Understanding Juvenile Sexual Offending Behavior: Emerging Research, Treatment Approaches and Management Practices

• NCJ Number: 187462
• Author(s): John Hunter
• Date Published: December 1999
• Length: 12 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
• Corporate Author: Ctr for Sex Offender Management
• Sale Source: Ctr for Sex Offender Management
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This brief discusses the current state of research on sexually abusive youth, relevant legislative trends, and promising approaches to the treatment and supervision of these youth.

Abstract

An overview of research developments addresses the characteristics of juvenile sexual abuse, offender typology, and treatment research. A discussion of policy development issues considers trends in juvenile justice, and a review of promising approaches to intervention examines the coordination between the criminal justice system and treatment providers, assessment, and clinical programming. A section on controversial areas of practice focuses on involuntary treatment, preadjudication evaluations, risk assessment, phallometric assessment, the polygraph, arousal conditioning and psychopharmacologic therapies, and legal and clinical concerns. Areas for future research are identified. Recommendations for practice are offered in the areas of clinical assessments, clinicians' roles, consent forms, phallometric and polygraph assessments, risk assessment, treatment plans, and supervision strategies. The brief indicates that adolescents account for a significant percentage of the sexual assaults against children and women. The onset of sexual behavior problems in juveniles appears to be linked to a number of factors, including child maltreatment and exposure to violence. Emerging research suggests that, as in the case of adult sex offenders, a meaningful distinction can be made between juveniles who target peers or adults and those who offend against children. The former group appears generally to be more antisocial and violent, although considerable variation exists within each population. Although available research does not suggest that the majority of sexually abusive youth are destined to become adult sex offenders, legal and mental health intervention can have significant impacts on deterring further sexual offending. Currently, the most effective intervention consists of a combination of legal sanctions and specialized clinical programming. 3 tables, 1 figure, and 3 references