ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

Even though child abduction invokes extreme fear of the victim and their family as well as the fear of their community and nation, there is only a paucity of research on child abduction and perpetrators. The study aims to investigate the characteristics of child abduction committed by females, and compare them with those committed by male perpetrators. We compared 55 child abduction cases committed by female perpetrators with 135 child abduction cases committed by male perpetrators between 1997 and 2009. Compared to male perpetrators who committed child abduction, a significantly greater number of female perpetrators who committed child abduction were divorced at the time of offense, abducted preschoolers, and abducted male children. By contrast, male perpetrators who committed child abduction were more likely to be single, to have criminal record, and to abduct female children than female perpetrators. A majority of female perpetrators abducted their own child, mainly for the purpose of bringing up. By contrast, a significantly greater number of male perpetrators targeted victims who were unknown to them, and child abduction committed by male perpetrators was more likely to be unplanned. Finally, the limitations of the study were discussed and suggestions for subsequent studies were made.