INDIA VS UNITED-STATES UNDERGRADUATES ATTITUDES CONCERNING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE - THE IMPACT OF SURVIVOR SEX, SURVIVOR AGE, SURVIVOR RESPONSE, RESPONDENT SEX, AND COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN

Written descriptions of sexual interaction between an adult and a 15-y ear-old child were utilized to study the impact of survivor sex, perpe trator sex, survivor response and country of origin (India vs. United States) on attribution of blame, labeling of child sexual abuse, perce ption of realistic survivor behavior, and effect on the child. MANCOVA results of responses collected from 720 undergraduate students (360 = Indian students; 360 = U. S. students) indicated that country of orig in was related to the respondent ratings for the five vignette items. Other interactions obtained, were related to the sex of the respondent , perpetrator and survivor, or the response of the survivor. Results a re discussed relative to generalizability of results, child sexual abu se in India, and the need for educational programs in child sexual abu se. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.