NCJ Number
156893
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 24 Issue: 4 Dated: (August 1995) Pages: 439-451
Date Published
1995
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study is a first attempt to explore the characteristics of child sexual aggressors by gender, using as subjects 34 girls and 237 boys in the custody of a public child welfare agency.
Abstract
The female sexually aggressive youth were more likely to be younger and nonwhite than the boys in this sample. Ethnically diverse groups were overrepresented among both boys and girls. About half the children were from single-parent homes and 80 percent had been victims of documented multiple abuse. Reported number of offenses for these children, as reported by social workers and mental health professionals, ranged from none to over 100 incidents for each type of sexual offense (i.e., rape, molestation, sexual inappropriate incidents). While boys and girls had a similar mean number of victims, female perpetrators were more likely to be reported for molesting than rape, public masturbation, or exposure. Girls were more likely to engage in temper tantrums, stealing, and truancy than physically aggressive behaviors. Finally, female offenders were more likely than boys to be brought into the criminal justice system as victims and to be treated as victims. 7 tables and 18 references