not teach their children the necessary skills related to CSA since they determine the risk to be low. This study adds to our understanding of CSA-related risk perception and prevention approaches, offering a conceptual addition to the defensive attribution theory. Further investigation is needed on the impacts of the cognitive processes and psychological protection mechanisms in relation to CSA risk assessment. The data from this study will be useful in developing CSA prevention programs and materials.

Exploring Parental Perspectives on Online Sexual Risks and Harm

“…Interestingly, parents seem to explain the presence of a risk with two factors -parenting (or, more accurately -the lack of it) and specific child-related characteristics (e.g., attention-seeking or risk-taking behaviors). This finding aligns with previous studies that have found similar links between parental perceptions of sexual abuse risk (Collins 1995, Eelmaa 2021. Likewise, Byrne and others (2014) found that parents tend to think that their children are smarter than others while online, which in turn contributes to the increasing likelihood of underestimating some risky online behaviors.…”

“…In accordance with prior studies, the data indicated that regardless of being aware of different OSRs, parents tend to believe that their children are less likely to encounter such risks (Byrne et al 2014, Eelmaa 2021, Sukk and Soo 2018, Symons 2017. Interestingly, parents seem to explain the presence of a risk with two factors -parenting (or, more accurately -the lack of it) and specific child-related characteristics (e.g., attention-seeking or risk-taking behaviors).…”

“…When discussing parental prevention efforts, prior studies have revealed that parents tend to judge child sexual abuse as a low risk to their children (Chen and Chen 2005, Collins 1995, Collins 1996, Finkelhor 1984 and, due to such beliefs, do not engage in CSA prevention activities or discussion with their children (Collins 1995, Eelmaa 2021. Besides the reluctance to discuss the matter with their children due to low-risk assessment (Collins 1996), some parents have insufficient knowledge or lack confidence (Walsh et al 2012), and some fear that discussion about CSA would cause children to know too much about sex (Chen et al 2007).…”

“…The current study builds on a previous study (Eelmaa 2021), where the author explored parental beliefs on the risk of child sexual abuse. As the data from that study revealed clear and distinctive patterns in the parental conceptualization of offline sexual risks compared to OSRs, that finding warrants further investigation.…”

Parental Rape Myth Acceptance: Contributing Factors and Their Influence on Parental Communication

“…A considerable body of research is yet to be done on the influence of parents on rape myth acceptance, especially in the Indian setting. Despite the fact that previous studies have examined the concept of rape myth acceptance and its effects on diverse demographic groups (Das & Bhattacharjee, 2022) and cultural settings, parental viewpoints on child sexual abuse (Eelmaa, 2021), less research has been done on the precise relationship between parental beliefs, attitudes and the acceptance of rape myths. Nevertheless, this research is crucial because it addresses a significant gap in our understanding of how the acceptance of rape myths contributes to parents' beliefs and attitudes.…”