Psychosocial profiles of children referred for treatment for sexual behavior problems or for having been sexually abused

Reference

*Boisvert I, Tourigny M, Lanctôt N. (2015). Psychosocial Profiles of Children Referred for Treatment for Sexual Behavior Problems or for Having Been Sexually Abused. Journal Sex Offender Treatment. 10(2): 1-19.

Abstract

Aim/Background: Both children with sexual behavior problems and children who have been sexually abused have a variety of psychosocial profiles, and the treatments offered to these two groups of clients overlap considerably. The question arises whether it makes sense to offer treatments tailored to each of these two groups. To investigate this question, this study attempted: 1) to identify the various psychosocial profiles of children referred for services either because they had displayed sexual behavior problems or because they had been sexually abused, and 2) to compare the proportion of children from each of these two client groups among children with each of the profiles identified. Material/Methods: The participants in this study consisted of 147 children living in Quebec and their parents or other adults significant in their lives. The children’s ages ranged from 6 to 12 years (M = 9.3), and the gender ratio was 62% male, 38% female. Out of these 147 children, 117 had been referred for a specific course of treatment for children with SBPs, while 30 had been referred to children’s protection services because they had been sexually abused. Semi-structured interviews and standardized questionnaires were used to measure indicators of the children’s psychosocial profiles (individual characteristics predisposing them to behavior problems, stressors affecting their parents’ ability to provide optimal care, coercive parenting practices, and disruptions in psychosexual development). Results: By means of a latent-class analysis, the children in the sample were classified as presenting three different psychosocial profiles: 1) resilient children, 2) children involved in an intergenerational cycle of abuse, and 3) children whose functioning was highly impaired. Within each of these three classes, the proportions of children referred for sexual behavior problems and children referred for having been sexually abused were about equal. Conclusions: The results support the hypothesis that children referred for sexual behavior problems and children who have been sexually abused can benefit from the same treatments, provided that these treatments are tailored to the specific characteristics of the three psychosocial profiles identified in this study.