Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health
ISSN: 1728-0583 (Print) 1728-0591 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcmh20
Prevalence and attitudinal predictors of child sexual offending in a nonforensic sample of South African high school males Thandekile S Magojo & Steven J Collings To cite this article: Thandekile S Magojo & Steven J Collings (2003) Prevalence and attitudinal predictors of child sexual offending in a nonforensic sample of South African high school males, Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 15:1, 27-32, DOI: 10.2989/17280580309486537 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.2989/17280580309486537
Published online: 12 Nov 2009.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 31
View related articles
Citing articles: 2 View citing articles
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rcmh20 Download by: [Australian National University]
Date: 05 November 2015, At: 14:20
Copyright © NISC Pty Ltd
Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2003, 15(1): 27–32 Printed in South Africa — All rights reserved
JOURNAL OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH ISSN 1728–0583
Research Paper
Prevalence and attitudinal predictors of child sexual offending in a nonforensic sample of South African high school males Thandekile S Magojo* and Steven J Collings
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
School of Psychology, University of Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa * Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected]
Objective — The prevalence, and attitudinal predictors, of sexual aggression were examined in a non-forensic sample of South African high school males. Method — Survey questionnaires were administered to 446 males (aged 16 to 25 years) attending schools in the greater Durban area, South Africa. Results — A history of sexually aggressive behaviour was reported by 66.8% of respondents, with 17.5% reporting an act of sexual aggression that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant relationship between sexually abusive behaviour and attitudes supportive of both sexual and physical aggression. Additionally, a tendency to attribute blame to the victim of sexual aggression and attitudes reflecting an internalised culture of violence significantly discriminated between respondents who committed rape/attempted rape, indecent assault, and crimen injuria. Conclusions — These findings indicate relatively high rates of sexual offending among South African high school males and suggest that primary prevention programmes are likely to be most effective if they target attitudes supportive of both sexual and physical violence.
Introduction It is generally acknowledged that South Africa has one of the highest rates of sexual crime in the world (Snyders 2003). According to the most recent figures provided by the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (2002), 52 860 cases of rape were reported to the police nationally in the year 2000, with a further 37 711 rapes being reported in the period January to September 2001. An analysis of reported rapes by age-category indicates that children face a particularly high risk of sexual victimisation, with the rape ratio for children in the 12–17 year-old category (471.1 rapes per 100 000 female population) being nearly double the national ratio of 285.6. In the period 1996 to 1998 rape was the most prevalent reported crime against children, with the prevalence of reported child rape having increased notably in the past two years (National Commissioner of the South African Police Service 2002). These statistical trends are confirmed by survey data which provide prevalence figures for child sexual abuse in excess of 50% in some areas (Madu and Peltzer 2000, 2001) and which indicate particularly high rates of sexual abuse among school-aged children (Human Rights Watch 2001). From figures provided by Madu and Peltzer (2000) it is clear that a significant proportion of the perpetrators of this abuse are themselves still children (i.e. males under the age of 18 years) with particularly high levels of sexual aggression being noted in samples of South African high school males (Andersson 2002a, 2002b). Attempts to account for these relatively high rates of sexual offending take two main forms. On the one hand, there
are those who maintain that high rates of sexual aggression among South African youth reflect a widespread acceptance of beliefs and attitudes, which propagate a norm of adversarial sexual relationships. Support for this view is provided by Andersson’s (2002a) finding that 32% of South African high school males believe that forced sex with someone you know is not rape, 24% believe that rape victims always or often ‘ask’ for it, and 25% believe that women always mean ‘yes’ when they say ‘no’. On the other hand, there are those who maintain that a comprehensive aetiological model of sexual aggression in the South African context needs to incorporate an understanding of the socio-historical context in which aggression takes place. Thus, for example, Human Rights Watch (2001, pp. 5–6) reminds us that: South Africa has only recently emerged from a history in which violence was routinely used by the state as a means of exerting power. Years of violent enforcement of apartheid era policies have fueled a culture of violence. This historical legacy presents a challenge for the government as violence remains high in many areas and schools are still ill-equipped to curb violence. Violence is often sexualised, with devastating consequences for women and girls who disproportionately bear the brunt of sexual violence, not only in society at large but in schools as well. In a similar vein, Andersson (2002a) refers to a culture of sexual violence amongst South African youth in terms of which sexual aggression is regarded as an “undesirable but inescapable fact of life ‘in response to which’ the vulnerable
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
28
Magojo and Collings
have developed a host of adaptive behaviours that allow them to see themselves as survivors rather than victims”. In the process sexual aggression is normalised and allowed to continue unopposed. Although there is empirical support for both of the above forms of explanation, there has, to date, been no systematic attempt to explore the prevalence of sexual aggression among South African youth, or to assess the role, and relative importance, of rape supportive beliefs and attitudes, and attitudes reflecting a culture of violence, in sexual offending. In an attempt to address some of the issues raised by previous research, the present study: (a) examined the prevalence of sexual offending in a sample of South African high school males, and (b) assessed the role, and relative importance of attitudes towards sexual aggression, and attitudes reflecting a culture of violence, in sexual offending. Three hypotheses were entertained. First, it was predicted that prevalence rates for sexual offending would be significantly higher than comparative rates obtained for American college students. Second, it was predicted that sexual aggressors would score significantly higher than nonaggressors on measures of rape supportive beliefs and attitudes. Third, it was predicted that sexual aggressors would score significantly higher than non-aggressors on measures designed to reflect an internalised culture of violence. Method Respondents Participants were 446 high school students attending government schools in the Durban greater metropolitan area (South Africa) in 2002. All respondents were male, with the average age being 17.89 years (range 16–25 years); 96.4% of respondents were Black, 2.7% Coloured, 0.7% White, and 0.2% were of other races. Respondents described the occupation of the main income earner in their family as: unskilled manual worker (43% of cases), skilled manual worker (32.3% of cases), skilled technical, administrative, or service worker (13.9% of cases), or professional/managerial (10.8% of cases). Instruments The research instrument contained a demographic form; Collings’ (1997) Child Sexual Abuse Myth Scale (CSAMS);
Funk et al. (1999) Attitudes Towards Violence Scale (AVS); and a modified version of Koss and Oros’ (1982) Sexual Experience Survey (SES). The demographic form used standard demographic questions to assess age, gender, and occupation of main family income earner. Data on the prevalence of sexual aggression were obtained using a modified version of the Sexual Experiences Survey developed by Koss and Oros (1982). The main modification to Koss and Oros’ instrument involved the inclusion of four additional items, which were designed to survey behaviours, which met the legal definition of crimen injuria (see Table 1, questions one to four). The final three items on the sexual aggression survey were taken from Koss and Oros’ scale and were designed to survey behaviours consistent with the legal definitions of indecent assault, attempted rape, and rape (respectively). The text of all seven items is presented in Table 1. Attitudes towards sexual abuse were assessed using the Child Sexual Abuse Myth Scale (CSAMS) (Collings 1997). The CSAMS is a 15-item self-report measure of child sexual abuse myths and stereotypes, which is scored using a 5point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), with higher scores indicating a greater acceptance of abuse related myths and stereotypes. Individual responses on the CSAMS are combined into three factor scores: a Blame Diffusion factor (comprising statements which suggest that persons other than the offender are to blame for the abuse); a Denial of Abusiveness factor (comprising statements which serve to minimise the abusive nature of child sexual abuse); and a Restrictive Stereotypes factor (comprising statements which serve to deny the reality of most forms of abuse). The author (Collings 1997) reports: (a) a Cronbach alpha for the full scale of 0.76; (b) test-retest reliability of 0.87; and (c) acceptable levels of convergent and discriminant validity, in that all three CSAMS factor scores have been found to be positively correlated with scores on Burt’s Rape Myth Scale (Burt 1980) and negatively correlated with scores on the Offender Blame subscale of the Jackson Incest Blame Scale (Jackson and Ferguson 1983). The CSAMS was deemed to constitute an appropriate measure of attitudes towards sexual aggression in the present research because: (a) it is specifically designed to assess attitudes towards child sexual abuse and (b) all incidents of sexual aggression reported by respondents involved a victim
Table 1: Prevalence of sexual aggression since age 14 involving a girl or woman under the age of 18 years (n = 446) Sexual behaviour n 1. Have you ever exposed your sex organs to a girl or women (other than your lover) in a situation where you knew that she did not want you to? 2. Have you ever made a phone call to a girl or women in which you used abusive or unwanted sexual language? 3. Have you ever followed or walked after a girl and upset her by making sexual suggestions? 4. Have you ever spied on a girl while she was dressing or changing without her knowing you were doing so? 5. Have you ever touched a girl or woman in a sexual way when you knew that she did not want you to? 6. Have you ever attempted to have sexual intercourse with a girl or woman (i.e. without penetration taking place) in a situation where you knew that she did not want you to? 7. Have you ever had sexual intercourse with a girl or woman in a situation where you knew that she did not want to? a
Percentages do not sum to 100 as a number of respondents reported more than one form of sexual aggression
Prevalence (%)
a
93 74 98 151 122
(20.9) (16.6) (22.0) (33.9) (27.4)
51 36
(11.4) (8.1)
Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2003, 15: 27–32
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
who was still technically a child (i.e. a person under the age of 18 years). Attitudes towards physical violence were assessed using the Attitudes Towards Violence Scale (AVS) (Funk et al. 1999). The AVS is a 15-item self-report measure of attitudes towards physical violence which is scored using a 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), with higher scores indicating attitudes that are more pro-violence. Individual responses on the AVS are combined into two factor scores: a Reactive Violence factor (comprising statements which justify violence as a response to threat) and a Culture of Violence factor (comprising statements which reflect an identification with violence as an acceptable and valued activity). The authors report Cronbach alphas for the full scale of 0.86, for the Reactive Violence factor of 0.77, and for the Culture of Violence factor of 0.75. Procedure In the first phase of the research: (a) ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Natal ethics committee, (b) permission was obtained from the regional director of education to conduct research in high schools located in Kwa Mashu township, which lies in the greater Durban area (the present research focused on four high schools which were randomly selected from high schools in the Kwa Mashu area) and (c) arrangements were made with school principals to conduct the research in their schools. In the second phase of the research, the research questionnaire was administered to groups of 40 high school males in a classroom situation. In each school, all male learners who were present on the day of the research and who were at least 16 years of age were asked to participate in the study. Because of the sensitive nature of the research, the senior researcher was present to describe the purpose and aims of the research, to assure participants that all information would be treated in the strictest of confidence, and to answer any questions that respondents might have regarding the questionnaire and the response format. All respondents were informed that participation was voluntary and questionnaires were only completed by respondents who agreed to sign an informed consent form. Only two respondents did not agree to participate in the study, providing a participation rate of 99.6%.
29
Cronbach alphas for: (a) the CSAMS were 0.79 (full scale), 0.76 (Blame Diffusion), 0.73 (Denial of Abusiveness) and 0.75 (Restrictive Stereotypes); and (b) the AVS were 0.82 (full scale), 0.77 (Reactive Violence) and 0.73 (Culture of Violence). The prevalence of sexual aggression A previous involvement in some form of sexual aggression was reported by 66.8% of respondents. The most serious form of sexual aggression reported was crimen injuria for 30.5% of respondents, indecent assault for 18.8% of respondents, and rape/attempted rape for 17.5% of respondents. Prediction of sexual aggression The relationship between attitudinal variables and a history of sexual aggression was explored using a Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) in which the most serious level of sexual aggression reported (no sexual aggression, crimen injuria, indecent assault, or rape/attempted rape) was entered as the independent variable and CSAMS and AVS factor scores were entered as dependent variables. The MANOVA yielded a significant effect for sexual aggression status, Wilkes Lambda = 0.79, F(15, 1206) = 4.88, P < 0.001. One-way ANOVAs indicated that this effect was significant in both AVS factor scores and in scores for the Blame Diffusion factor of the CSAMS but not in scores for the Denial of Abusiveness or Restrictive Stereotypes factors of the CSAMS (see F ratios in Table 2). Newman-Keuls post hoc tests indicated the following significant differences (see means in Table 2). For both AVS factors (Reactive Violence and Culture of Violence), and for the Blame Diffusion factor of the CSAMS, scores obtained by respondents who did not report a history of sexual aggression were significantly lower than scores obtained by respondents in each of the sexual aggression categories. In addition, the ‘rape/attempted rape’ group scored: (a) significantly higher than the ‘crimen injuria’ group on Blame Diffusion and Culture of Violence, and (b) significantly higher than the ‘indecent assault’ group on Blame Diffusion. There were no significant differences in the scores of the ‘crimen injuria’ and the ‘indecent assault’ groups on any of the dependent measures. Discussion
Scoring procedure Respondents were classified according to the most severe sexual aggression reported into one of four mutually exclusive categories: (a) no aggression; (b) crimen injuria (‘yes’ responses to items 1, 2, 3 or 4 but not to any higher numbered items); (c) indecent assault (‘yes’ responses to item 5 but not to any higher numbered items); or (d) rape/attempted rape (‘yes’ response to items 6 or 7). Results Confirmatory factor analysis Separate principal-axis factor analyses with varimax rotation were performed on respondent’s CSAMS and AVS scores. These analyses produced factor structures that were identical to those reported by the authors of the instruments.
In the present study, 66.8% of high school males reported a history of sexually abusive behaviour, with 17.5% reporting an act of sexual aggression that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape. These overall prevalence figures are significantly higher than the average prevalence rate of 25.4% (range: 21% to 33%) obtained in five studies of American college males (Koss, Gidycz and Wisniewski 1987, Abbey, McAuslan and Ross 1998, Abbey et al. 2001, Aberle and Littlefield 2001, Forbes and Adams-Curtis 2001). Although high levels of sexual aggression were predicted for respondents in the present study there are reasons to suspect that the true prevalence figure may be somewhat higher. First, some degree of underreporting can be expected in surveys of behaviours, which carry a criminal sanction. Second, the fact that sexual offenders tend to underestimate
30
Magojo and Collings
Table 2: Means, standard deviations, and F-ratios for CSAMS and AVS factor scores according to most severe form of sexual aggression reported (n = 446)
Factor score Reactive Violence Blame Diffusion Culture of Violence Denial of Abusiveness Restrictive Stereotypes
No sexual aggression (n = 148) M (SD) 16.86 (4.08) 11.89 (3.03) 13.67 (3.35) 13.36 (3.24) 14.72 (3.01)
Most severe form of sexual aggression reported Crimen injuria Indecent assault Rape/attempted rape (n = 136) (n = 84) (n = 78) M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) 20.40 (4.43) a 19.97 (5.17) a 19.38 (4.80) a 13.10 (3.18) a 13.36 (3.09) a 14.49 (4.83) abc 15.02 (4.38) a 15.55 (4.40) a 16.49 (4.71) ab 13.42 (3.44) 14.12 (2.77) 14.09 (2.86) 15.05 (3.68) 15.32 (2.95) 15.45 (3.56)
F (3,441) 14.77 *** 10.23 *** 8.77 *** 1.78 1.05
*** P < 0.001 Score is significantly higher than for the no sexual aggression group b Score is significantly higher than for the crimen injuria group c Score is significantly higher than for the indecent assault group
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
a
the degree of force or coercion involved in sexual encounters (Vogelman 1990) may have led some respondents to inaccurately construe certain abusive behaviours as consensual sexual activity. Third, the survey focused largely on behaviours that were perceived by the perpetrator as being unwanted. This may have precluded reports of sexual behaviours that were abusive for other reasons, such as the exploitation of power relationships or the relative immaturity of the partner. Fourth, the survey focused on acts of sexual aggression involving a victim under the age of 18, which effectively excluded reports of sexual aggression involving adult victims. The findings regarding the role of attitudinal variables in sexual aggression are consistent with the prediction that sexual aggressors would be more likely to ascribe to attitudes and beliefs, which are supportive of both sexual and physical violence. These finding are consistent with results obtained for both forensic and non-forensic samples of sexual aggressors (e.g. Collings 1994, Collings and McArthur 2000), and are congruent with aetiological theories of sexual offending which maintain that sexual aggression has its origins in the conflation of aggression, violence, and sexuality that characterises the social definition of masculinity in society (Mosher and Tomkins 1988, Beaver, Gold and Prisco 1992). Of particular significance for the South African context, is the fact that more intrusive forms of sexual aggression were found to be associated with an increased likelihood of endorsing statements reflecting core attitudes to violence (i.e. Culture of Violence). This finding provides empirical support for the view that high rates of sexual aggression in South Africa can, at least in part, be attributed to a pervasive culture of violence that has its origins in the structural violence that characterised apartheid (Human Rights Watch 2001, Anderson 2002a, 2002b). The finding that only one of the three CSAMS factor scores (Blame Diffusion) emerged as a significant predictor of sexual aggression was somewhat surprising as all three CSAMS factor scores have been found to significantly discriminate child sexual offenders from non-offenders in previous studies of incarcerated offenders (e.g. Collings and McArthur 2000). A possible reason for this negative finding
relates to the fact that the present findings were based on a non-forensic sample of offenders for whom attempts at mitigating or minimising the impact of abuse — defensive functions which are served by Denial of Abusiveness and Restrictive Stereotypes (cf. Collings 1997) — are likely to be less salient than they are for forensic samples who have had to justify their behaviour in a court of law. Further research on the importance of specific cognitive distortions as a function of the extent of offender involvement with the criminal justice system would appear to be indicated. Before considering the implications of these findings, some caution is in order. The present findings were obtained using a predominantly Black sample of respondents attending schools in an urban area, who cannot necessarily be assumed to be representative of South African high school males in general. The present findings would nevertheless appear to have implications for research and practice. Implications for practice Prevalence rates obtained for sexual aggression in the present research suggest the need for intensive and extensive primary and secondary intervention programmes designed to address the issue of sexual crime among South African high school males. Such programmes should be designed to address both reactive and culturally ingrained attitudes to aggression, and should be targeted to meet the specific needs of subgroups of sexually aggressive and potentially aggressive individuals. The relationship between culture of violence and sexual aggression that emerged in the present research suggests that intervention efforts also need to focus on more comprehensive plans of action designed to (a) re-sensitise communities to the realities and to the effects of social violence, and (b) afford more meaningful and effective protection for women and girls. As Human Rights Watch (2001) points out, such plans of action should ideally be formulated following consultation with all stakeholders including school children, teachers and school principals, as well as non-governmental organisations and government agencies. Implications for research The methodology employed in the present research differed
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2003, 15: 27–32
in important respects from methodologies employed in previous studies of American college males. First, the present research employed an inclusive definition of sexual aggression (i.e. both contact and non-contact forms of sexual abuse), which allowed the researchers to establish that similar attitudinal predictors discriminate contact and non-contact sexual aggressors from non-abusive controls. Previous research has tended to rely on restrictive definitions of sexual aggression (i.e. contact abuse only), a decision that is likely to have attenuated attitudinal differences between offender and non-offender groups. Second, the present research examined attitudinal predictors separately for different forms of sexual aggression, a methodological decision which allowed the researchers to identify attitudinal predictors (i.e. Blame Diffusion and Culture of Violence) that significantly discriminated more intrusive forms of sexual aggression (i.e. rape/attempted rape) from less intrusive forms of aggression (i.e. crimen injuria and indecent assault). Previous studies have tended to combine different forms of sexual aggression for purposes of analysis (i.e. any form of sexual aggression versus no aggression), a decision that is likely to have masked or, at the very least, attenuated attitudinal differences between offender groups. Finally, the present study examined attitudinal predictors of sexual aggression using respondents drawn from the population of interest. The fact that the present findings regarding prevalence and attitudinal predictors differed significantly from findings obtained for samples of South African university students (Collings 1994) suggests, at least as far as South Africa is concerned, that the views and experiences of university or college students may not necessarily reflect the views and experiences of the broader population. At a more general level, a challenge for future research is the further explication of the aetiological pathways that lead to sexual aggression among South African youth. Recent findings (e.g. Madu and Peltzer 2000, 2001, Govender and Killian 2001), which indicate that a significant proportion of South African high school males are themselves likely to have been victims of sexual and/or physical aggression, suggest that extensive exposure to social and interpersonal violence in the South African context may desensitise young people to violence, which in turn is likely to encourage the development of pro-violence attitudes which are predictive of sexual aggression. Such aetiological pathways need to be explored and carefully evaluated in future studies. In addition, future research needs to explore the aetiological significance of a number of other variables which have been found to be associated with sexual aggression, and which are likely to be relevant to sexual offending in the South African context. These variables include the use and abuse of alcohol (Ullman, Karabatsos and Koss 1999a, 1999b, Brecklin and Ullman 2001), the influence of adverse early family experiences (Aberle and Littlefield 2001, Smallbone and Dadds 2001), and the individual’s ability to empathise with others (Lisak 1995, Burke 2001, Lindsey, Carlozzi and Eells 2001). The high rates of sexual aggression noted in the present research would suggest that such research efforts are strongly indicated.
31
References Abbey A, McAuslan P and Ross LT (1998) Sexual assault perpetration by college men: the role of alcohol, misperception of sexual intent, and sexual beliefs and experiences. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 17: 167–195 Abbey A, McAuslan P, Zawacki T, Clinton AM and Buck PO (2001) Attitudinal, experiential, and situational predictors of sexual assault perpetration. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16: 784–807 Aberle CC and Littlefield RP (2001) Family functioning and sexual aggression in a sample of college men. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16: 565–579 Andersson N (2002a) Beyond victims and villains: the culture of sexual violence in south Johannesburg. Available at: http://www.ciet.org/www/image/country/safrica_victims.html [Accessed 3 October 2002] Andersson N (2002b) Pilot study of sexual abuse of 9 000 school going youth in nine provinces. Paper presented at the National Conference of the South African Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, September 6 2002, Durban, South Africa Beaver ED, Gold SR and Prisco AG (1992) Priming macho attitudes and emotions. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 7: 321–333 Brecklin LR and Ullman SE (2001) The role of offender alcohol use in rape attacks: an analysis of national crime victimization survey data. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16(1): 3–21 Burke DM (2001) Empathy in sexually offending and nonoffending males. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16(3): 222–233 Burt MR (1980) Cultural myths and support for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 38: 217–230 Collings SJ (1994) Sexual aggression: a discriminant analysis of predictors in a non-forensic sample. South African Journal of Psychology 24: 35–38 Collings SJ (1997) Development, reliability, and validity of the Child Sexual Abuse Myth Scale. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 12: 665–674 Collings SJ and McArthur DJ (2000) Child sexual abuse myth acceptance: a comparative analysis of child sexual offenders rapists non-sexual offenders and citizens. Acta Criminologica 13(1): 11–15 Forbes GB and Adams-Curtis LE (2001) Experiences with sexual coercion in college males and females: role of family conflict, sexist attitudes, acceptance of rape myths, self-esteem, and the BigFive personality factors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16: 865–889 Funk JB, Elliott R, Urman ML, Flores GT and Mock RM (1999) The attitudes towards violence scale: a measure for adolescents. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 14: 1123–1136 Govender K and Killian BJ (2001) The psychological effects of chronic violence on children living in South African townships. South African Journal of Psychology 31(2): 1–11 Human Rights Watch (2001) Scared at School: Sexual Violence Against Girls in South African Schools. Author, New York Jackson TL and Ferguson WP (1983) Attribution of blame in incest. American Journal of Community Psychology 11: 313–322 Koss MP, Gidycz CA and Wisniewski N (1987) The scope of rape: incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 55: 162–170 Koss MP and Oros C (1982) The sexual experiences survey: a research instrument investigating sexual aggression and victimization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 50: 455–457 Lindsey RE, Carlozzi AF and Eells GT (2001) Differences in the dispositional empathy of juvenile sex offenders, non-sex offenders,
32
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
and nondelinquent juveniles. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16: 510–522 Lisak DIC (1995) Deficits in intimacy and empathy in sexually aggressive men. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 10: 296–308 Madu SN and Peltzer K (2000) Risk factors and child sexual abuse among secondary school students in the Northern Province (South Africa). Child Abuse and Neglect 24(2): 259–268 Madu SN and Peltzer K (2001) Prevalence and patterns of child sexual abuse and victim-perpetrator relationship among secondary school students in the Northern Province (South Africa). Archives of Sexual Behaviour 30(3): 311–321 Mosher DL and Tomkins SS (1988) Scripting the macho man: hypermasculine socialization and enculturation. Journal of Sex Research 25: 60–84 National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (2002) Annual report of the National Commissioner of the South African Police 2001/2002. Available at: http://www.saps.org.za/areport02/ index.htm [Accessed 3 October 2002]
Magojo and Collings
Smallbone SW and Dadds MR (2001) Further evidence for a relationship between attachment insecurity and coercive sexual behaviour in nonoffenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16(1): 22–35 Snyders S (2003) Child abuse in South Africa. Keynote address presented at the Fourth National Conference of the Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Pretoria, South Africa Ullman SE, Karabatsos G and Koss MP (1999a) Alcohol and sexual aggression in a national sample of college men. Psychology of Women Quarterly 23: 673–689 Ullman SE, Karabatsos G and Koss MP (1999b) Alcohol and sexual assault in a national sample of college woman. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 14: 603–625 Vogelman L (1990) The Sexual Face of Violence: Rapists on Rape. Raven Press, Johannesburg
ISSN: 1728-0583 (Print) 1728-0591 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rcmh20
Prevalence and attitudinal predictors of child sexual offending in a nonforensic sample of South African high school males Thandekile S Magojo & Steven J Collings To cite this article: Thandekile S Magojo & Steven J Collings (2003) Prevalence and attitudinal predictors of child sexual offending in a nonforensic sample of South African high school males, Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 15:1, 27-32, DOI: 10.2989/17280580309486537 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.2989/17280580309486537
Published online: 12 Nov 2009.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 31
View related articles
Citing articles: 2 View citing articles
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rcmh20 Download by: [Australian National University]
Date: 05 November 2015, At: 14:20
Copyright © NISC Pty Ltd
Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2003, 15(1): 27–32 Printed in South Africa — All rights reserved
JOURNAL OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH ISSN 1728–0583
Research Paper
Prevalence and attitudinal predictors of child sexual offending in a nonforensic sample of South African high school males Thandekile S Magojo* and Steven J Collings
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
School of Psychology, University of Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa * Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected]
Objective — The prevalence, and attitudinal predictors, of sexual aggression were examined in a non-forensic sample of South African high school males. Method — Survey questionnaires were administered to 446 males (aged 16 to 25 years) attending schools in the greater Durban area, South Africa. Results — A history of sexually aggressive behaviour was reported by 66.8% of respondents, with 17.5% reporting an act of sexual aggression that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant relationship between sexually abusive behaviour and attitudes supportive of both sexual and physical aggression. Additionally, a tendency to attribute blame to the victim of sexual aggression and attitudes reflecting an internalised culture of violence significantly discriminated between respondents who committed rape/attempted rape, indecent assault, and crimen injuria. Conclusions — These findings indicate relatively high rates of sexual offending among South African high school males and suggest that primary prevention programmes are likely to be most effective if they target attitudes supportive of both sexual and physical violence.
Introduction It is generally acknowledged that South Africa has one of the highest rates of sexual crime in the world (Snyders 2003). According to the most recent figures provided by the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (2002), 52 860 cases of rape were reported to the police nationally in the year 2000, with a further 37 711 rapes being reported in the period January to September 2001. An analysis of reported rapes by age-category indicates that children face a particularly high risk of sexual victimisation, with the rape ratio for children in the 12–17 year-old category (471.1 rapes per 100 000 female population) being nearly double the national ratio of 285.6. In the period 1996 to 1998 rape was the most prevalent reported crime against children, with the prevalence of reported child rape having increased notably in the past two years (National Commissioner of the South African Police Service 2002). These statistical trends are confirmed by survey data which provide prevalence figures for child sexual abuse in excess of 50% in some areas (Madu and Peltzer 2000, 2001) and which indicate particularly high rates of sexual abuse among school-aged children (Human Rights Watch 2001). From figures provided by Madu and Peltzer (2000) it is clear that a significant proportion of the perpetrators of this abuse are themselves still children (i.e. males under the age of 18 years) with particularly high levels of sexual aggression being noted in samples of South African high school males (Andersson 2002a, 2002b). Attempts to account for these relatively high rates of sexual offending take two main forms. On the one hand, there
are those who maintain that high rates of sexual aggression among South African youth reflect a widespread acceptance of beliefs and attitudes, which propagate a norm of adversarial sexual relationships. Support for this view is provided by Andersson’s (2002a) finding that 32% of South African high school males believe that forced sex with someone you know is not rape, 24% believe that rape victims always or often ‘ask’ for it, and 25% believe that women always mean ‘yes’ when they say ‘no’. On the other hand, there are those who maintain that a comprehensive aetiological model of sexual aggression in the South African context needs to incorporate an understanding of the socio-historical context in which aggression takes place. Thus, for example, Human Rights Watch (2001, pp. 5–6) reminds us that: South Africa has only recently emerged from a history in which violence was routinely used by the state as a means of exerting power. Years of violent enforcement of apartheid era policies have fueled a culture of violence. This historical legacy presents a challenge for the government as violence remains high in many areas and schools are still ill-equipped to curb violence. Violence is often sexualised, with devastating consequences for women and girls who disproportionately bear the brunt of sexual violence, not only in society at large but in schools as well. In a similar vein, Andersson (2002a) refers to a culture of sexual violence amongst South African youth in terms of which sexual aggression is regarded as an “undesirable but inescapable fact of life ‘in response to which’ the vulnerable
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
28
Magojo and Collings
have developed a host of adaptive behaviours that allow them to see themselves as survivors rather than victims”. In the process sexual aggression is normalised and allowed to continue unopposed. Although there is empirical support for both of the above forms of explanation, there has, to date, been no systematic attempt to explore the prevalence of sexual aggression among South African youth, or to assess the role, and relative importance, of rape supportive beliefs and attitudes, and attitudes reflecting a culture of violence, in sexual offending. In an attempt to address some of the issues raised by previous research, the present study: (a) examined the prevalence of sexual offending in a sample of South African high school males, and (b) assessed the role, and relative importance of attitudes towards sexual aggression, and attitudes reflecting a culture of violence, in sexual offending. Three hypotheses were entertained. First, it was predicted that prevalence rates for sexual offending would be significantly higher than comparative rates obtained for American college students. Second, it was predicted that sexual aggressors would score significantly higher than nonaggressors on measures of rape supportive beliefs and attitudes. Third, it was predicted that sexual aggressors would score significantly higher than non-aggressors on measures designed to reflect an internalised culture of violence. Method Respondents Participants were 446 high school students attending government schools in the Durban greater metropolitan area (South Africa) in 2002. All respondents were male, with the average age being 17.89 years (range 16–25 years); 96.4% of respondents were Black, 2.7% Coloured, 0.7% White, and 0.2% were of other races. Respondents described the occupation of the main income earner in their family as: unskilled manual worker (43% of cases), skilled manual worker (32.3% of cases), skilled technical, administrative, or service worker (13.9% of cases), or professional/managerial (10.8% of cases). Instruments The research instrument contained a demographic form; Collings’ (1997) Child Sexual Abuse Myth Scale (CSAMS);
Funk et al. (1999) Attitudes Towards Violence Scale (AVS); and a modified version of Koss and Oros’ (1982) Sexual Experience Survey (SES). The demographic form used standard demographic questions to assess age, gender, and occupation of main family income earner. Data on the prevalence of sexual aggression were obtained using a modified version of the Sexual Experiences Survey developed by Koss and Oros (1982). The main modification to Koss and Oros’ instrument involved the inclusion of four additional items, which were designed to survey behaviours, which met the legal definition of crimen injuria (see Table 1, questions one to four). The final three items on the sexual aggression survey were taken from Koss and Oros’ scale and were designed to survey behaviours consistent with the legal definitions of indecent assault, attempted rape, and rape (respectively). The text of all seven items is presented in Table 1. Attitudes towards sexual abuse were assessed using the Child Sexual Abuse Myth Scale (CSAMS) (Collings 1997). The CSAMS is a 15-item self-report measure of child sexual abuse myths and stereotypes, which is scored using a 5point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), with higher scores indicating a greater acceptance of abuse related myths and stereotypes. Individual responses on the CSAMS are combined into three factor scores: a Blame Diffusion factor (comprising statements which suggest that persons other than the offender are to blame for the abuse); a Denial of Abusiveness factor (comprising statements which serve to minimise the abusive nature of child sexual abuse); and a Restrictive Stereotypes factor (comprising statements which serve to deny the reality of most forms of abuse). The author (Collings 1997) reports: (a) a Cronbach alpha for the full scale of 0.76; (b) test-retest reliability of 0.87; and (c) acceptable levels of convergent and discriminant validity, in that all three CSAMS factor scores have been found to be positively correlated with scores on Burt’s Rape Myth Scale (Burt 1980) and negatively correlated with scores on the Offender Blame subscale of the Jackson Incest Blame Scale (Jackson and Ferguson 1983). The CSAMS was deemed to constitute an appropriate measure of attitudes towards sexual aggression in the present research because: (a) it is specifically designed to assess attitudes towards child sexual abuse and (b) all incidents of sexual aggression reported by respondents involved a victim
Table 1: Prevalence of sexual aggression since age 14 involving a girl or woman under the age of 18 years (n = 446) Sexual behaviour n 1. Have you ever exposed your sex organs to a girl or women (other than your lover) in a situation where you knew that she did not want you to? 2. Have you ever made a phone call to a girl or women in which you used abusive or unwanted sexual language? 3. Have you ever followed or walked after a girl and upset her by making sexual suggestions? 4. Have you ever spied on a girl while she was dressing or changing without her knowing you were doing so? 5. Have you ever touched a girl or woman in a sexual way when you knew that she did not want you to? 6. Have you ever attempted to have sexual intercourse with a girl or woman (i.e. without penetration taking place) in a situation where you knew that she did not want you to? 7. Have you ever had sexual intercourse with a girl or woman in a situation where you knew that she did not want to? a
Percentages do not sum to 100 as a number of respondents reported more than one form of sexual aggression
Prevalence (%)
a
93 74 98 151 122
(20.9) (16.6) (22.0) (33.9) (27.4)
51 36
(11.4) (8.1)
Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2003, 15: 27–32
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
who was still technically a child (i.e. a person under the age of 18 years). Attitudes towards physical violence were assessed using the Attitudes Towards Violence Scale (AVS) (Funk et al. 1999). The AVS is a 15-item self-report measure of attitudes towards physical violence which is scored using a 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), with higher scores indicating attitudes that are more pro-violence. Individual responses on the AVS are combined into two factor scores: a Reactive Violence factor (comprising statements which justify violence as a response to threat) and a Culture of Violence factor (comprising statements which reflect an identification with violence as an acceptable and valued activity). The authors report Cronbach alphas for the full scale of 0.86, for the Reactive Violence factor of 0.77, and for the Culture of Violence factor of 0.75. Procedure In the first phase of the research: (a) ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Natal ethics committee, (b) permission was obtained from the regional director of education to conduct research in high schools located in Kwa Mashu township, which lies in the greater Durban area (the present research focused on four high schools which were randomly selected from high schools in the Kwa Mashu area) and (c) arrangements were made with school principals to conduct the research in their schools. In the second phase of the research, the research questionnaire was administered to groups of 40 high school males in a classroom situation. In each school, all male learners who were present on the day of the research and who were at least 16 years of age were asked to participate in the study. Because of the sensitive nature of the research, the senior researcher was present to describe the purpose and aims of the research, to assure participants that all information would be treated in the strictest of confidence, and to answer any questions that respondents might have regarding the questionnaire and the response format. All respondents were informed that participation was voluntary and questionnaires were only completed by respondents who agreed to sign an informed consent form. Only two respondents did not agree to participate in the study, providing a participation rate of 99.6%.
29
Cronbach alphas for: (a) the CSAMS were 0.79 (full scale), 0.76 (Blame Diffusion), 0.73 (Denial of Abusiveness) and 0.75 (Restrictive Stereotypes); and (b) the AVS were 0.82 (full scale), 0.77 (Reactive Violence) and 0.73 (Culture of Violence). The prevalence of sexual aggression A previous involvement in some form of sexual aggression was reported by 66.8% of respondents. The most serious form of sexual aggression reported was crimen injuria for 30.5% of respondents, indecent assault for 18.8% of respondents, and rape/attempted rape for 17.5% of respondents. Prediction of sexual aggression The relationship between attitudinal variables and a history of sexual aggression was explored using a Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) in which the most serious level of sexual aggression reported (no sexual aggression, crimen injuria, indecent assault, or rape/attempted rape) was entered as the independent variable and CSAMS and AVS factor scores were entered as dependent variables. The MANOVA yielded a significant effect for sexual aggression status, Wilkes Lambda = 0.79, F(15, 1206) = 4.88, P < 0.001. One-way ANOVAs indicated that this effect was significant in both AVS factor scores and in scores for the Blame Diffusion factor of the CSAMS but not in scores for the Denial of Abusiveness or Restrictive Stereotypes factors of the CSAMS (see F ratios in Table 2). Newman-Keuls post hoc tests indicated the following significant differences (see means in Table 2). For both AVS factors (Reactive Violence and Culture of Violence), and for the Blame Diffusion factor of the CSAMS, scores obtained by respondents who did not report a history of sexual aggression were significantly lower than scores obtained by respondents in each of the sexual aggression categories. In addition, the ‘rape/attempted rape’ group scored: (a) significantly higher than the ‘crimen injuria’ group on Blame Diffusion and Culture of Violence, and (b) significantly higher than the ‘indecent assault’ group on Blame Diffusion. There were no significant differences in the scores of the ‘crimen injuria’ and the ‘indecent assault’ groups on any of the dependent measures. Discussion
Scoring procedure Respondents were classified according to the most severe sexual aggression reported into one of four mutually exclusive categories: (a) no aggression; (b) crimen injuria (‘yes’ responses to items 1, 2, 3 or 4 but not to any higher numbered items); (c) indecent assault (‘yes’ responses to item 5 but not to any higher numbered items); or (d) rape/attempted rape (‘yes’ response to items 6 or 7). Results Confirmatory factor analysis Separate principal-axis factor analyses with varimax rotation were performed on respondent’s CSAMS and AVS scores. These analyses produced factor structures that were identical to those reported by the authors of the instruments.
In the present study, 66.8% of high school males reported a history of sexually abusive behaviour, with 17.5% reporting an act of sexual aggression that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape. These overall prevalence figures are significantly higher than the average prevalence rate of 25.4% (range: 21% to 33%) obtained in five studies of American college males (Koss, Gidycz and Wisniewski 1987, Abbey, McAuslan and Ross 1998, Abbey et al. 2001, Aberle and Littlefield 2001, Forbes and Adams-Curtis 2001). Although high levels of sexual aggression were predicted for respondents in the present study there are reasons to suspect that the true prevalence figure may be somewhat higher. First, some degree of underreporting can be expected in surveys of behaviours, which carry a criminal sanction. Second, the fact that sexual offenders tend to underestimate
30
Magojo and Collings
Table 2: Means, standard deviations, and F-ratios for CSAMS and AVS factor scores according to most severe form of sexual aggression reported (n = 446)
Factor score Reactive Violence Blame Diffusion Culture of Violence Denial of Abusiveness Restrictive Stereotypes
No sexual aggression (n = 148) M (SD) 16.86 (4.08) 11.89 (3.03) 13.67 (3.35) 13.36 (3.24) 14.72 (3.01)
Most severe form of sexual aggression reported Crimen injuria Indecent assault Rape/attempted rape (n = 136) (n = 84) (n = 78) M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) 20.40 (4.43) a 19.97 (5.17) a 19.38 (4.80) a 13.10 (3.18) a 13.36 (3.09) a 14.49 (4.83) abc 15.02 (4.38) a 15.55 (4.40) a 16.49 (4.71) ab 13.42 (3.44) 14.12 (2.77) 14.09 (2.86) 15.05 (3.68) 15.32 (2.95) 15.45 (3.56)
F (3,441) 14.77 *** 10.23 *** 8.77 *** 1.78 1.05
*** P < 0.001 Score is significantly higher than for the no sexual aggression group b Score is significantly higher than for the crimen injuria group c Score is significantly higher than for the indecent assault group
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
a
the degree of force or coercion involved in sexual encounters (Vogelman 1990) may have led some respondents to inaccurately construe certain abusive behaviours as consensual sexual activity. Third, the survey focused largely on behaviours that were perceived by the perpetrator as being unwanted. This may have precluded reports of sexual behaviours that were abusive for other reasons, such as the exploitation of power relationships or the relative immaturity of the partner. Fourth, the survey focused on acts of sexual aggression involving a victim under the age of 18, which effectively excluded reports of sexual aggression involving adult victims. The findings regarding the role of attitudinal variables in sexual aggression are consistent with the prediction that sexual aggressors would be more likely to ascribe to attitudes and beliefs, which are supportive of both sexual and physical violence. These finding are consistent with results obtained for both forensic and non-forensic samples of sexual aggressors (e.g. Collings 1994, Collings and McArthur 2000), and are congruent with aetiological theories of sexual offending which maintain that sexual aggression has its origins in the conflation of aggression, violence, and sexuality that characterises the social definition of masculinity in society (Mosher and Tomkins 1988, Beaver, Gold and Prisco 1992). Of particular significance for the South African context, is the fact that more intrusive forms of sexual aggression were found to be associated with an increased likelihood of endorsing statements reflecting core attitudes to violence (i.e. Culture of Violence). This finding provides empirical support for the view that high rates of sexual aggression in South Africa can, at least in part, be attributed to a pervasive culture of violence that has its origins in the structural violence that characterised apartheid (Human Rights Watch 2001, Anderson 2002a, 2002b). The finding that only one of the three CSAMS factor scores (Blame Diffusion) emerged as a significant predictor of sexual aggression was somewhat surprising as all three CSAMS factor scores have been found to significantly discriminate child sexual offenders from non-offenders in previous studies of incarcerated offenders (e.g. Collings and McArthur 2000). A possible reason for this negative finding
relates to the fact that the present findings were based on a non-forensic sample of offenders for whom attempts at mitigating or minimising the impact of abuse — defensive functions which are served by Denial of Abusiveness and Restrictive Stereotypes (cf. Collings 1997) — are likely to be less salient than they are for forensic samples who have had to justify their behaviour in a court of law. Further research on the importance of specific cognitive distortions as a function of the extent of offender involvement with the criminal justice system would appear to be indicated. Before considering the implications of these findings, some caution is in order. The present findings were obtained using a predominantly Black sample of respondents attending schools in an urban area, who cannot necessarily be assumed to be representative of South African high school males in general. The present findings would nevertheless appear to have implications for research and practice. Implications for practice Prevalence rates obtained for sexual aggression in the present research suggest the need for intensive and extensive primary and secondary intervention programmes designed to address the issue of sexual crime among South African high school males. Such programmes should be designed to address both reactive and culturally ingrained attitudes to aggression, and should be targeted to meet the specific needs of subgroups of sexually aggressive and potentially aggressive individuals. The relationship between culture of violence and sexual aggression that emerged in the present research suggests that intervention efforts also need to focus on more comprehensive plans of action designed to (a) re-sensitise communities to the realities and to the effects of social violence, and (b) afford more meaningful and effective protection for women and girls. As Human Rights Watch (2001) points out, such plans of action should ideally be formulated following consultation with all stakeholders including school children, teachers and school principals, as well as non-governmental organisations and government agencies. Implications for research The methodology employed in the present research differed
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2003, 15: 27–32
in important respects from methodologies employed in previous studies of American college males. First, the present research employed an inclusive definition of sexual aggression (i.e. both contact and non-contact forms of sexual abuse), which allowed the researchers to establish that similar attitudinal predictors discriminate contact and non-contact sexual aggressors from non-abusive controls. Previous research has tended to rely on restrictive definitions of sexual aggression (i.e. contact abuse only), a decision that is likely to have attenuated attitudinal differences between offender and non-offender groups. Second, the present research examined attitudinal predictors separately for different forms of sexual aggression, a methodological decision which allowed the researchers to identify attitudinal predictors (i.e. Blame Diffusion and Culture of Violence) that significantly discriminated more intrusive forms of sexual aggression (i.e. rape/attempted rape) from less intrusive forms of aggression (i.e. crimen injuria and indecent assault). Previous studies have tended to combine different forms of sexual aggression for purposes of analysis (i.e. any form of sexual aggression versus no aggression), a decision that is likely to have masked or, at the very least, attenuated attitudinal differences between offender groups. Finally, the present study examined attitudinal predictors of sexual aggression using respondents drawn from the population of interest. The fact that the present findings regarding prevalence and attitudinal predictors differed significantly from findings obtained for samples of South African university students (Collings 1994) suggests, at least as far as South Africa is concerned, that the views and experiences of university or college students may not necessarily reflect the views and experiences of the broader population. At a more general level, a challenge for future research is the further explication of the aetiological pathways that lead to sexual aggression among South African youth. Recent findings (e.g. Madu and Peltzer 2000, 2001, Govender and Killian 2001), which indicate that a significant proportion of South African high school males are themselves likely to have been victims of sexual and/or physical aggression, suggest that extensive exposure to social and interpersonal violence in the South African context may desensitise young people to violence, which in turn is likely to encourage the development of pro-violence attitudes which are predictive of sexual aggression. Such aetiological pathways need to be explored and carefully evaluated in future studies. In addition, future research needs to explore the aetiological significance of a number of other variables which have been found to be associated with sexual aggression, and which are likely to be relevant to sexual offending in the South African context. These variables include the use and abuse of alcohol (Ullman, Karabatsos and Koss 1999a, 1999b, Brecklin and Ullman 2001), the influence of adverse early family experiences (Aberle and Littlefield 2001, Smallbone and Dadds 2001), and the individual’s ability to empathise with others (Lisak 1995, Burke 2001, Lindsey, Carlozzi and Eells 2001). The high rates of sexual aggression noted in the present research would suggest that such research efforts are strongly indicated.
31
References Abbey A, McAuslan P and Ross LT (1998) Sexual assault perpetration by college men: the role of alcohol, misperception of sexual intent, and sexual beliefs and experiences. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 17: 167–195 Abbey A, McAuslan P, Zawacki T, Clinton AM and Buck PO (2001) Attitudinal, experiential, and situational predictors of sexual assault perpetration. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16: 784–807 Aberle CC and Littlefield RP (2001) Family functioning and sexual aggression in a sample of college men. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16: 565–579 Andersson N (2002a) Beyond victims and villains: the culture of sexual violence in south Johannesburg. Available at: http://www.ciet.org/www/image/country/safrica_victims.html [Accessed 3 October 2002] Andersson N (2002b) Pilot study of sexual abuse of 9 000 school going youth in nine provinces. Paper presented at the National Conference of the South African Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, September 6 2002, Durban, South Africa Beaver ED, Gold SR and Prisco AG (1992) Priming macho attitudes and emotions. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 7: 321–333 Brecklin LR and Ullman SE (2001) The role of offender alcohol use in rape attacks: an analysis of national crime victimization survey data. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16(1): 3–21 Burke DM (2001) Empathy in sexually offending and nonoffending males. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16(3): 222–233 Burt MR (1980) Cultural myths and support for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 38: 217–230 Collings SJ (1994) Sexual aggression: a discriminant analysis of predictors in a non-forensic sample. South African Journal of Psychology 24: 35–38 Collings SJ (1997) Development, reliability, and validity of the Child Sexual Abuse Myth Scale. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 12: 665–674 Collings SJ and McArthur DJ (2000) Child sexual abuse myth acceptance: a comparative analysis of child sexual offenders rapists non-sexual offenders and citizens. Acta Criminologica 13(1): 11–15 Forbes GB and Adams-Curtis LE (2001) Experiences with sexual coercion in college males and females: role of family conflict, sexist attitudes, acceptance of rape myths, self-esteem, and the BigFive personality factors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16: 865–889 Funk JB, Elliott R, Urman ML, Flores GT and Mock RM (1999) The attitudes towards violence scale: a measure for adolescents. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 14: 1123–1136 Govender K and Killian BJ (2001) The psychological effects of chronic violence on children living in South African townships. South African Journal of Psychology 31(2): 1–11 Human Rights Watch (2001) Scared at School: Sexual Violence Against Girls in South African Schools. Author, New York Jackson TL and Ferguson WP (1983) Attribution of blame in incest. American Journal of Community Psychology 11: 313–322 Koss MP, Gidycz CA and Wisniewski N (1987) The scope of rape: incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 55: 162–170 Koss MP and Oros C (1982) The sexual experiences survey: a research instrument investigating sexual aggression and victimization. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 50: 455–457 Lindsey RE, Carlozzi AF and Eells GT (2001) Differences in the dispositional empathy of juvenile sex offenders, non-sex offenders,
32
Downloaded by [Australian National University] at 14:20 05 November 2015
and nondelinquent juveniles. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16: 510–522 Lisak DIC (1995) Deficits in intimacy and empathy in sexually aggressive men. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 10: 296–308 Madu SN and Peltzer K (2000) Risk factors and child sexual abuse among secondary school students in the Northern Province (South Africa). Child Abuse and Neglect 24(2): 259–268 Madu SN and Peltzer K (2001) Prevalence and patterns of child sexual abuse and victim-perpetrator relationship among secondary school students in the Northern Province (South Africa). Archives of Sexual Behaviour 30(3): 311–321 Mosher DL and Tomkins SS (1988) Scripting the macho man: hypermasculine socialization and enculturation. Journal of Sex Research 25: 60–84 National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (2002) Annual report of the National Commissioner of the South African Police 2001/2002. Available at: http://www.saps.org.za/areport02/ index.htm [Accessed 3 October 2002]
Magojo and Collings
Smallbone SW and Dadds MR (2001) Further evidence for a relationship between attachment insecurity and coercive sexual behaviour in nonoffenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 16(1): 22–35 Snyders S (2003) Child abuse in South Africa. Keynote address presented at the Fourth National Conference of the Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Pretoria, South Africa Ullman SE, Karabatsos G and Koss MP (1999a) Alcohol and sexual aggression in a national sample of college men. Psychology of Women Quarterly 23: 673–689 Ullman SE, Karabatsos G and Koss MP (1999b) Alcohol and sexual assault in a national sample of college woman. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 14: 603–625 Vogelman L (1990) The Sexual Face of Violence: Rapists on Rape. Raven Press, Johannesburg
