Some Considerations About Sexual Abuse and Children with Sexual Behavior Problems (From Trauma and Sexuality: The Effects of Childhood Sexual, Physical, and Emotional Abuse on Sexual Identity and Behavior, P 83-105, 2002, James A. Chu, and Elizabeth S. Bowman, eds., -- See NCJ-202136)

• NCJ Number: 202139
• Author(s): Toni Cavanagh Johnson Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 23 pages
• Sale Source: Haworth Medical Press
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter examines the etiology of children who engage in deviant sexual behavior.

Abstract

In 1985, treatment programs for children who molest other children began to appear. Relatively little was known about this population and it was assumed that almost all children who sexually abused other children did so because they themselves were victims of childhood sexual abuse. Since the mid-1980’s, a plethora of research has been conducted that shows that not all children who sexually abused other children were victims themselves. Moreover, it was found that there is a wide range of disturbed sexual behaviors in children. The author outlines three categories of disturbed sexual behavior in children, which form a continuum of sexual behavior: sexually-reactive children; children who engage in extensive, mutual sexual behavior; and children who molest. The author describes the diversity of reasons for sexually deviant behaviors in children and shows that not all children who are sexually deviant have been the victims of explicit sexual abuse. Moreover, not all children who have been sexually abused will go on to sexually abuse others during their lifetime. This knowledge should help treatment providers better understand and counsel children who engage in deviant sexual behaviors and children who have been sexually abused. Main points throughout the article are illustrated through case studies. References