U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Youth With Problematic Sexualized Behaviors in the Child Welfare System: A One-Year Longitudinal Study

NCJ Number
212817
Journal
Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment Volume: 17 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2005 Pages: 391-406
Author(s)
William N. Friedrich; Amy J. L. Baker; Rob Parker; Mel Schneiderman; Len Gries; Marc Archer
Date Published
October 2005
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the persistence of problematic sexualized behaviors (PSB) over a 1-year period for 97 10- to 12-year-olds in either foster boarding homes or a residential treatment center in New York City.
Abstract
Findings showed the persistence of PSB over time, in that children who exhibited PSB at the beginning of the study were significantly more likely to persist in this behavior 1 year later. This finding was especially strong for the youth in the residential treatment center, even though they had received treatment for their PSB. The reverse was also true; that is, that children who exhibited no PSB at the beginning of the study had no PSB 1 year later. Of the 15 PSB behaviors examined, 9 were more likely to be exhibited 1 year later if they were present when the study began. These were "stands too close to people," "makes sexual sounds," "asks others to engage in sex," "tries to look at people when they are nude or undressing," "tries to look at pictures of nude or undressing people," "talks about sexual acts," "wants to watch TV nudity," "hugs adults not known well," and "knows more about sex than other children the same age." Of the 97 youth initially involved in the study, 78 were available for the data collection 1 year later. At both data collection times, researchers interviewed foster parents or primary therapists about the youths' sexual behavior. 5 tables and 26 references