Group treatment for prepubescent boys with sexually aggressive behavior: Clinical considerations and proposed treatment techniques

Abstract

Descriptive and treatment outcome studies regarding sexually aggressive prepubescent boys are lacking. Preliminary data, however, are available from five studies on this difficult-to-treat population. This article has multiple goals: 1) to summarize descriptive and treatment outcome data of problematic sexual behavior in children; 2) to describe general considerations regarding treatment for sexually aggressive prepubescent male children; 3) to address two traditional clinical goals (e.g., eliminating perpetration behavior and enhancing victim empathy) for treating sexual aggression; and 4) to broaden the concept of empathy as a treatment goal. In addition, useful activities are described and available resources are referenced for practitioner use.