Definition for Sexual Behavior Problems in Adolescents, Treatment of:

This topic, “Sexual Behavior Problems in Adolescents, Treatment of,” highlights programs that treat sexual behavior problems in adolescents. Other labels have been used to capture some youth in this population, including “adolescent sex offenders,” “sexually aggressive youth,” and “juvenile sex offenders” to name a few of the most common labels. These labels were considered too narrow for this topic area. For example, not all youth who engage in sexually aggressive behaviors are “offenders” in the legal sense and not all juvenile sexual offenders have engaged in aggressive or nonconsensual sexual behaviors (e.g., many are so-called status offenders who engaged in consensual sexual activities with peers). Moreover, these labels have the unfortunate and unnecessary effect of labeling the youth, rather than the behavior. By comparison, sexual behavior problems in adolescents is a broader term that encompasses youth with problematic sexual behaviors regardless of involvement in the legal system or presence of specific case characteristics (e.g., violence/aggression). Adolescents with sexual behavior problems comprise a heterogeneous group of youth, none of whom should be characterized primarily by his or her sexual acts.

To be included, interventions had to treat boys and/or girls ages 12 to 18 years (inclusive) who had engaged in one or more instances of inappropriate (including but not limited to illegal) sexual behaviors as their primary target population.

For the purposes of this topic area on the CEBC website, sexual behavior problems will be defined as any of the following: (A) Sexual acts committed with another person of any age that were against the victim’s will; were without assent/consent; or involved aggression, exploitation, or threats. (B) Sexual acts committed with another person who was unable to provide assent, including children less than 12 years of age and 5 or more years younger than the older youth, or peers or adults with cognitive, intellectual, or other disabilities. (C) Sexual acts without another person but involving child pornography in which the images depicted sexual targets under 12 years of age and assumingly five or more years younger than the adolescent (as distinguished from images that depict peers assumingly the same age of the viewer); solicitation of younger children via the Internet or other technology, with or without the intention of ever meeting to engage in sexual behaviors; or non-contact sexual offenses (e.g., exhibitionism, voyeurism) and self-directed sexual behaviors (e.g., masturbation) that occur in public or semi-public places and that persist even after intervention (as distinguished from behaviors that resolved with initial correction).

National crime data suggest that juvenile perpetrators account for between 17% and 20% of all reported sexual crime, and approximately one in three sex crimes involving victims under the age of 18 years. Particularly considering the vast societal toll of sexual victimization, these statistics situate the problem of juvenile-perpetrated sexual violence as a significant concern for policymakers, the juvenile justice system, and our communities.