NCJ Number
208507
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 26 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2002 Pages: 349-370
Date Published
April 2002
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study identified the psychological and psychosocial characteristics of a sample of Irish adolescents who had sexually abused other youth.
Abstract
The study used a 3 group comparative cross-sectional design, which permitted comparisons among 27 adolescents who had sexually abused other youth (SA); 20 clinical controls (CC), who had significant behavioral problems but no history of sexual offending; and 29 normal controls (NC), who had no significant psychological problems. All groups were composed of boys between the ages of 12 and 18. For all three groups, behavioral problems, personal adjustment, anger management, and psychosocial adjustment were assessed. Instruments used were the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Youth Self-Report Form (YSR), selected scales from Beckett Adolescent Sex Offender Assessment Pack, and the Family Environment Scale. Compared with the CC group, the SA group indicated fewer problems overall as measured by the CBCL and the YSR. The SA group manifested problems with self-esteem, emotional loneliness, and perspective-taking similar to those of the CC group, but their impulsivity scores were similar to those of the NC group. The locus-of-control scores for the SA group were between those of the CC and NC groups. The SA group had an anger-management profile that fell at an intermediate position between those of the NC and CC groups. The SA group displayed problematic family functioning regarding expressiveness, behavioral control, and social support; this was similar to that of the CC group. For the SA group, difficulties with family cohesion were less severe than for the CC group but worse than those of the NC group. Overall, the psychological adjustment of adolescents with a history of sexually abusing other youth was more problematic than that of normal controls, but less problematic than that of youth with significant behavioral problems but no history of sexual offending. 6 tables and 28 references