Preliminary Findings of Problematic Sexual Behavior-Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents in an Outpatient Treatment Setting

• NCJ Number: 255847
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 105 Dated: July 2020
• Author(s): Carrie. S. Jenkins; Julia R. Grimm; Emily K. Shier; Simaya van Dooren; Elizabeth R. Ciesar; Kathryn Reid-Quinones
• Date Published: July 2020
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2014-AW-BX-K012
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Evaluation; Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study evaluated a low-intensity outpatient treatment to reduce internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors, including problematic sexual behaviors (PSB).

Abstract

The lack of empirical support for interventions commonly used to treat adolescents with problematic sexual behaviors (PSB) has led to restrictive policies and interventions largely based on perceptions of these youth as younger versions of adult sex offenders, without consideration for developmental and etiological differences between populations. The current study examined outcomes for 31 adolescents who completed Problematic Sexual Behavior – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents (PSB-CBT-A) at a Children’s Advocacy Center between 2013 and 2016. The evaluation of PSB and other symptomology was conducted through pre- and post-treatment administration of standardized instruments. Adolescent PSB-CBT-A treatment completers demonstrated a trend towards statistical significance in reduction of PSB on the YSBPI, from 5.33 (SD=6.86) at pre-treatment to 0.17 (SD=0.41) at completion. Also, there were significant reductions in caregiver-reported youth internalizing and externalizing problems were associated outcomes of completing PSB-CBT-A (t[13] = 5.00, p < .001 and t[13] = 2.34, p = .036, respectively). The study concludes that the promising results achieved in this study support further exploration of low-intensity outpatient treatment interventions for adolescents with PSB. 5 tables and 1 figure (publisher abstract modified)