NCJ Number
184228
Date Published
1999
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines the patterns and determinants of adolescent sexual offending behavior.
Abstract
Studies suggest that juveniles are responsible for 30 percent to 60 percent of the cases of child sexual abuse and 20 percent to 30 percent of the rapes committed in the United States each year. In addition, there has been a steady rise in the last decade in the number of juveniles arrested for sexual offenses. The chapter examines the role of child maltreatment and the role of exposure to pornography, focusing on the cycle of violence, social learning, and modeling behavior. It also discusses family characteristics, clinical findings, and treatment approaches. The absence of an effective classification system for adolescent sexual offenders makes treatment planning a less-than-precise endeavor and contributes to the tendency to provide them all with the same program of intervention. Attainment of a more in-depth understanding of the salient characteristics of major subtypes of juvenile sex offenders and their etiological derivatives would ultimately allow for development of more refined and prescriptive intervention programs. The chapter stresses, however, that there is a subset of sex offenders who are not amenable to treatment because of the high level of character pathology. References