Adolescents as Perpetrators (From Child Abuse and Neglect: Guidelines for Identification, Assessment, and Case Management, P 117-120, 2003, Marilyn Strachan Peterson and Michael Durfee, eds. -- See NCJ-200932)

• NCJ Number: 200950
• Author(s): Sandra K. Baker LCSW; Gary Lowe LCSW
• Date Published: 2003
• Length: 4 pages
• Sale Source: Volcano Press, Inc
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Instructional Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

After a brief history of society's response to adolescent sexual offending, this chapter reviews the epidemiology of adolescent sexual offending and approaches to treatment.

Abstract

Historically, adolescents who have been involved in sexual offenses have not been held accountable. Adolescent sexual behavior that was clearly exploitive and criminal has often been dismissed as awkward experimentation in emerging adolescent sexuality. Part of the reason for this minimization of abusive adolescent sexual behavior has been to protect the adolescent from being labeled and thus socially stigmatized. It has only been within the last 20 years that special attention has been given to this problematic population of sexual abusers. There is no systematic data collection for adolescent sex offenders; however, analysis of official child abuse reports in selected jurisdictions has shown that 30-50 percent of the child sexual abuse cases are perpetrated by adolescents. It is erroneous, however, to assume that an adolescent who engages in an inappropriate sexual act, even if the behavior is criminal, will necessarily continue this behavior and develop into a sexual psychopath as an adult. Intervention is crucial when the adolescent first begins to exhibit the symptoms of pathology and before the abusive behavior pattern is established. Programs to treat this population have yielded encouraging results. Because not all offenses or offenders present the same degree of threat to the victims and the community, there should be a continuum of system response as well as a variety of treatment services available to meet the varied needs of this population. Responses should range from incarceration for the violent repeat offender to specialized, court-ordered outpatient treatment programs for the less violent offender who may be more amenable to changing the offending behavior. This chapter describes focused and specialized offender treatment, family therapy, and group therapy. Two relevant case vignettes with follow-up questions are provided. 5 selected readings