Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

However, thinking is done in a “non-logical, non-reversible” manner. Egocentric thinking is pre-dominant.
(Huitt 2003).
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, childhood sexual abuse occurs when a “child is
engaged in sexual activities that the child cannot comprehend, for which the child is developmentally
unprepared and cannot give informed consent, and/or that violate the law or social taboos of society”
(Roller et al., 2009). Abuse is not limited to physical contact, such as fondling or rape, but also extends to
such acts as making a child watch sexual acts or pornography, using a child in any aspect of producing
pornography, or making a child look at an adult’s genitals. The following studies explore branches of the
sexual abuse literature directed towards the child’s cognitive understanding of sexual behavior, not his or
her sexual behavior per se.
The most extensive study of the child’s understanding of the threat of sexual abuse is Burkhardt
(1991). Burkhardt conducted a study in which 115 children were observed and investigated in order to
determine their social reasoning in interactions with adult authority figures who put the children in
situations of sexual abuse. Two age groups were set up, from 6-8 year olds (57 count), to 9-10 year olds
(59 count). The hypothetical perpetrators included an uncle, a coach, and a stranger. Each child was given
three measures of social reasoning: (a) parent-child interview, (b) authority interview, and (c) perpetrator
interview. The focus of the child’s responses were his or her recognition, resistance, and reporting.
The following are two examples of the children’s perceptions of recognition, resistance, and
reporting with respect to the scenario of the uncle touching the child’s bottom. One six-year old
responded:
He [the child in the story] should tell him [his uncle], “I don’t want you to touch that. It doesn’t feel
good.” I think his mom will see and say, “Don’t do that to my kid.” He still thinks his uncle is
sometimes good. If he tells, he’ll get in trouble and his uncle will yell at him. It wouldn’t be nice if
he told anyone. (Burkhardt, 1991)
Compare the response of the six-year-old with the more developed response of a nine-year-old:
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