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Cited by 16Child Abuse and TraumaPsychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual OffendingMilitary, Security, and Education Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 50 of the 50 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Female perpetrators of child sexual abuse in the United States

Scurich, Nicholas·2023·Journal of Criminal Psychology
DOI 10.1108/jcp-07-2023-0045
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Abstract

Purpose: Research on women who sexually abuse children is relatively scarce and tends to rely on small or unrepresentative convenience samples. The purpose of the current descriptive study is to examine characteristics female perpetrators of child sexual abuse using a large and contemporary dataset. Design/methodology/approach: This study analyzes data collected by the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, which is a census of all child protective services investigations or assessments conducted in all 50 states, as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico from October 1, 2018, to September 30, 2019. Findings: Only substantiated cases of sexual abuse were analyzed (n= 51,442 cases). Overall, 7.6% of the perpetrators were female, though the percentage of female perpetrators varied dramatically across states from less than 1% to over 36%. Female perpetrators tended to have younger victims than did male perpetrators. For children aged 2 or less, female perpetrators constituted approximately 20% of the abusers. Female perpetrators were more likely to victimize male and female children, whereas male perpetrators predominantly had female victims. More female perpetrators had a prior finding of maltreatment than did male perpetrators (32.3% vs 23.5%). Research limitations/implications: These findings add to the limited research base on female perpetrators of child sexual abuse and highlight avenues for further research into the differences between male and female sexual abusers. Originality/value: This study is a replication of previous research but also provides additional novel findings.

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Crossref · 10.1108/jcp-07-2023-0045

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Metadata

Authors
Scurich, N.
Affiliations
University of California, Irvine (US)
Corresponding author
Scurich, Nicholas
ORCID
Scurich, Nicholas
Venue
Journal of Criminal Psychology
Publisher
Emerald
Published
2023-08-23
Volume
13
Issue
4
Pages
417-428
ISSN
2009-3829 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1108/jcp-07-2023-0045
OpenAlex
W4386040632
Semantic Scholar
f052e1c5139866c30adbc8fe6a6562a5c197565f
Cited by
14
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1
FWCI
3.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.emerald.com/insight/site-policies (tdm)
Locations
Journal of Criminal Psychology (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Military, Security, and Education Studies
Keywords
women offenders, child sexual abuse, child abuse, National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, child protective services investigations, victim characteristics, offender characteristics, gender differences in abuse, state-level variation

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