Recent research has shed light on the neurological consequences of trauma. This body of research has linked trauma such as abuse and neglect in childhood with significant deleterious structural and functional outcomes for neurodevelopment. This research is complimented by another line of research that contends that the nature of a child’s early emotional experiences with primary caregivers is the main organizing factor in early brain development, a perspective known as attachment theory. The author argues that practitioners working with children and adolescents with sexual behavior problems would better serve their clients by integrating these two perspectives, resulting in a more holistic and developmental approach to assessment, intervention, and treatment. The research literature pertaining to the ways in which early childhood attachment impacts neurological development is reviewed and applied specifically to the neurological development of sexual abusers. The author illustrates the way in which child behavior problems can be linked to maladaptive neurological processing and argues that the treatment community should work toward strengthening our understanding of neurodevelopment and neurological processing in order to better treat children and adolescents with sexual behavior problems. Indeed, the behavior and learning problems exhibited by many adolescents can be explained as neurologically-based processing difficulties that may be improved through interventions and treatments that are trauma-focused. References