ChildtAbuse & Neglect. Vol. 16, pp. 735-741, 1992
0145-2134/92 $5.00 + .00 Copyright © 1992 Pergamon Press Ltd.
Printed in the U.S.A. All fights reserved.
SEXUAL ABUSE BY GRANDPARENTS LESLIE MARGOLIN Division of Counselor Education, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Abstract--Using a sample of 95 case records of sexual abuse substantiated through child protection investigation, this study confirmed several findings from earlier studies of sexually abusive grandparents: (a) virtually all perpetrators are male, (b) the vast majority of victims are female, (c) a disproportionately large share of abusive grandfathers appear to also be sexually abusive fathers, and (d) stepgrandchildren appear to experience greater risk. Additionally, it was noted that stepgrandparent perpetrators were more threatening and physically violent. However, contrary to some earlier studies, evidence was provided that this form of abuse is inappropriately described as "gentle." Explicit threats and overt physical assault were noted in 14 cases. Moreover, the other tactics used to gain children's compliance, such as overpowering them, suddenly grabbing their genitals, and attacking them in their sleep, appeared to seriously compromise children's autonomy and personal integrity.
Key Words--Child sexual abuse, Grandparents, Incest.
CULTURAL STEREOTYPES PORTRAY grandparents as kindly and solicitous. Supporting this image, relatively few sexually abusive grandparents have been identified in the literature. For example, Russell (1986) found that, with the single exception of brothers- and sisters-in-law, grandparents were less often reported as sexually abusive than any other relative (11 out of 190). Cupoli and Sewell (1988) found an even smaller percentage of grandparent perpetrators in their survey of 1,059 sexual assault victims under the age of 17 years old; only 2.3% of the assaults were attributed to grandparents (n = 21). Kendall-Tackett and Simon (1987) interviewed adults molested as children and identified few grandfathers among consanguineous incest perpetrators (four out of 224). A review of 511 hospital charts of sexual abuse victims by Dube and Hebert (1988) also yielded a low proportion of grandparents among incest perpetrators (six out of 184). And Kercher and McShane (1984) identified only 11 grandparent perpetrators in their study of 515 children abused by relatives. Other researchers (Barry & Johnson, 1958; de Young. 1982; Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, & Smith, 1990; Goodwin, Cormier, & Owen, 1983; Justice & Justice, 1979; Lukianowicz, 1972; Meiselman, 1978; Tsai, Feldman-Summers, & Edgar, 1979; Tsai & Wagner, 1978) also noted few cases of this kind. Still, enough cases have been examined to suggest some characteristics of these perpetrators. First, virtually all studies of grandparent sexual abuse show that this violation is a gendered phenomenon. Among the grandparents cited as abusive in the above studies, only two grandmothers were identified (Barry & Johnson, 1958; Cupoli & Sewell, 1988). This extraordinary underrepresentation of grandmothers should be interpreted against the finding that grandmothers perform a much larger share of child care than grandfathers (Margolin, 1991). Thus, grandfathers not only appear to commit substantially more child sexual abuse than grandmothers, they do so despite having relatively little exposure to and responsibility This study was supported by Harry Frank Guggenheim and University of Iowa Spelman Rockefeller Research grants. Received for publication March 18, 1991; final revision received August 8, 1991; accepted August 9, 1991. Requests for reprints may be sent to Leslie Margolin, Ph.D., Division of Counselor Education, Lindquist Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242. 735
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for children. Second, virtually all studies portray the victims of grandfathers as granddaughters. Only two studies were identified in which grandfathers sexually abused boys: Reinhart (1987) noted four cases and Goodwin, Cormier, and Owen (1983) noted one case. Other characteristics of grandparent sexual abuse have been suggested, but remain much more speculative. One such characteristic is that sexual abuse by grandfathers is relatively benign. Meiselman (1978), for one, described the five abusive grandfathers she encountered as, "gentle in their sexual approaches . . . . They did not threaten or intimidate their incest partners, and because of their quality of gentleness the grandaughter was cooperative during the incest affair itself' (p. 291 ). de Young (1982) used similar terminology, describing the two abusive grandfathers in her sample as "extraordinarily gentle victimizers" (p. 95). Tower (1989) claimed these perpetrators "usually use tenderness with their granddaughters" (p. 156). And Thorman (1983) hypothesized that "the granddaughter finds some pleasure in the sex games she plays with her grandfather" (p. 25). Even Goodwin, Cormier, and Owen (1983) used the term "gentle" to describe grandfathers' sexual activity (p. 169) despite noting that most victims exhibited either educational and behavioral symptoms or fears and phobias resulting from these acts. Finally, Russell (1986) found that grandfathers were significantly less abusive than other incest perpetrators: Almost three quarters of the grandfathers in her sample limited their abuse to fondling without penetration. Another characteristic of grandparent sexual abuse noted in some studies is the overrepresentation of stepgrandfathers. Russell (1986) suggests that stepgrandfathers, like stepfathers, may be more likely to abuse their grandchildren than genetic grandfathers and points to the finding that three out of the 11 grandfather perpetrators in her sample were stepgrandfathers. Kercher and McShane (1984) also found that 27% of abusive grandfathers were stepgrandfathers. Finally, Goodwin, Cormier, and Owen (1983) noted that eight of the 10 grandfathers they examined abused their daughter(s) as well as their granddaughter(s). Meiselman (1978) and de Young (1982) each noted two cases of this kind, suggesting that many abusive grandfathers may be acting out patterns of exploitation that have a long history. This analysis uses a substantially larger number of grandparent sexual abuse cases than prior studies (N = 95) to examine the characteristics of grandparent sexual abuse. In an effort to extend and replicate the observations of earlier studies, the following questions are addressed: What are the characteristics of victims and perpetrators? How violent or gentle is this form of incest? Are stepgrandparents overrepresented in sexual abuse? How often is this abuse trigenerational?
METHOD Since most investigations into grandparent sexual abuse have utilized nonrepresentative, clinical samples, and since general population surveys have identified few cases of this type (Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, & Smith, 1990; Margolin, 199 l; Russell, 1986), new data sources are needed to confirm and extend earlier analyses. The data source used in this study is the records of child protection investigators. Although child protection investigations can only be performed on cases that come to the attention of authorities and, therefore, represent only a fraction of all cases of abuse, these records do provide important information on the kinds of cases reported to professionals. A second benefit to utilizing child protection records is that they are usually based on interviews with several parties: victims, perpetrators, parents, witnesses, police, and medical examiners. Having access to many points of view, not only makes cross-validation possible, but provides a feel for the flow of events leading to and surrounding the abusive activity. Finally, the sheer number of cases available in child protection records
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allows for a degree of specification into grandparent sexual abuse not possible when only clinical or sample survey data are used. For the years 1985 and 1986, 95 case records of"founded" grandparent sexual abuse were identified in the files of the Iowa Department of Human Services. (Iowa has a population of approximately 2.8 million. The U.S. Census for 1980 places 58.6% of the population in urban areas.) These records documented the sexual abuse of 95 children by 76 grandparents. The discrepancy between the number of victims and perpetrators is due to 17 grandparents abusing two or more children, and, in one instance, a husband and wife abusing one grandchild. Although most records included descriptions of the social interactions that preceded the abusive acts, in about 20 cases few details were provided. This was not necessarily due to bad record keeping, but rather resulted from the fact that 12 of the victims were 5-years-old or younger at the time the investigation was conducted and, thus, unable to fully articulate what happened to them. Further adding to the sketchiness of some recordings was the fact that 60% of the perpetrators denied any responsibility for the abuse.
FINDINGS
The Characteristics of Victims and Perpetrators There were 11 male and 84 female victims. While the male victims were somewhat older, 9.18 versus 7.72 years, these differences were not statistically significant. However, grandparents who selected male victims were significantly younger, 55.57 versus 62.72 years (t = 2.1, df = 55, p = .044). All but one of the 76 perpetrators were male. Almost 10% of the abused children were in the custody of their grandparents (n = 9). However, in the vast majority of cases, grandparents who committed sexual abuse were taking care of these children on a temporary basis while the custodial parents were absent. These children were usually visiting their grandparents' home when the abuse occurred (n = 61), most often staying overnight (n = 57). In six instances, grandparents providing temporary child care committed the abuse in the children's home. In four other instances, noncustodial grandparents abused their grandchildren either during overnight camping trips or in cars. Two noncustodial grandparents were abusive in their own and their grandchildren's homes. Finally, seven noncustodial grandparents committed the abuse at times when the children's parents were present or in the same home.
How Severe is Grandparent Sexual Abuse? Several factors need to be considered to assess the severity of sexual abuse by grandparents. These include identification of the sexual act(s) themselves, an estimate of the number of assaults that occurred, how long the abusive relationship lasted, and analysis of how the abuse was accomplished. With regard to the latter contingency, it is important to understand how physical force, threats, and manipulative tactics were used to make children comply with their grandparents' sexual wishes. The most common manifestation of grandparent sexual abuse was also one of the least severe: fondling without penetration. This was experienced by 45% of the victims. The next most common abuse was fondling combined with digital penetration, experienced by 31% of the victims. Children were forced to fondle the grandfather's penis in 16% of the cases. And full intercourse occurred in 12% of the cases. In another 12% of the cases, penetration of the vagina or anus was not accomplished, but the grandfather pressed his penis against the child's genitals. Other forms of abuse such as fellatio of the grandfather (11%), fellatio of the child (4%), and cunnilingus of the child (11%) were somewhat less common. There were only two
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grandfathers who went no farther than exposing themselves. One grandfather put a stick or rod into the vagina of his 8-year-old granddaughter. (Percents for the different types of sexual abuse sum to more than 100 since many children were abused in several ways.) Consistent with Russell's findings, the types of sexual abuse enacted by grandparents may have clustered at the milder end of the severity spectrum, but these violations were nonetheless recurrent and often long lasting. Seventy percent of the victims were abused three or more times by the same perpetrator. Moreover, 35% of the victims were abused for a period that lasted longer than a year. Disconfirming the formulation of grandparent sexual abuse as "gentle," overt intimidation tactics, involving threats and physical assault, occurred in 14 cases. A granddaughter who was abused since the age of 4 was told by her custodial grandfather that if she informed on him, he would not protect her, love her, or take care of her anymore. A 4-year-old who was visiting her grandparents--the only victim of a grandmother and grandfather--was told she would not be allowed to return home again if she did not allow them to touch her. Another grandfather simply slapped his granddaughter's face when she said she was going to tell on him. One grandfather told a 12-year-old boy that, "if you don't do this [perform fellatio], you'll pay for it." When that grandson resisted, he had his finger broken. Among grandfathers who used threats to make their grandchildren submit, not all threatened to hurt the grandchild: One grandfather who had sexual intercourse with his 7-year-old granddaughter said he would kill himself if she was not cooperative. To make his threat credible, he actually stuck a knife into his stomach. Another grandfather gave his granddaughter sleeping pills to knock her out while he raped her. In one case, a grandmother who did not commit the abuse threatened to beat her granddaughter till she bled if she ever told on her husband. Finally, one case concerned a 14-year-old girl who was sent to live with her grandfather to help him with cooking and cleaning while his wife, the girl's grandmother, was in the hospital. One day he asked her to rub his back, then turned on her suddenly, pinning her to the floor. He eased his hold on her briefly when the phone rang, allowing her to race to the bathroom. He chased after her, forced the bathroom door open, then twisted his granddaughter's arm behind her back, subduing her by slamming her into a wall. Other children were not beaten or threatened with reprisals, but were, nonetheless, given little choice but to comply with their grandfathers' sexual demands. In 21 cases, for example, grandfathers advanced suddenly, without verbalizing their intent, in effect, depriving their granddaughters of the capacity to figure out what was happening to them. Two granddaughters were confronted by a grandfather who suddenly approached them with his genitals exposed. Other grandfathers simply began to paw and grab at their grandchildren's bodies without giving any warning. As one 8-year-old put it, Mygrandpawassittingby me one nightand he got out ofhis mind.He startedtakinghis handsand sticking'em down my pants. When an 11-year-old girl asked her grandfather to help her tie the knot in her swimming suit, he placed himself behind her and, saying nothing, abruptly pulled her suit down and grabbed her breasts. An l 1-year-old was similarly shocked when her grandfather's hands shifted from showing her how to steer his car to grabbing her breasts. In six other cases, grandfathers used their superior physical strength in combination with the element of surprise to subdue and intimidate their grandchildren. For example, one I 1-year-old girl was quietly watching television with her grandfather when all of a sudden she felt his hands all over her. He then got up and told her to come into the bedroom with him. When she said "no" he simply picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. An 8-year-old girl told this story:
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It happened when we were driving. He pulled my head down and made me put his thing in my mouth. I spilled my ice cream cone, and he had me steer while he was zipping his pants. We nearly crashed.
Finally, 25 children were attacked while they slept in their grandparents' home. These children were particularly vulnerable because most had no room or bed of their own when they visited their grandparents. They either shared a bed with their grandfather (n = 10) or slept on the couch in the livingroom (n = 5). In the words of an I l-year-old girl who spent weekends at her grandparents' home: My grandmother used to sleep on the couch or in the other bedroom and it started out my grandpa would wear a t-shirt and long johns and I'd wake up in the middle of the night and he'd just have his hands down my pants.
In some cases (n = 11), grandfathers appeared to give their grandchildren the option to refuse. However, their "offers" to engage in sexual activity invariably involved deception and manipulation. For example, two grandfathers portrayed the sexual activity as a new game that the child might enjoy. Others portrayed it as an expression of unusual affection and concern. One grandfather told his granddaughter that this is the way grandfathers express love. Several of these grandfathers referred to the incest in conspiratorial terms as "our little secret." Five children were offered bribes. One was offered a pack of gum to let her grandfather touch her; another was offered five dollars; still another granddaughter was told she could only have her friend visit if she complied with her grandfather's sexual wishes. One grandfather offered his teenage grandson drugs and alcohol in exchange for fellatio and another grandfather said he would only give his granddaughter her Christmas stocking if she allowed him to feel her genitals,
Are Stepgrandparents Overrepresented in Sexual Abuse? In this sample, 33 out of 95 children were sexually abused by 27 stepgrandfathers. Just how much of an overrepresentation this is cannot be answered precisely given the absence of good information on the number of stepgrandparents in the general population. There is no question, however, that the share of sexual abuse (35%) committed by stepgrandparents is far more than would be expected by chance. Not only do these data suggest that children experience elevated risk with stepgrandparents, but the type of sexual abuse committed by stepgrandparents appears more severe. For example, while only 8% of genetic grandchildren had intercourse done to them, 18% of the stepgrandchildren experienced intercourse. More often than not, when stepgrandchildren were fondled manually, they experienced digital penetration (55%). By contrast, only 35% of genetic grandchildren fondled manually were penetrated digitally. Finally, fully 24% of the stepgrandchildren experienced threats and physical violence in combination with their sexual abuse, but only 10% of the genetic grandchildren experienced this level of violence.
How Often Is This Abuse Trigenerational? Twenty-six perpetrators responsible for abusing 34 grandchildren were also responsible for sexually abusing their daughters. An interesting characteristic of trigenerational sexual abuse was the younger age of the victims and perpetrators. The mean age of children abused by grandfathers who also abused their daughters was 7.13 years versus 8.31 years for other children. The mean age for trigenerational perpetrators was 60 years versus 63.2 years for other perpetrators; the latter difference was not statistically significant. One of the most important questions concerning trigenerational abuse is how grandfathers with a record of abusing their own daughter(s) gain sexual access to their grandchildren. In
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this regard, two mothers sexually abused by their fathers said they tried to keep their fathers away from their daughters, but since their daughters' grandmothers provided child care for them, it was difficult to keep the grandfathers at a distance. Three other mothers said they were not as careful as they might have been about keeping their fathers away from their daughters because they believed their fathers had stopped molesting children. They said their fathers had received therapy and were thought to have been rehabilitated. In at least seven cases, women abused by their fathers knew these men were also abusing their granddaughters, but had no strategy for preventing this abuse from continuing. They did not report the abuse or attempt to keep the grandfather separated from the child. By contrast, among children abused by grandfathers who did not abuse their own daughters, there were only five children whose parents or guardians knew about the abuse but did not intervene. In five other cases of trigenerational sexual abuse, the perpetrator's spouse, the children's grandmother, witnessed the abuse or was told by the child that it was occurring, but did nothing to stop it. However, only two cases were identified in the nontrigenerational subsample in which the children's grandmother knew about the sexual abuse but did not attempt to stop it. These differences suggest that individuals from families with a history oftrigenerational sexual abuse may either feel inured to these violations or feel there is little likelihood of successful intervention.
CONCLUSIONS The most important finding from this study is that sexual abuse by grandparents cannot accurately be described as "gentle." Explicit threats and overt physical assault occurred in 14 cases. Moreover, the other tactics used to gain children's compliance, such as attacking them in their sleep, overpowering them, and suddenly grabbing their genitals, appeared to seriously compromise children's autonomy and personal integrity. As many as 19 cases were identified in which other adult family members, most often parents and grandmothers, knew of the grandfather's sexual abuse but made no effort to intervene. The finding that this inattention mostly occurred among families with long histories of child sexual abuse suggests that these families may have become inured by their long exposure to such violations. However, it may also be true that many families did not attempt to intervene because of the widespread belief that sexual abuse by grandfathers is not serious. As a result of such stereotypes, not only might less than optimal efforts be made to prevent this form of sexual abuse from occurring and recurring, but victims of grandparents may be seen as less credible than others and less worthy of support. Thus, the recognition that grandparent sexual abuse is neither gentle nor cooperative may prove highly consequential for identifying cases, as well as assessment, treatment, and prevention. Other findings that may prove useful in assessing and preventing this form of abuse include: virtually all perpetrators are male, the vast majority of victims are female, stepgrandchildren appear to experience greater risk, and a disproportionately large share of the sexually abusive grandfathers appear to also be sexually abusive fathers. Finally, this study showed that only a small portion of this abuse is attributable to perpetrators who have custody of their grandchildren. By far the greatest share of abuse occurred during intervals of temporary child care, most commonly during overnight visits to the grandparents' home. Acknowledgement--The author wishesto thank Joon YoungChoeand stafffromthe IowaDepartmentof Human Services for assistancein data collection.
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REFERENCES Barry, M. J., & Johnson, A. M. (1958). The incest barrier. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 27, 485-500. Cupoli, J. M., & Sewell, P. M. (1988). One thousand fifty-nine children with a chief complaint of sexual abuse. ChiM Abuse & Neglect, 12, 151-162. de Young, M. (1982). The sexual victimization of children. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. Dube, R., & Hebert, M. (1988). Sexual abuse of children under 12 years of age: A review of 511 cases. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12, 321-330. Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I. A., & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual abuse in a national survey of adult men and women: Prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14, 19-28. Goodwin, J., Cormier, L., & Owen, J. (1983). Grandfather-granddaughter incest: A trigenerational view. ChiMAbuse & Neglect, 7, 163-170. Justice, B., & Justice, R. (1979). The broken taboo: Sex in the family. New York: Human Science Press. KendaU-Tackett, K. A., & Simon, A. F. (1987). Perpetrators and their acts: Data from 365 adults molested as children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 11,237-245. Kercher, G., & McShane, M. (1984). Characterizing child sexual abuse on the basis of a multi-agency sample. Victimology, 9, 364-382. Lukianowicz, N. (1972). Incest. British Journal of Psychiatry, 120, 301-313. Margolin, L. (1991). Abuse and neglect in nonparental child care: A risk assessment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 694-704. Meiselman, K. C. (1978). Incest. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Reinhart, M. A. (1987). Sexually abused boys. ChildAbuse & Neglect, 11,229-235. Russell, D. E. H. (1986). The secret trauma. New York: Basic Books. Thorman, G. (1983). Incestuous families. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. Tower, C. C. (1989). Understanding child abuse and neglect. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Tsai, M., Feldman-Summers, S., & Edgar, M. (1979). Childhood molestation: Variables related to different impacts on psychosexual functioning in adult women. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 88, 407-417. Tsai, M. & Wagner, N. (1978). Therapy groups for women sexually molested as children. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 7, 417-427.
Rrsumr--L'analyse d'un 6chantillon de 95 dossiers d'abus sexuels demontr~s par des enqu&es effectures par des agences de protection infantile confirme plusieurs donnres d'rtudes antrrieures portant sur des qbus sexuels par les grandsparents: (a) virtuellement tousles abuseurs sont de sexe masculins, (b) la grande majorit6 des victimes sont des lilies, (c) une partie tr~s large et disproportionnre de ces grandp~res aubseurs sexuels se rrv~lent aussi ~tre des l~res abuseurs sexuels, (d) les enfants de "'beaux grandsp~res" courent un risque plus important. De plus, il a 6t6 observ6 que ces "beaux grandp~res" abuseurs 6taient plus menacrants et plus violents physicluement. Cependant, et h l'encontre d'rtudes prrcrdentes, des preuves ont 6t6 apportres clue cette forme d'abus ne peut &re raisonablement qualifire de "douce." Des menaces explicites et des agressions physiques ouvertes ont 6t6 observres dans &' cas. De plus, d'autres tactiques utilisres pour obtenir l'acquiescement des enfants telles que l'abus de pouvoir, la prise soudaine des parties grnitales et les agressions pendant leur sommeil semblent compromettre gravement I'autono,ie des enfants el l'intrgrit6 de leur personnalitr. Mots clefs: Abus sexuels dans l'enfance, grandsparents, inceste. Resamen--Utilizando una muestra de 95 historiales de abuso sexual comprobados por la investigaci6n de protecci6n infantil, este estudio confirm6 ratios hallazgos de estudios anteriores sobre abuelos sexualmente abusivos: (a) prficticamente todos los perpetradores son hombres; (b) ia gran mayoda de las victimas son mujeres; (c) una cantidad desproporcionadamente grande de abuelos abusivos aparecen como padres tambirn abusivos; y (d) los nietos politicos aparecen con mayor riesgo. Ademfis, se segtal6 que los perpetradores que eran abuelos politicos eran mils amenazantes y fisicamente violentos. Sin embargo, contrario a algunos estudios anteriores, se comprueba clue esta forma de abuso no es adecuademente descrita como "delicada." Amenazas explicitas y otras lActicas usadas para conseguir la participacirn de los nifios como dominfindolos, tocando sfibitamente sus genitales y atacfindolos mientras duermen parecen comprometer seriamente la autonomia y la integridad personal de los ni~os.
0145-2134/92 $5.00 + .00 Copyright © 1992 Pergamon Press Ltd.
Printed in the U.S.A. All fights reserved.
SEXUAL ABUSE BY GRANDPARENTS LESLIE MARGOLIN Division of Counselor Education, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Abstract--Using a sample of 95 case records of sexual abuse substantiated through child protection investigation, this study confirmed several findings from earlier studies of sexually abusive grandparents: (a) virtually all perpetrators are male, (b) the vast majority of victims are female, (c) a disproportionately large share of abusive grandfathers appear to also be sexually abusive fathers, and (d) stepgrandchildren appear to experience greater risk. Additionally, it was noted that stepgrandparent perpetrators were more threatening and physically violent. However, contrary to some earlier studies, evidence was provided that this form of abuse is inappropriately described as "gentle." Explicit threats and overt physical assault were noted in 14 cases. Moreover, the other tactics used to gain children's compliance, such as overpowering them, suddenly grabbing their genitals, and attacking them in their sleep, appeared to seriously compromise children's autonomy and personal integrity.
Key Words--Child sexual abuse, Grandparents, Incest.
CULTURAL STEREOTYPES PORTRAY grandparents as kindly and solicitous. Supporting this image, relatively few sexually abusive grandparents have been identified in the literature. For example, Russell (1986) found that, with the single exception of brothers- and sisters-in-law, grandparents were less often reported as sexually abusive than any other relative (11 out of 190). Cupoli and Sewell (1988) found an even smaller percentage of grandparent perpetrators in their survey of 1,059 sexual assault victims under the age of 17 years old; only 2.3% of the assaults were attributed to grandparents (n = 21). Kendall-Tackett and Simon (1987) interviewed adults molested as children and identified few grandfathers among consanguineous incest perpetrators (four out of 224). A review of 511 hospital charts of sexual abuse victims by Dube and Hebert (1988) also yielded a low proportion of grandparents among incest perpetrators (six out of 184). And Kercher and McShane (1984) identified only 11 grandparent perpetrators in their study of 515 children abused by relatives. Other researchers (Barry & Johnson, 1958; de Young. 1982; Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, & Smith, 1990; Goodwin, Cormier, & Owen, 1983; Justice & Justice, 1979; Lukianowicz, 1972; Meiselman, 1978; Tsai, Feldman-Summers, & Edgar, 1979; Tsai & Wagner, 1978) also noted few cases of this kind. Still, enough cases have been examined to suggest some characteristics of these perpetrators. First, virtually all studies of grandparent sexual abuse show that this violation is a gendered phenomenon. Among the grandparents cited as abusive in the above studies, only two grandmothers were identified (Barry & Johnson, 1958; Cupoli & Sewell, 1988). This extraordinary underrepresentation of grandmothers should be interpreted against the finding that grandmothers perform a much larger share of child care than grandfathers (Margolin, 1991). Thus, grandfathers not only appear to commit substantially more child sexual abuse than grandmothers, they do so despite having relatively little exposure to and responsibility This study was supported by Harry Frank Guggenheim and University of Iowa Spelman Rockefeller Research grants. Received for publication March 18, 1991; final revision received August 8, 1991; accepted August 9, 1991. Requests for reprints may be sent to Leslie Margolin, Ph.D., Division of Counselor Education, Lindquist Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242. 735
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for children. Second, virtually all studies portray the victims of grandfathers as granddaughters. Only two studies were identified in which grandfathers sexually abused boys: Reinhart (1987) noted four cases and Goodwin, Cormier, and Owen (1983) noted one case. Other characteristics of grandparent sexual abuse have been suggested, but remain much more speculative. One such characteristic is that sexual abuse by grandfathers is relatively benign. Meiselman (1978), for one, described the five abusive grandfathers she encountered as, "gentle in their sexual approaches . . . . They did not threaten or intimidate their incest partners, and because of their quality of gentleness the grandaughter was cooperative during the incest affair itself' (p. 291 ). de Young (1982) used similar terminology, describing the two abusive grandfathers in her sample as "extraordinarily gentle victimizers" (p. 95). Tower (1989) claimed these perpetrators "usually use tenderness with their granddaughters" (p. 156). And Thorman (1983) hypothesized that "the granddaughter finds some pleasure in the sex games she plays with her grandfather" (p. 25). Even Goodwin, Cormier, and Owen (1983) used the term "gentle" to describe grandfathers' sexual activity (p. 169) despite noting that most victims exhibited either educational and behavioral symptoms or fears and phobias resulting from these acts. Finally, Russell (1986) found that grandfathers were significantly less abusive than other incest perpetrators: Almost three quarters of the grandfathers in her sample limited their abuse to fondling without penetration. Another characteristic of grandparent sexual abuse noted in some studies is the overrepresentation of stepgrandfathers. Russell (1986) suggests that stepgrandfathers, like stepfathers, may be more likely to abuse their grandchildren than genetic grandfathers and points to the finding that three out of the 11 grandfather perpetrators in her sample were stepgrandfathers. Kercher and McShane (1984) also found that 27% of abusive grandfathers were stepgrandfathers. Finally, Goodwin, Cormier, and Owen (1983) noted that eight of the 10 grandfathers they examined abused their daughter(s) as well as their granddaughter(s). Meiselman (1978) and de Young (1982) each noted two cases of this kind, suggesting that many abusive grandfathers may be acting out patterns of exploitation that have a long history. This analysis uses a substantially larger number of grandparent sexual abuse cases than prior studies (N = 95) to examine the characteristics of grandparent sexual abuse. In an effort to extend and replicate the observations of earlier studies, the following questions are addressed: What are the characteristics of victims and perpetrators? How violent or gentle is this form of incest? Are stepgrandparents overrepresented in sexual abuse? How often is this abuse trigenerational?
METHOD Since most investigations into grandparent sexual abuse have utilized nonrepresentative, clinical samples, and since general population surveys have identified few cases of this type (Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, & Smith, 1990; Margolin, 199 l; Russell, 1986), new data sources are needed to confirm and extend earlier analyses. The data source used in this study is the records of child protection investigators. Although child protection investigations can only be performed on cases that come to the attention of authorities and, therefore, represent only a fraction of all cases of abuse, these records do provide important information on the kinds of cases reported to professionals. A second benefit to utilizing child protection records is that they are usually based on interviews with several parties: victims, perpetrators, parents, witnesses, police, and medical examiners. Having access to many points of view, not only makes cross-validation possible, but provides a feel for the flow of events leading to and surrounding the abusive activity. Finally, the sheer number of cases available in child protection records
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allows for a degree of specification into grandparent sexual abuse not possible when only clinical or sample survey data are used. For the years 1985 and 1986, 95 case records of"founded" grandparent sexual abuse were identified in the files of the Iowa Department of Human Services. (Iowa has a population of approximately 2.8 million. The U.S. Census for 1980 places 58.6% of the population in urban areas.) These records documented the sexual abuse of 95 children by 76 grandparents. The discrepancy between the number of victims and perpetrators is due to 17 grandparents abusing two or more children, and, in one instance, a husband and wife abusing one grandchild. Although most records included descriptions of the social interactions that preceded the abusive acts, in about 20 cases few details were provided. This was not necessarily due to bad record keeping, but rather resulted from the fact that 12 of the victims were 5-years-old or younger at the time the investigation was conducted and, thus, unable to fully articulate what happened to them. Further adding to the sketchiness of some recordings was the fact that 60% of the perpetrators denied any responsibility for the abuse.
FINDINGS
The Characteristics of Victims and Perpetrators There were 11 male and 84 female victims. While the male victims were somewhat older, 9.18 versus 7.72 years, these differences were not statistically significant. However, grandparents who selected male victims were significantly younger, 55.57 versus 62.72 years (t = 2.1, df = 55, p = .044). All but one of the 76 perpetrators were male. Almost 10% of the abused children were in the custody of their grandparents (n = 9). However, in the vast majority of cases, grandparents who committed sexual abuse were taking care of these children on a temporary basis while the custodial parents were absent. These children were usually visiting their grandparents' home when the abuse occurred (n = 61), most often staying overnight (n = 57). In six instances, grandparents providing temporary child care committed the abuse in the children's home. In four other instances, noncustodial grandparents abused their grandchildren either during overnight camping trips or in cars. Two noncustodial grandparents were abusive in their own and their grandchildren's homes. Finally, seven noncustodial grandparents committed the abuse at times when the children's parents were present or in the same home.
How Severe is Grandparent Sexual Abuse? Several factors need to be considered to assess the severity of sexual abuse by grandparents. These include identification of the sexual act(s) themselves, an estimate of the number of assaults that occurred, how long the abusive relationship lasted, and analysis of how the abuse was accomplished. With regard to the latter contingency, it is important to understand how physical force, threats, and manipulative tactics were used to make children comply with their grandparents' sexual wishes. The most common manifestation of grandparent sexual abuse was also one of the least severe: fondling without penetration. This was experienced by 45% of the victims. The next most common abuse was fondling combined with digital penetration, experienced by 31% of the victims. Children were forced to fondle the grandfather's penis in 16% of the cases. And full intercourse occurred in 12% of the cases. In another 12% of the cases, penetration of the vagina or anus was not accomplished, but the grandfather pressed his penis against the child's genitals. Other forms of abuse such as fellatio of the grandfather (11%), fellatio of the child (4%), and cunnilingus of the child (11%) were somewhat less common. There were only two
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grandfathers who went no farther than exposing themselves. One grandfather put a stick or rod into the vagina of his 8-year-old granddaughter. (Percents for the different types of sexual abuse sum to more than 100 since many children were abused in several ways.) Consistent with Russell's findings, the types of sexual abuse enacted by grandparents may have clustered at the milder end of the severity spectrum, but these violations were nonetheless recurrent and often long lasting. Seventy percent of the victims were abused three or more times by the same perpetrator. Moreover, 35% of the victims were abused for a period that lasted longer than a year. Disconfirming the formulation of grandparent sexual abuse as "gentle," overt intimidation tactics, involving threats and physical assault, occurred in 14 cases. A granddaughter who was abused since the age of 4 was told by her custodial grandfather that if she informed on him, he would not protect her, love her, or take care of her anymore. A 4-year-old who was visiting her grandparents--the only victim of a grandmother and grandfather--was told she would not be allowed to return home again if she did not allow them to touch her. Another grandfather simply slapped his granddaughter's face when she said she was going to tell on him. One grandfather told a 12-year-old boy that, "if you don't do this [perform fellatio], you'll pay for it." When that grandson resisted, he had his finger broken. Among grandfathers who used threats to make their grandchildren submit, not all threatened to hurt the grandchild: One grandfather who had sexual intercourse with his 7-year-old granddaughter said he would kill himself if she was not cooperative. To make his threat credible, he actually stuck a knife into his stomach. Another grandfather gave his granddaughter sleeping pills to knock her out while he raped her. In one case, a grandmother who did not commit the abuse threatened to beat her granddaughter till she bled if she ever told on her husband. Finally, one case concerned a 14-year-old girl who was sent to live with her grandfather to help him with cooking and cleaning while his wife, the girl's grandmother, was in the hospital. One day he asked her to rub his back, then turned on her suddenly, pinning her to the floor. He eased his hold on her briefly when the phone rang, allowing her to race to the bathroom. He chased after her, forced the bathroom door open, then twisted his granddaughter's arm behind her back, subduing her by slamming her into a wall. Other children were not beaten or threatened with reprisals, but were, nonetheless, given little choice but to comply with their grandfathers' sexual demands. In 21 cases, for example, grandfathers advanced suddenly, without verbalizing their intent, in effect, depriving their granddaughters of the capacity to figure out what was happening to them. Two granddaughters were confronted by a grandfather who suddenly approached them with his genitals exposed. Other grandfathers simply began to paw and grab at their grandchildren's bodies without giving any warning. As one 8-year-old put it, Mygrandpawassittingby me one nightand he got out ofhis mind.He startedtakinghis handsand sticking'em down my pants. When an 11-year-old girl asked her grandfather to help her tie the knot in her swimming suit, he placed himself behind her and, saying nothing, abruptly pulled her suit down and grabbed her breasts. An l 1-year-old was similarly shocked when her grandfather's hands shifted from showing her how to steer his car to grabbing her breasts. In six other cases, grandfathers used their superior physical strength in combination with the element of surprise to subdue and intimidate their grandchildren. For example, one I 1-year-old girl was quietly watching television with her grandfather when all of a sudden she felt his hands all over her. He then got up and told her to come into the bedroom with him. When she said "no" he simply picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. An 8-year-old girl told this story:
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It happened when we were driving. He pulled my head down and made me put his thing in my mouth. I spilled my ice cream cone, and he had me steer while he was zipping his pants. We nearly crashed.
Finally, 25 children were attacked while they slept in their grandparents' home. These children were particularly vulnerable because most had no room or bed of their own when they visited their grandparents. They either shared a bed with their grandfather (n = 10) or slept on the couch in the livingroom (n = 5). In the words of an I l-year-old girl who spent weekends at her grandparents' home: My grandmother used to sleep on the couch or in the other bedroom and it started out my grandpa would wear a t-shirt and long johns and I'd wake up in the middle of the night and he'd just have his hands down my pants.
In some cases (n = 11), grandfathers appeared to give their grandchildren the option to refuse. However, their "offers" to engage in sexual activity invariably involved deception and manipulation. For example, two grandfathers portrayed the sexual activity as a new game that the child might enjoy. Others portrayed it as an expression of unusual affection and concern. One grandfather told his granddaughter that this is the way grandfathers express love. Several of these grandfathers referred to the incest in conspiratorial terms as "our little secret." Five children were offered bribes. One was offered a pack of gum to let her grandfather touch her; another was offered five dollars; still another granddaughter was told she could only have her friend visit if she complied with her grandfather's sexual wishes. One grandfather offered his teenage grandson drugs and alcohol in exchange for fellatio and another grandfather said he would only give his granddaughter her Christmas stocking if she allowed him to feel her genitals,
Are Stepgrandparents Overrepresented in Sexual Abuse? In this sample, 33 out of 95 children were sexually abused by 27 stepgrandfathers. Just how much of an overrepresentation this is cannot be answered precisely given the absence of good information on the number of stepgrandparents in the general population. There is no question, however, that the share of sexual abuse (35%) committed by stepgrandparents is far more than would be expected by chance. Not only do these data suggest that children experience elevated risk with stepgrandparents, but the type of sexual abuse committed by stepgrandparents appears more severe. For example, while only 8% of genetic grandchildren had intercourse done to them, 18% of the stepgrandchildren experienced intercourse. More often than not, when stepgrandchildren were fondled manually, they experienced digital penetration (55%). By contrast, only 35% of genetic grandchildren fondled manually were penetrated digitally. Finally, fully 24% of the stepgrandchildren experienced threats and physical violence in combination with their sexual abuse, but only 10% of the genetic grandchildren experienced this level of violence.
How Often Is This Abuse Trigenerational? Twenty-six perpetrators responsible for abusing 34 grandchildren were also responsible for sexually abusing their daughters. An interesting characteristic of trigenerational sexual abuse was the younger age of the victims and perpetrators. The mean age of children abused by grandfathers who also abused their daughters was 7.13 years versus 8.31 years for other children. The mean age for trigenerational perpetrators was 60 years versus 63.2 years for other perpetrators; the latter difference was not statistically significant. One of the most important questions concerning trigenerational abuse is how grandfathers with a record of abusing their own daughter(s) gain sexual access to their grandchildren. In
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this regard, two mothers sexually abused by their fathers said they tried to keep their fathers away from their daughters, but since their daughters' grandmothers provided child care for them, it was difficult to keep the grandfathers at a distance. Three other mothers said they were not as careful as they might have been about keeping their fathers away from their daughters because they believed their fathers had stopped molesting children. They said their fathers had received therapy and were thought to have been rehabilitated. In at least seven cases, women abused by their fathers knew these men were also abusing their granddaughters, but had no strategy for preventing this abuse from continuing. They did not report the abuse or attempt to keep the grandfather separated from the child. By contrast, among children abused by grandfathers who did not abuse their own daughters, there were only five children whose parents or guardians knew about the abuse but did not intervene. In five other cases of trigenerational sexual abuse, the perpetrator's spouse, the children's grandmother, witnessed the abuse or was told by the child that it was occurring, but did nothing to stop it. However, only two cases were identified in the nontrigenerational subsample in which the children's grandmother knew about the sexual abuse but did not attempt to stop it. These differences suggest that individuals from families with a history oftrigenerational sexual abuse may either feel inured to these violations or feel there is little likelihood of successful intervention.
CONCLUSIONS The most important finding from this study is that sexual abuse by grandparents cannot accurately be described as "gentle." Explicit threats and overt physical assault occurred in 14 cases. Moreover, the other tactics used to gain children's compliance, such as attacking them in their sleep, overpowering them, and suddenly grabbing their genitals, appeared to seriously compromise children's autonomy and personal integrity. As many as 19 cases were identified in which other adult family members, most often parents and grandmothers, knew of the grandfather's sexual abuse but made no effort to intervene. The finding that this inattention mostly occurred among families with long histories of child sexual abuse suggests that these families may have become inured by their long exposure to such violations. However, it may also be true that many families did not attempt to intervene because of the widespread belief that sexual abuse by grandfathers is not serious. As a result of such stereotypes, not only might less than optimal efforts be made to prevent this form of sexual abuse from occurring and recurring, but victims of grandparents may be seen as less credible than others and less worthy of support. Thus, the recognition that grandparent sexual abuse is neither gentle nor cooperative may prove highly consequential for identifying cases, as well as assessment, treatment, and prevention. Other findings that may prove useful in assessing and preventing this form of abuse include: virtually all perpetrators are male, the vast majority of victims are female, stepgrandchildren appear to experience greater risk, and a disproportionately large share of the sexually abusive grandfathers appear to also be sexually abusive fathers. Finally, this study showed that only a small portion of this abuse is attributable to perpetrators who have custody of their grandchildren. By far the greatest share of abuse occurred during intervals of temporary child care, most commonly during overnight visits to the grandparents' home. Acknowledgement--The author wishesto thank Joon YoungChoeand stafffromthe IowaDepartmentof Human Services for assistancein data collection.
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REFERENCES Barry, M. J., & Johnson, A. M. (1958). The incest barrier. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 27, 485-500. Cupoli, J. M., & Sewell, P. M. (1988). One thousand fifty-nine children with a chief complaint of sexual abuse. ChiM Abuse & Neglect, 12, 151-162. de Young, M. (1982). The sexual victimization of children. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. Dube, R., & Hebert, M. (1988). Sexual abuse of children under 12 years of age: A review of 511 cases. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12, 321-330. Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I. A., & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual abuse in a national survey of adult men and women: Prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14, 19-28. Goodwin, J., Cormier, L., & Owen, J. (1983). Grandfather-granddaughter incest: A trigenerational view. ChiMAbuse & Neglect, 7, 163-170. Justice, B., & Justice, R. (1979). The broken taboo: Sex in the family. New York: Human Science Press. KendaU-Tackett, K. A., & Simon, A. F. (1987). Perpetrators and their acts: Data from 365 adults molested as children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 11,237-245. Kercher, G., & McShane, M. (1984). Characterizing child sexual abuse on the basis of a multi-agency sample. Victimology, 9, 364-382. Lukianowicz, N. (1972). Incest. British Journal of Psychiatry, 120, 301-313. Margolin, L. (1991). Abuse and neglect in nonparental child care: A risk assessment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 694-704. Meiselman, K. C. (1978). Incest. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Reinhart, M. A. (1987). Sexually abused boys. ChildAbuse & Neglect, 11,229-235. Russell, D. E. H. (1986). The secret trauma. New York: Basic Books. Thorman, G. (1983). Incestuous families. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. Tower, C. C. (1989). Understanding child abuse and neglect. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Tsai, M., Feldman-Summers, S., & Edgar, M. (1979). Childhood molestation: Variables related to different impacts on psychosexual functioning in adult women. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 88, 407-417. Tsai, M. & Wagner, N. (1978). Therapy groups for women sexually molested as children. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 7, 417-427.
Rrsumr--L'analyse d'un 6chantillon de 95 dossiers d'abus sexuels demontr~s par des enqu&es effectures par des agences de protection infantile confirme plusieurs donnres d'rtudes antrrieures portant sur des qbus sexuels par les grandsparents: (a) virtuellement tousles abuseurs sont de sexe masculins, (b) la grande majorit6 des victimes sont des lilies, (c) une partie tr~s large et disproportionnre de ces grandp~res aubseurs sexuels se rrv~lent aussi ~tre des l~res abuseurs sexuels, (d) les enfants de "'beaux grandsp~res" courent un risque plus important. De plus, il a 6t6 observ6 que ces "beaux grandp~res" abuseurs 6taient plus menacrants et plus violents physicluement. Cependant, et h l'encontre d'rtudes prrcrdentes, des preuves ont 6t6 apportres clue cette forme d'abus ne peut &re raisonablement qualifire de "douce." Des menaces explicites et des agressions physiques ouvertes ont 6t6 observres dans &' cas. De plus, d'autres tactiques utilisres pour obtenir l'acquiescement des enfants telles que l'abus de pouvoir, la prise soudaine des parties grnitales et les agressions pendant leur sommeil semblent compromettre gravement I'autono,ie des enfants el l'intrgrit6 de leur personnalitr. Mots clefs: Abus sexuels dans l'enfance, grandsparents, inceste. Resamen--Utilizando una muestra de 95 historiales de abuso sexual comprobados por la investigaci6n de protecci6n infantil, este estudio confirm6 ratios hallazgos de estudios anteriores sobre abuelos sexualmente abusivos: (a) prficticamente todos los perpetradores son hombres; (b) ia gran mayoda de las victimas son mujeres; (c) una cantidad desproporcionadamente grande de abuelos abusivos aparecen como padres tambirn abusivos; y (d) los nietos politicos aparecen con mayor riesgo. Ademfis, se segtal6 que los perpetradores que eran abuelos politicos eran mils amenazantes y fisicamente violentos. Sin embargo, contrario a algunos estudios anteriores, se comprueba clue esta forma de abuso no es adecuademente descrita como "delicada." Amenazas explicitas y otras lActicas usadas para conseguir la participacirn de los nifios como dominfindolos, tocando sfibitamente sus genitales y atacfindolos mientras duermen parecen comprometer seriamente la autonomia y la integridad personal de los ni~os.
