Risk factors for a New Zealand sample of sexually abusive children and adolescents

Objective: The aim was to understand variables contributing to the occurren ce of sexual offending in children and adolescents. Method: Twenty youngsters who had engaged in coercive sexual behavior invol ving other children were compared to a matched group of clinic-referred you ngsters with conduct disorders. Assessments included family histories, inte rviews, and psychometric measures. Results: There was no group difference in the frequency of experiencing sex ual abuse. However, sexually abusive youngsters were more often exposed to adult caregivers with known histories of being sexually abusive. These chil dren had been subjected to multiple distortions of adult attachment, tended to internalize distress, and failed to use available social supports. They were likely to have experienced physical and verbal abuse; children with b ehavior disorders were more likely to have a parent with a psychiatric illn ess and to have experienced parental conflict. Conclusion: Severely disrupted attachment, in conjunction with family exper iences of inappropriate sexual expression, place children and adolescents a t risk for sexual offending. Sexually abusive youngsters had less social su pports and their offending occurred after a negative emotional experience, when there was opportunity in the form of younger victims. The study sugges ts an interaction among developmental pathways, coping skills, and immediat e proximal variables for the perpetration of sexual abuse by young people. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.