This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) All Versions of this Article: 1077801209332294v1 15/6/678    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Hodell, E. C. Articles by Marsil, D. F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hodell, E. C. Articles by Marsil, D. F. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Perception of Elder Sexual Abuse in the Courtroom

¹ University of Kentucky
² University of Minnesota
³ Bradshaw Litigation Consulting
⁴ Ocala, Florida
⁵ Kennesaw State University

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: emilyhodell{at}yahoo.com.

	Abstract

This study explored mock juror perceptions of elder sexual mistreatment (ESM). In Experiment 1, 118 participants read a fictional criminal trial summary of an ESM case in which a 76-year-old woman was allegedly abused by either her son or a neighbor. In Experiment 2 (n = 360), the ESM occurred in either a nursing home or the elder’s home and the alleged perpetrator was either her son or a nursing home worker. Conviction rates were relatively low in both experiments (25% and 33%, respectively). Women were more pro-prosecution than men in case judgments. Overall, the study provides evidence that mock jurors may question the credibility of elders in ESM cases.

First published on March 18, 2009, doi:10.1177/1077801209332294

Violence Against Women 2009;15:678.

A more recent version of this article appeared on June 1, 2009


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?