Saturday, October 13, 2012: 11:00 AM
Hall 4E/F (WSCC)
The big question is, “How can child sexual abuse be prevented?” This abuse, by both relatives (intrafamilial) and nonrelatives (extrafamilial), occurs widely. The goal of this study was to identify successful interventions by analyzing current treatment and education for adolescent boys who are sexually abusing children and to learn what gaps exist to limit abuse and ultimately prevent adolescent boys from becoming child sexual abusers.
The method was a focused literature review and 6 interviews with practitioners to learn how therapists, educators, and public health professionals address the problem of sexual abuse with adolescent boys who are perpetrators. Results: Current knowledge and research focuses largely on victims rather than perpetrators, on females rather than males, and on adults rather than adolescents. A gap exists regarding the complex topic of child sexual abuse perpetrated by adolescent boys. Interviewees answered the following questions:
• When becoming sexually mature himself, what influences an adolescent boy to abuse others sexually?
• What are some successful interventions for adolescent boys who are sexually abusing children?
• What is being done now to treat or educate adolescent boys who are child sexual abusers?
• What needs to be changed to limit or prevent sexual abuse by adolescent boys
Responses were mixed and all of the professionals expressed frustration about how to address this issue. Increasing protective factors seems most effective in the long term. This finding supports Finkelhor’s model in which supervision and protection are the most critical barriers that keep child sexual abuse from happening.
The method was a focused literature review and 6 interviews with practitioners to learn how therapists, educators, and public health professionals address the problem of sexual abuse with adolescent boys who are perpetrators. Results: Current knowledge and research focuses largely on victims rather than perpetrators, on females rather than males, and on adults rather than adolescents. A gap exists regarding the complex topic of child sexual abuse perpetrated by adolescent boys. Interviewees answered the following questions:
• When becoming sexually mature himself, what influences an adolescent boy to abuse others sexually?
• What are some successful interventions for adolescent boys who are sexually abusing children?
• What is being done now to treat or educate adolescent boys who are child sexual abusers?
• What needs to be changed to limit or prevent sexual abuse by adolescent boys
Responses were mixed and all of the professionals expressed frustration about how to address this issue. Increasing protective factors seems most effective in the long term. This finding supports Finkelhor’s model in which supervision and protection are the most critical barriers that keep child sexual abuse from happening.