(‘hh,ld..thuw& Ne,q/rcf. Vol. 14. pp. 365-373. Printed ,n the U.S.A. All rights reserved.
CHILD
0145-2134/90$3.00+.00 Copyright 0 1990 Pergamon Press pk
1990
ABUSE
BY ADOLESCENT LESLIE
Assistant
Professor,
Department
Associate
Professor
and Director,
MARGOLIN
of Home Economics,
JOHN
CAREGIVERS
The University
of Iowa
L. CRAFT
School of Social Work Research
Center, The University
of Iowa
Abstract-The purpose of this analysis was to estimate the frequency and severity of child abuse committed by adolescents who were in nonparental caregiving roles. The sample was composed of cases in which either physical or sexual abuse was substantiated through child welfare investigation. The main comparisons were between adolescent and adult caregivers. While caregiver age did not appear to have a consistent effect on the occurrence of physical abuse, notable differences between adolescents and adults were found in the area of sexual abuse. Not only were adolescents observed to commit substantially more sexual abuse than older caregiver cohorts, but the sexual abuse they committed was more likely to involve intercourse and physical assault. These findings have implications for future research and practice. Ker M’ords-Adolescent
babysitters,
Child abuse, Sexual abuse, Child care.
INTRODUCTION TRADITIONALLY, THE CONTRIBUTIONS of adolescent babysitters have been seen in a very positive light (Watson, Switzer, & Hirschberg, 197 1). In fact, Vondura (1984) recently offered several reasons why child care institutions should consider hiring adolescent caregivers to work with young children. Vondura argued that small children might find it easier to model their behavior after those who were close them them in age; youthful caregivers could provide children a rich mix of attitudes and behaviors not normally encountered in more mature child care personnel; and adolescent caregivers might themselves benefit from an opportunity to learn some of the responsibilities and joys of parenthood. Despite the optimism underlying Vondura’s recommendations and the commonness of adolescent babysitting in our society, researchers have not assessed the interactions and outcomes associated with adolescent caregiving in very great detail. Among the few studies devoted to the child care provided by adolescents, Kourany and colleagues (Kourany, Gwinn, & Martin, 1980; Kourany, Martin, & Armstrong, 1979; Kourany, Martin, & LaBarbera, 1980) found that a sizable proportion ofthe 485 high school students they surveyed felt themselves to be poorly prepared for the task of taking care of a small child. Almost half of those who had babysitting experience admitted to having angry feelings at the children in their care. A third admitted to spanking them, 13% felt “they lost control of the situation to the extent they had to call for help,” and 8% said they had “fear attacks for not knowing what to do.” Received
for publication
June 5, 1989: final revision received October
Reprint requests to Leslie Margolin. Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa 52242.
Ph.D., Assistant
Professor, 365
IO, 1989; accepted
Department
October
of Home Economics,
28, 1989. The University
of
Oh6
Leslie Mar&n
and John L. Craft
Kourany, et al. (1979) provided two case examples of adolescents who sexually abused the children they were taking care of, and Martin and Kourany (1980) described two cases of physical abuse by adolescents. One of the questions Martin and Kourany ( 1980) raised was whether child abuse by adolescent caregivers is a common occurrence. A related question particularly relevant to parents and administrators who must hire permanent and temporary child care personnel, is whether children are at greater risk of abuse when placed with adolescents than when they are placed with adults. While the literature on physical and sexual violence has long noted the overrepresentation of perpetrators who were between I5 and 24 years of age (Amir, 197 1: Dube & Herbert, f 988; Eisenhower, 1969; Katz & Mazur, 1979; Katzenback, 1976; MacDonald, 197 1; Russell, 1986), and several recent studies have focused on the child sexual abuse committed by adolescents (see Ryan, 1986, for a detailed review), most of these studies have not assessed the connection between adolescents’ caregiving activity and their violent conduct. The adolescents assessed in this study were all in caregiving roles when the violence occurred. The purpose of the analysis was to estimate whether caregiver age affected the frequency and severity of substantiated abuse. The main comparisons were between adolesceut and adult caregivers. The paper begins with a review of the literature relevant to the general issue of caregiver age and child abuse.
PRIOR
LITERATURE
5evelopmental investigators have consistently found that people’s caregiving skills improve as they get older (Zarbatany, Ha~mann, & Geffand, 1985). Several cognitive and cultural processes can be invoked to explain this developmental progression. As people age, they become increasingly sensitive to the norms and responsibilities associated with taking care of those who are dependent on them (Berkowitz & Daniel& 1963: Staub. 1972). Not only do empathic sensitivity and the ability to assume the perspective of others increase with age (Hoffman. 1975; Kurdek & Rodgon, 1975) but also moral reasoning becomes more sophisticated, and the capacity to defer gratification grows stronger (Staub, 1979). These, and similar processes, explain why Rogozin, Basham, Crnic, Greenberg, and Robinson ( 1982) found that maternal age was positively correlated with parental satisfaction, greater time commitment to parenting, and more positive parent-child interactions. For Erikson ( 1950, 1968) chronological age is closely associated with social-emotional maturity, and social-emotiona matu~ty, in turn, is assumed to be the most impo~ant requisite for successful caregiving. Erikson reasoned that mature individuals are more likely to have a stable sense of who they are, to have clearly defined personal goals, and to possess cohesive values regarding relationships. Because such individuals feel relatively comfortable with themselves, they are more likely to feel at ease assuming responsibility for another person. On the other hand, adolescents are more likely to be struggling to form an integrated, cohesive identity, and therefore can be expected to be more self-involved, less confident, and less capable of managing their emotions than comparable adults. These differences have implications for the quality of care which children receive. In particular, a caregiver’s lack of social-emotional maturity has been given a great deal of attention as a cause of physical abuse. Some of the most widely cited studies in the area of physical abuse have noted the over-representation of caregivers who were “immature” (Gil, 1970: Oates, 1979; Shorkey, 1978) lacked a clear sense of who they were (Blumberg, 1974; Steele & Poflack, 1968). had unresolved emotional needs (Zalba, 1967; Heifer, 1973) low selfesteem (Helfer, 1973; Steele & Poilack, 1968), and were emotionally dependent (Melnick & Hurley, 1969).
Abuseby adolescentcaregivers
361
Among studies dealing with child sexual abuse, investigators have often explained pedophiles’ orientation to children on the basis of their “arrested psychosocial development” (e.g., Groth & Birnbaum, 1978; Groth, Hobson, & Gary, 1982; Hammer & Glueck, 1957; Peters, 1976; Russell, 1984; Summit & Kryso, 1978). Their position is that pedophiles may feel more comfortable with children than with adults because they think like children and are interested in the same things as children. A related idea is that the feelings of personal inadequacy and powerlessness which are characteristic of emotionally immature individuals may promote sexual aggression as a compensatory mechanism. In the words ofGroth ( 1979), “Sexual domination is their desperate attempt to establish control in the face of overwhelming powerlessness” (p. 122). From this perspective, the kinds of doubts adolescents typically have concerning their personal competency may increase the likelihood that sexual aggression will occur. Overall, the relative strength of adolescents’ libido, coupled with the relative weakness of their judgment and self-control, provide a theoretical basis for the hypothesis that adolescent caregivers place children at greater risk than older caregivers (Martin & Kourany, 1980). This hypothesis is explored in a sample of child abuse cases substantiated through child welfare investigation.
METHOD Sample According to the Iowa Child Abuse Registry, there were 6,005 cases of physical abuse and 2,372 cases of sexual abuse substantiated during 1985 and 1986. In 1,132 cases of physical abuse and 1,3 15 cases of sexual abuse the caregivers were nonparents. Data concerning the age of the nonparental caregivers were available for 35% of the cases of physical abuse (n = 397) and for 58% of the cases of sexual abuse (n = 768), leaving a final sample of 1,165 caregivers. Physical abusers were mostly male (7 1%) and had a mean age of 27.7 years. An even larger proportion of sexual abusers were male (89%); their mean age was 28.5 years. The victims of physical abuse were mostly male (57%) and had an average age of 7.3 years. In contrast, the victims of sexual abuse were predominantly female (73%) and were approximately one year older, averaging 8.4 years. Family members (siblings, grandparents, and other relatives) were the perpetrators in 441 (38%) of the cases. In the remaining 624 (62%), the caregivers were nonrelatives: babysitters, the parent’s boyfriend or girlfriend, and institutional staff. More than 98% of all the abusive incidents occurred in the context of a private home. Only 20 (1.7%) of the abusive incidents were committed by institutional staff. Approximately 9 1% of the perpetrators and children were white. The largest proportion of cases came to the attention of the Iowa Department of Human Services from parents (2 l%), followed by social workers (15%), school personnel ( 13%), and police ( 11%). Measures Nonparental caregivers included siblings (n = 161), grandparents (n = 75), other relatives (n = 205), the parent’s boy/girlfriend (n = 202), babysitters (n = 366), and institutional staff from state institutions (n = 2), private institutions (n = 1 l), day care centers (n = 2), and registered day care homes (n = 5). Family relationship was used as a dummy variable which discriminated between caregivers who were in the child’s family and those who were not. Age was utilized as a categorical variable with separate categories for those who were 1 l19,20-29, 30-39,40-49, 50-59, and 60 and over. The term “adolescent caregiver” was opera-
368
Leslie Margolin
and John L. Craft
Table 1. Severity of Physical Abuse by Age of Nonparental
Caregiver
Age of Caretaker
Severity
SD
Cases
II-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 so-59 60+
2.96 3.18 2.81 2.32 3.70 2.92
2.33 2.18 1.54 .71 4.08 1.68
100 (25%) 158 (40%) 80 (20%) 37 (9%) 10 (3%) 12(3%)
Note Q-= 5. 391, F=
1.3856,~
= .2287.
tionalized to refer to nonrelated babysitters, siblings, and other nonparental relatives who were responsible for children and were older than 1 I but younger than 20 years. Utilizing child abuse severity scales introduced by Margolin and Craft (1989) severity of physical abuse was coded as follows: inappropriate physical behavior which did not cause overt injury to the child was given a 1; bruises were given a 2; lacerations, abrasions, or welts were given a 3; dislocations or bone fractures were given a 4; scalds, burns, or hypothermia were given a 5; severe injuries to the head (resulting in subdural hematoma, brain damage, skull fracture, or eye injury) were given a 6; and fatalities were given a 6. The following codes were used to assess the severity of sexual abuse: sexual exhibitionism was coded as a 1; nonviolent sexual abuse without intercourse was coded as a 2; intercourse (oral, anal, or vaginal) which took place without physical threats or overt injury was coded as a 3; intercourse preceded by threats was coded as a 4; sexual aggression without intercourse resulting in severe physical injury was given a 5; and sexual intercourse which involved severe physical injury was given a 6. These scales were validated by demonstrating a significant relationship between severity and legal responses to the perpetrator of the abuse. The study showed that the more severe the abuse was (i.e., the higher the numerical code assigned each form of abuse), the greater was the likelihood that a criminal petition was filed against the perpetrator 01 s BOO 1).
RESULTS The analysis was divided into two parts. Initially, we examined the relationship caregiver age had to both the volume and severity of reported child abuse. The fact that 7 1% of all the physical abuse and 89% of all the sexual abuse was committed by male caregivers also prompted questions concerning how gender interacted with caregiver age. Did age affect the severity of male caregiver’s abuse differently than the severity of female caregivers’ abuse? Did males represent a larger proportion of adolescent perpetrators than of adult perpetrators? And were adolescent perpetrators more inclined to direct their abuse toward males than adult perpetrators were? Curegiwr
Age und Child Abuse
A one-way ANOVA using age as a grouped variable revealed that the caregiver’s age was not related to severity of physical abuse (see Table 1). While caregivers who were 19 and younger accounted for a substantial volume of physical abuse (25% of the cases), the physical abuse which they committed was neither more nor less severe than that which was committed by other caregivers (e.g., the mean physical abuse severity level for all nonparental caregivers was 2.98, a figure which was almost identical to the 2.96 severity level for adolescents). Analy-
Abuse by adolescent caregivers Table 2. Severitv of Sexual Abuse bv Aee of Nonoarental
369 Careeiver
Age of Caretaker
Severity
SD
Cases
I I-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+
3.73 3.44 3.30 3.26 3.33 2.99
1.53 1.41
335 (44%) I5 1 (20%) 129(17%) 35 (5%) 45 (6%) 73(10%)
1.43 1.38 1.62 1.55
Note. d/‘= 5. 762. F = 4.2 130, p = .0009.
sis of variance did not reveal that either family relationship or the gender of the offender were significantly associated with severity of physical abuse. As expected, age of caregiver was significantly related to severity of sexual abuse (df = 5, 762, F = 4.2 13, p = .0009). Table 2 indicates that when caregivers from each age category were compared, adolescents were the most severely abusive nonparental caregivers. Moreover, chisquare analysis showed that adolescents represented a significantly higher proportion of those who committed sexual abuse than of those who committed physical abuse (df= 1, chi-square = 37.6, p S .OOO1). Not only did adolescents account for 44% of all cases of child sexual abuse among nonparental caregivers, a percentage which was more than twice that of any other caregiver cohort, but judging by adolescents’ mean on the sexual severity scale, the sexual abuse they committed was more likely to involve threats, physical injury, and intercourse than was true of older caregivers. Neither family relationship nor the gender of the offender were found to be significantly associated with severity of sexual abuse in the one-way analysis of variance. Among adolescent caregivers, the youngest caregivers appeared to be the ones who were most severely physically abusive (df= 2,97, F = 8.5412, p = .0004). For example, those who were between 11 and 13 years had a mean severity score of 4.64 (n = 22, SD = 3.53), which compared to a severity score of 2.38 (n = 45, SD = 1.57) for adolescents who were between 14 and 14 years, and 2.64 (n = 33, SD = 1.66) for adolescents who were between 17 and 19 years. Although the physical abuse committed by the youngest adolescents was substantially more severe than any other caregiver age group, the small number of adolescents in this cohort (I! = 221, coupled with the relatively high standard deviation (SD = 3.53) suggest that these drtferences should be interpreted with a great deal of caution, Younger adolescents also committed the severest sexual abuse (df= 2, 332, F = 3.73, p = OZ-l2 J. However, unlike the situation which prevailed in physical abuse, in the sexual abuse cases there appeared to be very little difference between the severity of abuse committed by the youngest adolescents, those who were between 11 and 13 years, and those who were between i 4 and I5 years. For example in the 1 l-13-year-old group the mean severity score was 3 93 jy1 = 6’. SD = 1.54j and in the P4-i&year-old group the mean score was 3.87 (n = 166, SD = 1.56) The largest diEerence was between the adolescents who were 17 years and older, and adolescents who were :;ounger than 17 years. The oldest adolescents had a mean severity score of !.Z’q iy: = 102, S’D = 1 44).
Po,ssrble :nterac:ions between caregiver age and gender were assessed by pairing these variables In twis p~+o-‘.~a: ANOVAs, 3ne using severity of physical abuse as dependent variable, and the 3thtr ;ising seviriry of sexual abuse as dependent variable. This procedure was also used to assess possible interactrons between caregiver age and the child’s age, and caregiver
370
Leslie Margolin
and John L. Craft
age and family relationship. With regard to physical abuse, none of the interactions was statistically significant. Among the independent variables which were assessed, the only main effect which was significantly related to severity of physical abuse was the child’s age. The younger the child, the greater was the likelihood that severe injury resulted from the physical abuse (df = 2, 345, F = 5.876, p = .003). In the area of sexual abuse, gender of perpetrator did not have a significant effect on severity of sexual abuse, and none of the interactions was statistically significant. Contrary to what was found in the physical abuse cases, the child’s age did not appear to affect severity of sexual abuse. The only main effect on severity of sexual abuse was the caregiver’s age (df= 5,735, F = 4.209, p = .005). The second question which was raised concerning the relationship between gender and caregiver age was whether the proportion of males who abused children was any different when adults (those who were 20 years old and above) were compared with adolescents (those who were 19 years old and younger). Chi-square analysis showed that caregiver age was, in fact, correlated with caregiver gender. This was particularly apparent in the area of sexual abuse. Although 63% of the adolescent physical abusers were male, more than 73% of the adult abusers were male (JI = .07). Among sexual abusers, approximately 84% of the adolescent caregivers were male; yet more than 93% of the adult caregivers were male, a difference which was highly significant 0,s .OOO1). Finally, the question was raised as to whether caregiver age affected the selection of victims: Were adolescent caregivers more prone to direct their abuse toward males than adult caregivers were? According to chi-square analysis, age of caregiver did not make a difference in the selection of physical abuse victims, but was significantly associated with the selection of sexual abuse victims. While approximately 68% of adolescent caregivers’ victims were female, fully 77% of adult caregivers’ victims were (p = .005). This difference could be explained by the fact that a larger percentage of adult perpetrators were male, and males were generally more inclined to sexually abuse females than female perpetrators were. However, it should also be noted that among adult perpetrators, males and females directed more of their sexual abuse toward female children than adolescent perpetrators did. Male adolescents directed 7 1% of their sexual abuse toward female children; in contrast, male adults directed more than 78% of their sexual abuse toward females. The same pattern occurred among female caregivers. Female adolescents directed half of their sexual abuse toward females and half toward males, while female adults directed 57% of their sexual abuse toward females and 43% toward males. In summary, adolescent caregivers did not appear to be more severely physically abusive than adult caregivers. The single exception to this was the youngest category of perpetrator: Adolescents who were 13 years old and younger were observed to be more violent than any other age category of physical abuser. In the area of sexual abuse, however, strong and consistent differences between adolescent and adult caregivers were found. Adolescent caregivers were observed to commit more sexual abuse than older caregiver cohorts, accounting for 44% of all the sexual abuse which was observed. Moreover, the sexual abuse which was observed was more likely to involve intercourse and physical assault than that which was observed for older caregivers. Assessing the interaction of caregiver age and gender, the study found that while a higher proportion of male caregivers committed physical and sexual abuse, males’ over-representation among perpetrators was greater among adults than among adolescents. Finally, in comparison to adolescent caregivers, adults showed a greater tendency to direct their abuse toward female children than toward male children. DISCUSSION This study began by citing evidence that people’s caregiving skills improve evidence, in turn, was used to hypothesize that adolescents in nonparental
with age. This caregiver roles
Abuseby adolescentcaregivers
371
place children at greater risk than older caregivers. The finding that child welfare professionals substantiate a disproportionately large number of adolescent child abusers is consistent with this hypothesis, but should, nonetheless, be interpreted cautiously. While it is impossible to know the degree to which reporting biases influenced the representation of adolescents in this sample, the strong possibility exists that adolescents were over-represented. On the one hand, adolescents may be less able than adults to successfully deny sexual abuse. Second, official records tend to overlook the deviance of the rich and powerful while emphasizing the deviance committed by relatively powerless groups such as adolescents (Bolton, Laner, & Kane, 1980). The fact that the age of the nonparental caregivers was available for only 35% of the physical abuse cases, and for only 58% of the sexual abuse cases is a particular cause for concern. To address the problem of potential reporting bias in official records, future studies should consider developing samples of adolescent child abusers from a variety of sources. In particular, efforts should be made to utilize survey methodology. One approach would be to select parents at random and ask them about their child care utilization, specifically, who performs child care (taking particular note of caregiver age and gender) and how many hours each caregiver works. Then parents should be asked if a substitute caregiver (babysitter, friend, neighbor, relative, or group care provider) has ever harmed one of their children. A survey strategy of this kind would make it possible to estimate, first, how much child care adolescents typically perform in relation to adult caregivers and, second, whether the amount of child abuse attributed to adolescents was greater than that which was attributed to adults. Comparing the percentage of child abuse attributed to adolescent caregivers with baselines of child care usage would enable investigators to estimate whether adolescents were responsible for a share of child abuse which was greater or smaller than expected. Before definite recommendations for practice can be made, researchers also need to understand the contextual supports and stresses which influence the child abuse by adolescent caregivers. Future studies should attempt to determine whether specific types of interaction between child and adolescent caregiver precede different types of child abuse. How does the relationship between the child’s parent and adolescent caregiver affect the occurrence of abuse? Do adolescent caregivers who are angry at the child’s parent take it out on the child? To what degree do sexual assaults committed by adolescent caregivers appear planned and to what degree spontaneous? How much of the physical abuse committed adolescent caregivers is instrumental (designed to make the child behave in a particular way) and how much is expressive (utilized as a means of venting the caregiver’s negative feelings)? When the child abuse is primarily instrumental, what type of behavior is the caregiver attempting to implement or facilitate? When the child abuse is expressive, what aspect of the caregiving situation sparked the adolescent’s anger? If future studies can find ways of addressing these questions, educators and policymakers may want to explore developing programs aimed at training teenage caregivers in junior and senior high schools. This training should probably be focused on concrete situations, including those involving caregiver-child interactions which are typically stress provoking (e.g., when the child is aggressive, refuses to listen, appears unduly frightened and upset, etc.). As a further preventive measure, family life educators may need to devote more attention to teaching adolescents about the social aspects of sexuality, including topics which deal with the importance of sexual consent, and the harm caused by child abuse. Not only might such programs reduce the likelihood of child abuse by adolescent caregivers, but this type of training could be seen as a preparation for eventual parenthood. REFERENCES Amir,M. (197I). Patterns offorceuble rape. Chicago:Universityofchicago Press. Berkowitz,L., & Daniels,L. ( 1963).Responsibilityand dependency.Journal ofAbnormal 429436.
and Social Psychology, 66,
372
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and John L. Craft
M. (1974). Psychology of the abusing parent. American Journal o/Psychotherapy, 28.2 l-29. G., Laner. R. H., & Kane, S. F. (1980). Child maltreatment risk among adolescent mothers: A studv of cases. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 50,489-504. & Herbert, M. (1988). Sexual abuse by children under 12 years of age: A review of 5 I I cases. Child.4buse &Neglect, 12, 321-330. Eisenhower, M. S. (1969). To establish justice, to insuredomestictrunquilify. Final report ofthe National Commission on Causes and Prevention of Violence. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Erikson. E. H. ( 1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton. Erikson. E. H. (1968). Idenfity. youth, and crisis. New York: Norton. Gelfand. D. M., & Hartmann, D. P. (1980). The development of prosocial behavior and moral judgment. In R. Ault (Ed.), Developmentalperspecctives (pp. 216-266). Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear. Gil. D. G. ( 1970). Violence against children;Physical abuse in the United States. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Groth, N. A. (1979). Men who rape. New York: Plenum. Groth, N. A., & Birnbaum, J. (1978). Adult sexual orientation and the attraction to underage persons. Archives of Se.xual Behavior. 7, 175 I8 1. Groth, N. A., Hobson. W.. & Gary, T. (1982). The child molester: Clinical observations. In J. Conte & D. Shore (Eds.), Social work and child sexual abuse. New York: Haworth. Hammer. E. F., & Glueck. B. C. (1957). Psychodynamic patterns m sex offense: A four-factor theory. Psychiatric Blumberg, Bolton. F. reported Dube. R..
Quarter&~.3, 325-345. Helfer. R. (1973). The etiology ofchild abuse. Pediatrics, 15,779-824. Hoffman, M. L. (I 975). Developmental synthesis ofaffect and cognition and its implications for altruistic motivation. Developmental Psychology, 11.607-622. Katz. S., & Mazur, M. ( 1979). Understanding the rape victim: A synthesis of researchfindings. New York: John Wiley. Katzenbach. N. (1976). The challenge of crime in a free society. Report by the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Kourany, R. F.. Gwinn. M.. & Martin, J. E. (1980). Adolescent babysitting: A thirty year phenomenon. Adolescence, 15,939-945. Kourany. R. F., Martin, J. E., & Armstrong, S. H. (1979). Sexual experimentation by adolescents while babysitting. Adolescence, 14,284-288. Kourany, R. F.. Martin. J. E., & LaBarbera. J. D. (1980). Adolescents as babysitters. Adolescence, 15, 155-158. Kurdek. L. A., & Rodgon, M. M. (1975). Perceptual, cognitive, and affective perspective taking in kindergarten through sixth grade children. Developmenfal Psychology. 11,643-650. MacDonald, J. M. (197 I). Rape offenders and (heir vicrims. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. Margolin, L., & Craft, J. L. (I 989, Feb.) Child sexual abuse bv caretakers. Presented at the Changing Family Conference XVIII: Health Issues and Families, Iowa City, Iowa. Martin, J. E., & Kourany. R. F. C. (1980). Child abuse by adolescent babysitters. Child Abuse & Neglect, 4, 15-22. Melnick, B.. & Hurley, J. R. (1969). Distinctive personality attributesofchild-abusing mothers. JournalofConsuhing
and Clinical Psychology, 33. 746-749. Oates, M. R. ( 1979). A classification of child abuse and its relation to treatment and prognosis. Child Abuse & Neglect. 3,907-9 15. Peters, J. J. (I 976). Children who are victims of sexual assault and the psychology of offenders. American Journal of
Psychotherapy, 30, 398-4 12. Rogozin, A., Basham, R.. Crnic. K., Greenberg, M.. role. Developmental Psychology. 18,621-634. Russell, D. E. H. (I 984). Sex& exploitation. Beverly Russell. D. E. H. (1986). The secret trauma: Incest in Ryan. G. (1986). Annotated bibliography: Adolescent
& Robinson,
N. (1982).
Effects of maternal
age on parenting
Hills, CA: Sage.
the lives ofgirls and women. New York: Basic Books. perpetrators of sexual molestation of children. Child Abuse &
Neglecr, 10, 125-131. Shorkey.
C. T.
(I 978). Psychological
characteristics
of child abusers:
Speculation
and need for research.
Child Abuse
& Negle~. 2, 69-76. Staub. C. T. (1972). Instigation to goodness: The role of social norms and interpersonal influence. Journal ofSocial Issues, 28, I 3 I - 150. Staub, E. (1979).Positive social behavior and morality: Socialization and development (Vol. 2). New York: Academic Press.Steele, B. F.. & Pollack, C. D. (1968). A psychiatric study of parents who abuse infants and small children. In C. H. Kempe & R. E. Helfer (Eds.), The battered child. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Summit, R. C.. & Kryso. J. (1978). Sexual abuse ofchildren: A clinical spectrum. American Journal ofOrthop.sychia-
try. 48.237-25 I. Vondura. J. I. (1984). A consideration of caregiver age variables in day-care settings. Child Care Quanerly, 13, 102-I 13. Watson, J. W., Switzer, R. E.. & Hirschberg, J. C. (I 97 1). Myfriend, rhe babysifter. New York: Golden Press. Zalba. S. R. (1967). The abused child: A typology for classification and treatment. Social W’ork. 12, 70-79. Zarbatany, L., Hartmann, D. P., & Gelfand, D. M. (I 985). Why does children’s generosity increase with age: SuscePtibility to experimenter influence or altruism? Child Developmmf, 56,746-756.
R&n&-Le but de I’etude etait d’evaluer la frequence et la iverite des s&ices commis par des adolescents a l’egard d’enfants lorsque ces adolescents jouent le role de gardiens non parentaux. Le collectif etait constitue de cas oti le
Abuse by adolescent caregivers
373
personnel du bien-etre social de I’enfance avait pu demontrer qu’il y avait eu s&ices physiques ou sexuels. On a compare les gardiens ad&es et les gardiens adolescents. L’effet de I’age du gardien n’a pas sembli itre consistant en ce qui concerne la survenue de violences physiques. Par contre, en ce qui concerne les s&ices sexuels il y a des differences notables entre les adolescents et les adultes. Les adolescents commettent davantage de s&vices sexuels a I’egard des enfants que les gardiens plus ages; mais en plus les s&ices commis par eux se terminaient plus facilement en des relations sexuels avec penetration et agression physique. Ces observations ont des implications en ce qui concerne la pratique et la recherche. Resumen-El objet0 de esta investigation fue el estimar la frecuencia y severidad del abuso de menores cometido por adolescentes que, sin ser sus padres, cuidaban de ellos. La muestra estaba compuesta de cases comprobados de abuso fisico o sexual. Las comparaciones principales se hicieron entre 10scuidadores adolescentes y adultos. Mientras que la edad del cuidador no parecio afectar la ocurrencia del abuso tisico, se encontraron diferencias notables entre 10scuidadores adolescentes y adultos con respect0 al abuso sexual. No solo cometieron 10sadolescentes mis frecuentemente abuso sexual que 10s adultos, pero el abuso sexual que cometieron incluyo mis a menudo el acto sexual y el asalto fkico. Se comentan las implicaciones para las investigaciones y la prictica en el future.
CHILD
0145-2134/90$3.00+.00 Copyright 0 1990 Pergamon Press pk
1990
ABUSE
BY ADOLESCENT LESLIE
Assistant
Professor,
Department
Associate
Professor
and Director,
MARGOLIN
of Home Economics,
JOHN
CAREGIVERS
The University
of Iowa
L. CRAFT
School of Social Work Research
Center, The University
of Iowa
Abstract-The purpose of this analysis was to estimate the frequency and severity of child abuse committed by adolescents who were in nonparental caregiving roles. The sample was composed of cases in which either physical or sexual abuse was substantiated through child welfare investigation. The main comparisons were between adolescent and adult caregivers. While caregiver age did not appear to have a consistent effect on the occurrence of physical abuse, notable differences between adolescents and adults were found in the area of sexual abuse. Not only were adolescents observed to commit substantially more sexual abuse than older caregiver cohorts, but the sexual abuse they committed was more likely to involve intercourse and physical assault. These findings have implications for future research and practice. Ker M’ords-Adolescent
babysitters,
Child abuse, Sexual abuse, Child care.
INTRODUCTION TRADITIONALLY, THE CONTRIBUTIONS of adolescent babysitters have been seen in a very positive light (Watson, Switzer, & Hirschberg, 197 1). In fact, Vondura (1984) recently offered several reasons why child care institutions should consider hiring adolescent caregivers to work with young children. Vondura argued that small children might find it easier to model their behavior after those who were close them them in age; youthful caregivers could provide children a rich mix of attitudes and behaviors not normally encountered in more mature child care personnel; and adolescent caregivers might themselves benefit from an opportunity to learn some of the responsibilities and joys of parenthood. Despite the optimism underlying Vondura’s recommendations and the commonness of adolescent babysitting in our society, researchers have not assessed the interactions and outcomes associated with adolescent caregiving in very great detail. Among the few studies devoted to the child care provided by adolescents, Kourany and colleagues (Kourany, Gwinn, & Martin, 1980; Kourany, Martin, & Armstrong, 1979; Kourany, Martin, & LaBarbera, 1980) found that a sizable proportion ofthe 485 high school students they surveyed felt themselves to be poorly prepared for the task of taking care of a small child. Almost half of those who had babysitting experience admitted to having angry feelings at the children in their care. A third admitted to spanking them, 13% felt “they lost control of the situation to the extent they had to call for help,” and 8% said they had “fear attacks for not knowing what to do.” Received
for publication
June 5, 1989: final revision received October
Reprint requests to Leslie Margolin. Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa 52242.
Ph.D., Assistant
Professor, 365
IO, 1989; accepted
Department
October
of Home Economics,
28, 1989. The University
of
Oh6
Leslie Mar&n
and John L. Craft
Kourany, et al. (1979) provided two case examples of adolescents who sexually abused the children they were taking care of, and Martin and Kourany (1980) described two cases of physical abuse by adolescents. One of the questions Martin and Kourany ( 1980) raised was whether child abuse by adolescent caregivers is a common occurrence. A related question particularly relevant to parents and administrators who must hire permanent and temporary child care personnel, is whether children are at greater risk of abuse when placed with adolescents than when they are placed with adults. While the literature on physical and sexual violence has long noted the overrepresentation of perpetrators who were between I5 and 24 years of age (Amir, 197 1: Dube & Herbert, f 988; Eisenhower, 1969; Katz & Mazur, 1979; Katzenback, 1976; MacDonald, 197 1; Russell, 1986), and several recent studies have focused on the child sexual abuse committed by adolescents (see Ryan, 1986, for a detailed review), most of these studies have not assessed the connection between adolescents’ caregiving activity and their violent conduct. The adolescents assessed in this study were all in caregiving roles when the violence occurred. The purpose of the analysis was to estimate whether caregiver age affected the frequency and severity of substantiated abuse. The main comparisons were between adolesceut and adult caregivers. The paper begins with a review of the literature relevant to the general issue of caregiver age and child abuse.
PRIOR
LITERATURE
5evelopmental investigators have consistently found that people’s caregiving skills improve as they get older (Zarbatany, Ha~mann, & Geffand, 1985). Several cognitive and cultural processes can be invoked to explain this developmental progression. As people age, they become increasingly sensitive to the norms and responsibilities associated with taking care of those who are dependent on them (Berkowitz & Daniel& 1963: Staub. 1972). Not only do empathic sensitivity and the ability to assume the perspective of others increase with age (Hoffman. 1975; Kurdek & Rodgon, 1975) but also moral reasoning becomes more sophisticated, and the capacity to defer gratification grows stronger (Staub, 1979). These, and similar processes, explain why Rogozin, Basham, Crnic, Greenberg, and Robinson ( 1982) found that maternal age was positively correlated with parental satisfaction, greater time commitment to parenting, and more positive parent-child interactions. For Erikson ( 1950, 1968) chronological age is closely associated with social-emotional maturity, and social-emotiona matu~ty, in turn, is assumed to be the most impo~ant requisite for successful caregiving. Erikson reasoned that mature individuals are more likely to have a stable sense of who they are, to have clearly defined personal goals, and to possess cohesive values regarding relationships. Because such individuals feel relatively comfortable with themselves, they are more likely to feel at ease assuming responsibility for another person. On the other hand, adolescents are more likely to be struggling to form an integrated, cohesive identity, and therefore can be expected to be more self-involved, less confident, and less capable of managing their emotions than comparable adults. These differences have implications for the quality of care which children receive. In particular, a caregiver’s lack of social-emotional maturity has been given a great deal of attention as a cause of physical abuse. Some of the most widely cited studies in the area of physical abuse have noted the over-representation of caregivers who were “immature” (Gil, 1970: Oates, 1979; Shorkey, 1978) lacked a clear sense of who they were (Blumberg, 1974; Steele & Poflack, 1968). had unresolved emotional needs (Zalba, 1967; Heifer, 1973) low selfesteem (Helfer, 1973; Steele & Poilack, 1968), and were emotionally dependent (Melnick & Hurley, 1969).
Abuseby adolescentcaregivers
361
Among studies dealing with child sexual abuse, investigators have often explained pedophiles’ orientation to children on the basis of their “arrested psychosocial development” (e.g., Groth & Birnbaum, 1978; Groth, Hobson, & Gary, 1982; Hammer & Glueck, 1957; Peters, 1976; Russell, 1984; Summit & Kryso, 1978). Their position is that pedophiles may feel more comfortable with children than with adults because they think like children and are interested in the same things as children. A related idea is that the feelings of personal inadequacy and powerlessness which are characteristic of emotionally immature individuals may promote sexual aggression as a compensatory mechanism. In the words ofGroth ( 1979), “Sexual domination is their desperate attempt to establish control in the face of overwhelming powerlessness” (p. 122). From this perspective, the kinds of doubts adolescents typically have concerning their personal competency may increase the likelihood that sexual aggression will occur. Overall, the relative strength of adolescents’ libido, coupled with the relative weakness of their judgment and self-control, provide a theoretical basis for the hypothesis that adolescent caregivers place children at greater risk than older caregivers (Martin & Kourany, 1980). This hypothesis is explored in a sample of child abuse cases substantiated through child welfare investigation.
METHOD Sample According to the Iowa Child Abuse Registry, there were 6,005 cases of physical abuse and 2,372 cases of sexual abuse substantiated during 1985 and 1986. In 1,132 cases of physical abuse and 1,3 15 cases of sexual abuse the caregivers were nonparents. Data concerning the age of the nonparental caregivers were available for 35% of the cases of physical abuse (n = 397) and for 58% of the cases of sexual abuse (n = 768), leaving a final sample of 1,165 caregivers. Physical abusers were mostly male (7 1%) and had a mean age of 27.7 years. An even larger proportion of sexual abusers were male (89%); their mean age was 28.5 years. The victims of physical abuse were mostly male (57%) and had an average age of 7.3 years. In contrast, the victims of sexual abuse were predominantly female (73%) and were approximately one year older, averaging 8.4 years. Family members (siblings, grandparents, and other relatives) were the perpetrators in 441 (38%) of the cases. In the remaining 624 (62%), the caregivers were nonrelatives: babysitters, the parent’s boyfriend or girlfriend, and institutional staff. More than 98% of all the abusive incidents occurred in the context of a private home. Only 20 (1.7%) of the abusive incidents were committed by institutional staff. Approximately 9 1% of the perpetrators and children were white. The largest proportion of cases came to the attention of the Iowa Department of Human Services from parents (2 l%), followed by social workers (15%), school personnel ( 13%), and police ( 11%). Measures Nonparental caregivers included siblings (n = 161), grandparents (n = 75), other relatives (n = 205), the parent’s boy/girlfriend (n = 202), babysitters (n = 366), and institutional staff from state institutions (n = 2), private institutions (n = 1 l), day care centers (n = 2), and registered day care homes (n = 5). Family relationship was used as a dummy variable which discriminated between caregivers who were in the child’s family and those who were not. Age was utilized as a categorical variable with separate categories for those who were 1 l19,20-29, 30-39,40-49, 50-59, and 60 and over. The term “adolescent caregiver” was opera-
368
Leslie Margolin
and John L. Craft
Table 1. Severity of Physical Abuse by Age of Nonparental
Caregiver
Age of Caretaker
Severity
SD
Cases
II-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 so-59 60+
2.96 3.18 2.81 2.32 3.70 2.92
2.33 2.18 1.54 .71 4.08 1.68
100 (25%) 158 (40%) 80 (20%) 37 (9%) 10 (3%) 12(3%)
Note Q-= 5. 391, F=
1.3856,~
= .2287.
tionalized to refer to nonrelated babysitters, siblings, and other nonparental relatives who were responsible for children and were older than 1 I but younger than 20 years. Utilizing child abuse severity scales introduced by Margolin and Craft (1989) severity of physical abuse was coded as follows: inappropriate physical behavior which did not cause overt injury to the child was given a 1; bruises were given a 2; lacerations, abrasions, or welts were given a 3; dislocations or bone fractures were given a 4; scalds, burns, or hypothermia were given a 5; severe injuries to the head (resulting in subdural hematoma, brain damage, skull fracture, or eye injury) were given a 6; and fatalities were given a 6. The following codes were used to assess the severity of sexual abuse: sexual exhibitionism was coded as a 1; nonviolent sexual abuse without intercourse was coded as a 2; intercourse (oral, anal, or vaginal) which took place without physical threats or overt injury was coded as a 3; intercourse preceded by threats was coded as a 4; sexual aggression without intercourse resulting in severe physical injury was given a 5; and sexual intercourse which involved severe physical injury was given a 6. These scales were validated by demonstrating a significant relationship between severity and legal responses to the perpetrator of the abuse. The study showed that the more severe the abuse was (i.e., the higher the numerical code assigned each form of abuse), the greater was the likelihood that a criminal petition was filed against the perpetrator 01 s BOO 1).
RESULTS The analysis was divided into two parts. Initially, we examined the relationship caregiver age had to both the volume and severity of reported child abuse. The fact that 7 1% of all the physical abuse and 89% of all the sexual abuse was committed by male caregivers also prompted questions concerning how gender interacted with caregiver age. Did age affect the severity of male caregiver’s abuse differently than the severity of female caregivers’ abuse? Did males represent a larger proportion of adolescent perpetrators than of adult perpetrators? And were adolescent perpetrators more inclined to direct their abuse toward males than adult perpetrators were? Curegiwr
Age und Child Abuse
A one-way ANOVA using age as a grouped variable revealed that the caregiver’s age was not related to severity of physical abuse (see Table 1). While caregivers who were 19 and younger accounted for a substantial volume of physical abuse (25% of the cases), the physical abuse which they committed was neither more nor less severe than that which was committed by other caregivers (e.g., the mean physical abuse severity level for all nonparental caregivers was 2.98, a figure which was almost identical to the 2.96 severity level for adolescents). Analy-
Abuse by adolescent caregivers Table 2. Severitv of Sexual Abuse bv Aee of Nonoarental
369 Careeiver
Age of Caretaker
Severity
SD
Cases
I I-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+
3.73 3.44 3.30 3.26 3.33 2.99
1.53 1.41
335 (44%) I5 1 (20%) 129(17%) 35 (5%) 45 (6%) 73(10%)
1.43 1.38 1.62 1.55
Note. d/‘= 5. 762. F = 4.2 130, p = .0009.
sis of variance did not reveal that either family relationship or the gender of the offender were significantly associated with severity of physical abuse. As expected, age of caregiver was significantly related to severity of sexual abuse (df = 5, 762, F = 4.2 13, p = .0009). Table 2 indicates that when caregivers from each age category were compared, adolescents were the most severely abusive nonparental caregivers. Moreover, chisquare analysis showed that adolescents represented a significantly higher proportion of those who committed sexual abuse than of those who committed physical abuse (df= 1, chi-square = 37.6, p S .OOO1). Not only did adolescents account for 44% of all cases of child sexual abuse among nonparental caregivers, a percentage which was more than twice that of any other caregiver cohort, but judging by adolescents’ mean on the sexual severity scale, the sexual abuse they committed was more likely to involve threats, physical injury, and intercourse than was true of older caregivers. Neither family relationship nor the gender of the offender were found to be significantly associated with severity of sexual abuse in the one-way analysis of variance. Among adolescent caregivers, the youngest caregivers appeared to be the ones who were most severely physically abusive (df= 2,97, F = 8.5412, p = .0004). For example, those who were between 11 and 13 years had a mean severity score of 4.64 (n = 22, SD = 3.53), which compared to a severity score of 2.38 (n = 45, SD = 1.57) for adolescents who were between 14 and 14 years, and 2.64 (n = 33, SD = 1.66) for adolescents who were between 17 and 19 years. Although the physical abuse committed by the youngest adolescents was substantially more severe than any other caregiver age group, the small number of adolescents in this cohort (I! = 221, coupled with the relatively high standard deviation (SD = 3.53) suggest that these drtferences should be interpreted with a great deal of caution, Younger adolescents also committed the severest sexual abuse (df= 2, 332, F = 3.73, p = OZ-l2 J. However, unlike the situation which prevailed in physical abuse, in the sexual abuse cases there appeared to be very little difference between the severity of abuse committed by the youngest adolescents, those who were between 11 and 13 years, and those who were between i 4 and I5 years. For example in the 1 l-13-year-old group the mean severity score was 3 93 jy1 = 6’. SD = 1.54j and in the P4-i&year-old group the mean score was 3.87 (n = 166, SD = 1.56) The largest diEerence was between the adolescents who were 17 years and older, and adolescents who were :;ounger than 17 years. The oldest adolescents had a mean severity score of !.Z’q iy: = 102, S’D = 1 44).
Po,ssrble :nterac:ions between caregiver age and gender were assessed by pairing these variables In twis p~+o-‘.~a: ANOVAs, 3ne using severity of physical abuse as dependent variable, and the 3thtr ;ising seviriry of sexual abuse as dependent variable. This procedure was also used to assess possible interactrons between caregiver age and the child’s age, and caregiver
370
Leslie Margolin
and John L. Craft
age and family relationship. With regard to physical abuse, none of the interactions was statistically significant. Among the independent variables which were assessed, the only main effect which was significantly related to severity of physical abuse was the child’s age. The younger the child, the greater was the likelihood that severe injury resulted from the physical abuse (df = 2, 345, F = 5.876, p = .003). In the area of sexual abuse, gender of perpetrator did not have a significant effect on severity of sexual abuse, and none of the interactions was statistically significant. Contrary to what was found in the physical abuse cases, the child’s age did not appear to affect severity of sexual abuse. The only main effect on severity of sexual abuse was the caregiver’s age (df= 5,735, F = 4.209, p = .005). The second question which was raised concerning the relationship between gender and caregiver age was whether the proportion of males who abused children was any different when adults (those who were 20 years old and above) were compared with adolescents (those who were 19 years old and younger). Chi-square analysis showed that caregiver age was, in fact, correlated with caregiver gender. This was particularly apparent in the area of sexual abuse. Although 63% of the adolescent physical abusers were male, more than 73% of the adult abusers were male (JI = .07). Among sexual abusers, approximately 84% of the adolescent caregivers were male; yet more than 93% of the adult caregivers were male, a difference which was highly significant 0,s .OOO1). Finally, the question was raised as to whether caregiver age affected the selection of victims: Were adolescent caregivers more prone to direct their abuse toward males than adult caregivers were? According to chi-square analysis, age of caregiver did not make a difference in the selection of physical abuse victims, but was significantly associated with the selection of sexual abuse victims. While approximately 68% of adolescent caregivers’ victims were female, fully 77% of adult caregivers’ victims were (p = .005). This difference could be explained by the fact that a larger percentage of adult perpetrators were male, and males were generally more inclined to sexually abuse females than female perpetrators were. However, it should also be noted that among adult perpetrators, males and females directed more of their sexual abuse toward female children than adolescent perpetrators did. Male adolescents directed 7 1% of their sexual abuse toward female children; in contrast, male adults directed more than 78% of their sexual abuse toward females. The same pattern occurred among female caregivers. Female adolescents directed half of their sexual abuse toward females and half toward males, while female adults directed 57% of their sexual abuse toward females and 43% toward males. In summary, adolescent caregivers did not appear to be more severely physically abusive than adult caregivers. The single exception to this was the youngest category of perpetrator: Adolescents who were 13 years old and younger were observed to be more violent than any other age category of physical abuser. In the area of sexual abuse, however, strong and consistent differences between adolescent and adult caregivers were found. Adolescent caregivers were observed to commit more sexual abuse than older caregiver cohorts, accounting for 44% of all the sexual abuse which was observed. Moreover, the sexual abuse which was observed was more likely to involve intercourse and physical assault than that which was observed for older caregivers. Assessing the interaction of caregiver age and gender, the study found that while a higher proportion of male caregivers committed physical and sexual abuse, males’ over-representation among perpetrators was greater among adults than among adolescents. Finally, in comparison to adolescent caregivers, adults showed a greater tendency to direct their abuse toward female children than toward male children. DISCUSSION This study began by citing evidence that people’s caregiving skills improve evidence, in turn, was used to hypothesize that adolescents in nonparental
with age. This caregiver roles
Abuseby adolescentcaregivers
371
place children at greater risk than older caregivers. The finding that child welfare professionals substantiate a disproportionately large number of adolescent child abusers is consistent with this hypothesis, but should, nonetheless, be interpreted cautiously. While it is impossible to know the degree to which reporting biases influenced the representation of adolescents in this sample, the strong possibility exists that adolescents were over-represented. On the one hand, adolescents may be less able than adults to successfully deny sexual abuse. Second, official records tend to overlook the deviance of the rich and powerful while emphasizing the deviance committed by relatively powerless groups such as adolescents (Bolton, Laner, & Kane, 1980). The fact that the age of the nonparental caregivers was available for only 35% of the physical abuse cases, and for only 58% of the sexual abuse cases is a particular cause for concern. To address the problem of potential reporting bias in official records, future studies should consider developing samples of adolescent child abusers from a variety of sources. In particular, efforts should be made to utilize survey methodology. One approach would be to select parents at random and ask them about their child care utilization, specifically, who performs child care (taking particular note of caregiver age and gender) and how many hours each caregiver works. Then parents should be asked if a substitute caregiver (babysitter, friend, neighbor, relative, or group care provider) has ever harmed one of their children. A survey strategy of this kind would make it possible to estimate, first, how much child care adolescents typically perform in relation to adult caregivers and, second, whether the amount of child abuse attributed to adolescents was greater than that which was attributed to adults. Comparing the percentage of child abuse attributed to adolescent caregivers with baselines of child care usage would enable investigators to estimate whether adolescents were responsible for a share of child abuse which was greater or smaller than expected. Before definite recommendations for practice can be made, researchers also need to understand the contextual supports and stresses which influence the child abuse by adolescent caregivers. Future studies should attempt to determine whether specific types of interaction between child and adolescent caregiver precede different types of child abuse. How does the relationship between the child’s parent and adolescent caregiver affect the occurrence of abuse? Do adolescent caregivers who are angry at the child’s parent take it out on the child? To what degree do sexual assaults committed by adolescent caregivers appear planned and to what degree spontaneous? How much of the physical abuse committed adolescent caregivers is instrumental (designed to make the child behave in a particular way) and how much is expressive (utilized as a means of venting the caregiver’s negative feelings)? When the child abuse is primarily instrumental, what type of behavior is the caregiver attempting to implement or facilitate? When the child abuse is expressive, what aspect of the caregiving situation sparked the adolescent’s anger? If future studies can find ways of addressing these questions, educators and policymakers may want to explore developing programs aimed at training teenage caregivers in junior and senior high schools. This training should probably be focused on concrete situations, including those involving caregiver-child interactions which are typically stress provoking (e.g., when the child is aggressive, refuses to listen, appears unduly frightened and upset, etc.). As a further preventive measure, family life educators may need to devote more attention to teaching adolescents about the social aspects of sexuality, including topics which deal with the importance of sexual consent, and the harm caused by child abuse. Not only might such programs reduce the likelihood of child abuse by adolescent caregivers, but this type of training could be seen as a preparation for eventual parenthood. REFERENCES Amir,M. (197I). Patterns offorceuble rape. Chicago:Universityofchicago Press. Berkowitz,L., & Daniels,L. ( 1963).Responsibilityand dependency.Journal ofAbnormal 429436.
and Social Psychology, 66,
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M. (1974). Psychology of the abusing parent. American Journal o/Psychotherapy, 28.2 l-29. G., Laner. R. H., & Kane, S. F. (1980). Child maltreatment risk among adolescent mothers: A studv of cases. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 50,489-504. & Herbert, M. (1988). Sexual abuse by children under 12 years of age: A review of 5 I I cases. Child.4buse &Neglect, 12, 321-330. Eisenhower, M. S. (1969). To establish justice, to insuredomestictrunquilify. Final report ofthe National Commission on Causes and Prevention of Violence. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Erikson. E. H. ( 1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton. Erikson. E. H. (1968). Idenfity. youth, and crisis. New York: Norton. Gelfand. D. M., & Hartmann, D. P. (1980). The development of prosocial behavior and moral judgment. In R. Ault (Ed.), Developmentalperspecctives (pp. 216-266). Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear. Gil. D. G. ( 1970). Violence against children;Physical abuse in the United States. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Groth, N. A. (1979). Men who rape. New York: Plenum. Groth, N. A., & Birnbaum, J. (1978). Adult sexual orientation and the attraction to underage persons. Archives of Se.xual Behavior. 7, 175 I8 1. Groth, N. A., Hobson. W.. & Gary, T. (1982). The child molester: Clinical observations. In J. Conte & D. Shore (Eds.), Social work and child sexual abuse. New York: Haworth. Hammer. E. F., & Glueck. B. C. (1957). Psychodynamic patterns m sex offense: A four-factor theory. Psychiatric Blumberg, Bolton. F. reported Dube. R..
Quarter&~.3, 325-345. Helfer. R. (1973). The etiology ofchild abuse. Pediatrics, 15,779-824. Hoffman, M. L. (I 975). Developmental synthesis ofaffect and cognition and its implications for altruistic motivation. Developmental Psychology, 11.607-622. Katz. S., & Mazur, M. ( 1979). Understanding the rape victim: A synthesis of researchfindings. New York: John Wiley. Katzenbach. N. (1976). The challenge of crime in a free society. Report by the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Kourany, R. F.. Gwinn. M.. & Martin, J. E. (1980). Adolescent babysitting: A thirty year phenomenon. Adolescence, 15,939-945. Kourany. R. F., Martin, J. E., & Armstrong, S. H. (1979). Sexual experimentation by adolescents while babysitting. Adolescence, 14,284-288. Kourany, R. F.. Martin. J. E., & LaBarbera. J. D. (1980). Adolescents as babysitters. Adolescence, 15, 155-158. Kurdek. L. A., & Rodgon, M. M. (1975). Perceptual, cognitive, and affective perspective taking in kindergarten through sixth grade children. Developmenfal Psychology. 11,643-650. MacDonald, J. M. (197 I). Rape offenders and (heir vicrims. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. Margolin, L., & Craft, J. L. (I 989, Feb.) Child sexual abuse bv caretakers. Presented at the Changing Family Conference XVIII: Health Issues and Families, Iowa City, Iowa. Martin, J. E., & Kourany. R. F. C. (1980). Child abuse by adolescent babysitters. Child Abuse & Neglect, 4, 15-22. Melnick, B.. & Hurley, J. R. (1969). Distinctive personality attributesofchild-abusing mothers. JournalofConsuhing
and Clinical Psychology, 33. 746-749. Oates, M. R. ( 1979). A classification of child abuse and its relation to treatment and prognosis. Child Abuse & Neglect. 3,907-9 15. Peters, J. J. (I 976). Children who are victims of sexual assault and the psychology of offenders. American Journal of
Psychotherapy, 30, 398-4 12. Rogozin, A., Basham, R.. Crnic. K., Greenberg, M.. role. Developmental Psychology. 18,621-634. Russell, D. E. H. (I 984). Sex& exploitation. Beverly Russell. D. E. H. (1986). The secret trauma: Incest in Ryan. G. (1986). Annotated bibliography: Adolescent
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the lives ofgirls and women. New York: Basic Books. perpetrators of sexual molestation of children. Child Abuse &
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try. 48.237-25 I. Vondura. J. I. (1984). A consideration of caregiver age variables in day-care settings. Child Care Quanerly, 13, 102-I 13. Watson, J. W., Switzer, R. E.. & Hirschberg, J. C. (I 97 1). Myfriend, rhe babysifter. New York: Golden Press. Zalba. S. R. (1967). The abused child: A typology for classification and treatment. Social W’ork. 12, 70-79. Zarbatany, L., Hartmann, D. P., & Gelfand, D. M. (I 985). Why does children’s generosity increase with age: SuscePtibility to experimenter influence or altruism? Child Developmmf, 56,746-756.
R&n&-Le but de I’etude etait d’evaluer la frequence et la iverite des s&ices commis par des adolescents a l’egard d’enfants lorsque ces adolescents jouent le role de gardiens non parentaux. Le collectif etait constitue de cas oti le
Abuse by adolescent caregivers
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personnel du bien-etre social de I’enfance avait pu demontrer qu’il y avait eu s&ices physiques ou sexuels. On a compare les gardiens ad&es et les gardiens adolescents. L’effet de I’age du gardien n’a pas sembli itre consistant en ce qui concerne la survenue de violences physiques. Par contre, en ce qui concerne les s&ices sexuels il y a des differences notables entre les adolescents et les adultes. Les adolescents commettent davantage de s&vices sexuels a I’egard des enfants que les gardiens plus ages; mais en plus les s&ices commis par eux se terminaient plus facilement en des relations sexuels avec penetration et agression physique. Ces observations ont des implications en ce qui concerne la pratique et la recherche. Resumen-El objet0 de esta investigation fue el estimar la frecuencia y severidad del abuso de menores cometido por adolescentes que, sin ser sus padres, cuidaban de ellos. La muestra estaba compuesta de cases comprobados de abuso fisico o sexual. Las comparaciones principales se hicieron entre 10scuidadores adolescentes y adultos. Mientras que la edad del cuidador no parecio afectar la ocurrencia del abuso tisico, se encontraron diferencias notables entre 10scuidadores adolescentes y adultos con respect0 al abuso sexual. No solo cometieron 10sadolescentes mis frecuentemente abuso sexual que 10s adultos, pero el abuso sexual que cometieron incluyo mis a menudo el acto sexual y el asalto fkico. Se comentan las implicaciones para las investigaciones y la prictica en el future.
