Childhood Sexual Abuse Risk Research Articles

Perspective: Clinical care of pedophilic individuals in Zurich, Switzerland.

Individuals with pedophilia are considered to have an elevated risk for child sexual abuse (CSA). Nevertheless, it is assumed that pedophilic sexual impulses can be controlled from acting out. To prevent CSA an outpatient treatment facility for people with pedophilia was founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 2021. The program focuses on the prevention of CSA and improvement of quality of life, incorporating empirically validated treatment principles, such as the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model and the Good Lives Model (GLM). Within the initial 24-month 142 individuals sought help, 46 individuals (mean age 36.0 ± 12.4 years) completed the assessment phase, two-thirds suffered from psychiatric comorbidities, and 67.4% reported sexual delinquency. The high drop-out rate was predominantly due to ongoing criminal proceedings, or other mental health conditions. Overall patients at this facility generally sought treatment voluntarily, leading to good treatment adherence, with severe self-harm being more prevalent than acute danger to others. A treatment approach focused solely on pedophilia is considered insufficient; psychiatric and psychosocial factors must also be addressed.

Risk of child sexual abuse: A mixed-methods analysis of judicial decisions in the Youth Court of Québec

In Québec, Canada, the Youth Protection Act allows child protection services to intervene in situations of serious risk of sexual abuse. Although the litigation of these cases is frequent, few studies have focused on the decision-making process of judges in Youth Court. The present study aims to document the criteria used by the judges to substantiate allegation of serious risk of sexual abuse and to render a placement order. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-method design, we analyzed 104 judicial decisions of the Youth Court of Québec between January 2016 and January 2023 involving a situation of risk of sexual abuse in families with children aged 0 to 12 years. The quantitative phase of the study revealed that psychosocial difficulties of children and parents, as well as the number of reasons for intervention are associated to a placement order. Based on a thematic analysis (n = 24), the qualitative phase of the study highlighted three main types of criteria used by the judges to substantiate allegation of serious risk of sexual abuse: 1) the vulnerability of the child; 2) the characteristics of the family system; and 3) the parents' compliance with external demands.

What is Known About the Magnitude, Trend, and Risk for Child Sexual Abuse and the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the United States?

ABSTRACT Many nationally representative datasets are available for assessing the magnitude, trend, and risk for child sexual victimization in the United States. Unfortunately, the disaggregation of sexual violence into more specific sex crimes and the reliable measurement of these specific acts are often avoided by researchers due to the methodological limitations of victimization data. For example, previous scholars have successfully measured the strength of the relationship between the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and child sexual abuse (CSA) within their respective samples; however, little is known about the extent to which CSEC occurs in the larger U.S. population, irrespective of past CSA. This study presents new analyses of publicly available representative data on the incidence, trend, and risk for CSA and CSEC independent of one another. We find that significantly more is known about CSA than CSEC. In addition, while victims of CSA and CSEC share many risk factors, CSA is far more common than CSEC, and their trends are going in different directions. We find that rates of CSA and CSEC are often derived from data with significant methodological limitations, such as administrative datasets that are limited to only victimizations reported to governmental agencies or representative surveys that measure the incidence/prevalence in one year alone, not repeatedly as required to assess trends. We fill in some of the gaps existing in our analyses with a review of other studies examining CSA and CSEC, as well as discuss future directions in research that researchers and child welfare practitioners should consider.

Analysis of Sexual Education Knowledge in Children of Elementary School

ex education in Indonesia is still controversial, there are still many members of society who do not approve of sex education at home or at school. In general, society's view of sex education is something that is considered "taboo" to talk about with children, especially early childhood. People think that there will be a time when they will understand it naturally. Sex education that is not given at an early age results in high leve’ls of sexual violence against children by those closest to the child, including the family. The aim of this community service is to provide an understanding of sex education to children. The implementation of community service activities is carried out at elementary schools in the Sukaraja sub-district with participants taken from grades V and VI. The method used is lectures and questions and answers, with the media used LCD projectors and leaflets. The results of the implementation of this community service activity from the participants in class V and VI students who attended looked very enthusiastic, after the questionnaires before and after giving health education regarding sex education there appeared to be an increase in knowledge. The implementation of providing health education regarding sex education to increase knowledge for elementary school students in the Sukaraja sub-district with risks that might occur with the condition of the community really needs to be done, apart from being an addition and enhancing knowledge as well as an act to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse.

Enhancing children's awareness of sexual abuse in Pakistan with video literacy interventional cartoons.

In presence of violent extremism, children in Pakistan are at high risk for child sexual abuse (CSA), especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective approaches for preventing CSA include enhancing resilience resources in violence-affected societies. Previous research suggests that video-based curricula effectively enhances learning in primary schoolchildren. We pilot tested a video literacy program to build awareness in children, creating a 'personal safety and space bubble' as an educational approach for prevention of sexual abuse with an experimental 6weeks long pre- and post-test design. We conducted qualitative interviews with students, teachers, and parents and identified themes using frequency analyses. Results showed a 96.7% increase in awareness about 'personal safety and space bubble'. The pilot study is valuable for public health researchers and policy makers seeking to curtail sexual abuse in extreme violence affected Pakistan. Primary schools can use such interventional cartoons to enhance awareness about child sexual abuse.

“The problem is that a kibbutz is standing in front of you and you have no name or face for it”: Child sexual abuse risk factors and disclosure in the collective kibbutz community

The socio-cultural context is a significant factor in understanding the phenomenon of child sexual abuse (CSA). The kibbutz is a unique form of community in Israel, which was previously a closed community with high cohesion and close personal connections between its members, who shared common beliefs and values. This study aimed to examine the experiences and perspectives of adults who had been sexually abused as children in the kibbutz. Fifteen adults (14 women and one man) sexually abused as children in a kibbutz between the 1960s and 1990s were interviewed for the study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed according to the thematic analysis approach. The findings indicated that participants perceived the kibbutz as an independent and distinct entity in the CSA experience. Furthermore, due to the image of the kibbutz community, the wish to protect its reputation, and the trust and familiarity among the kibbutz community, CSA was denied and silenced. The participants discussed the kibbutz’s responsibility for CSA and the hardship of acknowledging that CSA happened at the Kibbutz. This study contributes significantly to the testimony and giving voice to survivors of CSA in kibbutz whose voices have not been heard. Despite the changes that have taken place in the kibbutz over the years, as well as the increased awareness of protection against sexual abuse, there is still room to acknowledge and validate past abuse experiences and apologize to the survivors, as well as risks for CSA that are still prevalent today.

What’s new on the treatment of pedophilia and hebephilia?

IntroductionParaphilias constitute a set of psychiatric conditions that are often chronic and require a combination of treatment approaches, such as pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Sexual interest toward prepubescents and pubescents (pedophilia and hebephilia) is frequently identified in criminal settings, within numerous child sexual abuse and child pornography offenses. The high prevalence rates and negative consequences of these acts, causing distress in multiple important areas of health and functioning, reveal the importance of preventing these offenses as a clinical and social matter. Secondary prevention programs, which provide treatment and support for those with paraphilia disorders before sexually abusive behaviors and legal system involvement, show as ethically and socially necessary.ObjectivesWe aim to discuss and bring insights into the knowledge on pedophilia and hebephilia treatments and prevention programs, in the fields of psychotherapy as well as pharmacologic strategies.MethodsWe present a non-systematic review of the updated literature on this subject from the data found on the PubMed and PsycInfo databases.ResultsPreliminary results of recent works show that at-risk individuals with paraphilia disorders are often willing to seek treatment without external pressure from the legal system, and report benefits from early treatments. Most studies found that gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists reduce the risk of child sexual abuse in men with pedophilia. An injectable form has shown to lower this risk 2 weeks after the initial injection, suggesting its use as a rapid-onset treatment option. Cyproterone acetate and medroxyprogesterone acetate are other anti-androgen drugs that inhibit hypersexual behavior, with important side effects to be considered. The combination of androgen deprivation treatment and psychotherapy has a greater effect on preventing fantasies, urges, and behaviours in paraphilic patients. Cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy shows the best results and should soon be initiated in all patients. Biomolecular studies revealed that serotonin and prolactin inhibit sexual arousal, being SSRIs used as first treatment in younger patients, particularly in less severe cases.ConclusionsEvidence-based treatments from randomized clinical trials for paedophilic and hebephilic disorders are lacking. These current numbers reveal the need for widespread implementation of primary and secondary prevention initiatives, that go beyond the prevention of a repeated offense. There is a need for further research using controlled, randomized trials to examine the effectiveness of sexual offender treatment including psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic interventions. The development of more specific, more effective, and better-tolerated medications for these disorders should be recognized as a program worthy of greater support from government and pharmaceutical industry sources.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Local Culture in Indonesia As Risk of Child Sexual Abuse: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Sexual issues in Indonesia are never discussed openly in the family, one of the contributing factors is the presumption of taboo culture in the conversation of sexual topics. This can be a risk of sexual abuse in children. Objective: To identify the cultural diversity of Indonesia at risk of child sexual abuse. Method: We conducted systematic reviews using PubMed, Science Direct, SpringerLink, EBSCO for the keywords "Indonesian culture" AND "child sexual abuse", then Google Scholar for keywords "“nilai-nilai” ATAU “budaya Indonesia” DAN “kekerasan seksual anak”. Literature searched follow inclusion criteria such as articles Indonesian and English, published in 2011-2021, Full-text, primary research, focusing on sexual abuse in children in terms of culture. After an initial selection of 4866 articles, then filtered and assessed using the JBI Tool so that 5 qualified articles were obtained. Results: It was found that family factors, internal factors of perpetrators and victims, and external factors were cultural in Indonesia that are at risk of sexual abuse in children. Conclusion: Based on the results of research it can be concluded that most cultures in Indonesia still consider it taboo to talk about sexual topics to children, so it can be a risk of sexual abuse in children. It is recommended that research be conducted to educate the problem of sexual abuse in children through a cultural approach involving family factors, internal factors, and external factors

“My Daughter is not like That”: A Qualitative Study of Parental Perception on Child Sexual Abuse Risk

Introduction.Parental prevention efforts on child sexual abuse (CSA) are paramount for children to have better protection. However, parental awareness and beliefs are essential constituents influencing parental prevention efforts. Previous studies have revealed that parents tend to judge child sexual abuse as a low risk to their children, which in turn impacts CSA prevention activities. The aim of this study was to explore parental beliefs on the risk of CSA, specifically victim- and perpetrator-specific risk of child sexual abuse to their children, as well as parents’ approaches to protecting their children.Methodology and sources.Data were collected from 22 parents during focus group interviews (n=6) combined with activity-oriented questions.Results and discussion.Based on data, four perpetrator and two victim-specific risk profiles were created. When parents find similarities between their children and perceived victims or perpetrators, it triggers thedefensive othering effect, which acts as a subconscious protection mechanism, yet often creates inaccurate risk assessment and false confidence. The findings also tender that most parents do not teach their children the necessary skills related to CSA since they determine the risk to be low.Conclusion.This study adds to our understanding of CSA-related risk perception and prevention approaches, offering a conceptual addition to the defensive attribution theory. Further investigation is needed on the impacts of the cognitive processes and psychological protection mechanisms in relation to CSA risk assessment. The data from this study will be useful in developing CSA prevention programs and materials.

COMPARISON OF LADDER SNAKE AND BUSY BOOK ANDARA ON KNOWLEDGE OF PERSONAL SAFETY SKILLS AGAINST CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AMONG PRESCHOOL CHILDREN: A QUASI EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Background: The high Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) case in the Bengkulu City need anticipation intensive action. Children need to are provided with knowledge about the program underware rules that is useful as for Personal Safety Skill to protect themselves from risk of child sexual abuse. Aim: the purpose of this study is to compare ladder snake and busy book Andara in increasing knowledge of personal safety skills (PSS) against child sexual abuse for preschool. Methods: A quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest control group design was used in this study. One hundred and seven pre-school were divided into two groups, ladder snake Andara group, and the busy book group. Samples were taken using a simple random sampling technique. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon and Mann Whitney with SPSS software version 22.0. Result: There was a significant difference in knowledge of PSS between the two groups before and after treatment (p=0.000), and there was a significant difference knowledge of PSS in between the ladder snake and busy book Andara (p=0.002), with a higher mean rank ladder snake of 62,95. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that there was a significant difference in knowledge of PSS between two groups, and the ladder snake Andara showed better results in increasing knowledge of PSS among preschool compared to the busy book Andara. Recommendation: Development of interactive educational game tools with peers or parents is very important to improve children's knowledge of personal safety skills.

Risk Factors for Sexual Offending in Self-Referred Men With Pedophilic Disorder: A Swedish Case-Control Study.

BackgroundThe risk of child sexual abuse among non-forensic, non-correctional patients with Pedophilic Disorder (PD) is largely unknown.MethodsWe recruited a consecutive sample of 55 help-seeking, non-correctional adult men diagnosed with DSM-5 PD at a university-affiliated sexual medicine outpatient unit in Sweden. PD participants were compared with 57 age-matched, non-clinical control men on four literature-based dynamic risk domains and self-rated child sexual abuse risk.ResultsPD participants scored higher than controls on all tested domains (0–3 points); expectedly so for pedophilic attraction (2.5 vs. 0.0, Cohen’s d = 2.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): [1.91–2.89]), but also for sexual preoccupation (1.6 vs. 1.0, d = 1.11, 95% CI: [0.71–1.51]), impaired self-regulation (1.4 vs. 1.0, d = 0.44, 95% CI: [0.06 to 0.81]), impaired cognitive empathy and antisocial traits (0.9 vs. 0.1, d = 1.18, 95% CI: [0.78–1.59]), and self-rated child sexual abuse risk (1.0 vs. 0.0, d = 1.56, 95% CI: [1.13–1.98]). When summarizing all five domains into a pre-specified composite score (0–15 points), PD subjects scored substantially higher than matched control men (7.5 vs. 2.1, d = 2.12, 95% CI: [1.65–2.59]). Five (9%) PD participants self-reported any previous conviction for a contact child sexual offense and eight (15%) for possession of child sexual abuse material or non-contact sexual offending (adult or child victim). Eighteen subjects (34%) acknowledged past week, child-related sexual behaviors.ConclusionSelf-referred, help-seeking men with PD scored higher (small to very large effect sizes) than non-clinical control men on psychiatric measures of dynamic risk of child sexual abuse suggested in prior research with correctional samples diagnosed with PD. Our findings, including the composite risk measure, might inform clinical practice, but needs validation against actual sexual offending behavior.

IL-6 and hsCRP in Somatic Symptom Disorders and related disorders

BackgroundInterleukin 6 (IL-6) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) are biomarkers of systemic low-grade inflammation (SLI) in depression and anxiety. The question if SLI in those conditions is related to comorbid chronic medical conditions has not been resolved. DSM-5 Somatic symptom disorders and related disorders (SSRD) are conditions with serious distress related to physical symptoms as main criterion. They can occur in patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) and in patients with known comorbid chronic medical conditions. Often, comorbid depression and anxiety are present. SSRDs offer the opportunity to explore the role of SLI in relation to mental distress, including trauma, MUS, chronic medical conditions and comorbid mental disorder. AIM: We hypothesized that increased IL-6 and hsCRP may be directly linked to SLI in SSRD, and that comorbid chronic medical conditions, childhood trauma, current stress and comorbid depression and anxiety may be risk factors that account for some of the variance of SLI in SSRD. METHODS: We explored these relationships in a large sample of 241 consecutive outpatients with SSRD. RESULTS: Mean hsCRP level was 3.66 ​mg/l, and mean IL-6 level was 3.58 ​pg/ml. IL-6 and hsCRP levels were associated with each other: τ ​= ​0.249, p ​< ​.001; a medium size correlation. Comorbid chronic medical conditions, adverse childhood events other than sexual trauma, and current stress levels were not associated with IL-6 or hsCRP levels. CONCLUSION: IL-6 and hsCRP are elevated in SSRD, indicating SLI in SSRD independently of comorbid chronic medical conditions. In clinical research, elevated IL-6 and hsCRP can be used as biomarkers of SLI and can indicate risk for childhood sexual abuse in SSRD. Elevated hsCRP may be a biomarker indicating risk for comorbid depression or high pain levels in SSRD as well.

Identifying potential causal effects of age at menarche: a Mendelian randomization phenome-wide association study

BackgroundAge at menarche has been associated with various health outcomes. We aimed to identify potential causal effects of age at menarche on health-related traits in a hypothesis-free manner.MethodsWe conducted a Mendelian randomization phenome-wide association study (MR-pheWAS) of age at menarche with 17,893 health-related traits in UK Biobank (n = 181,318) using PHESANT. The exposure of interest was the genetic risk score for age at menarche. We conducted a second MR-pheWAS after excluding SNPs associated with BMI from the genetic risk score, to examine whether results might be due to the genetic overlap between age at menarche and BMI. We followed up a subset of health-related traits to investigate MR assumptions and seek replication in independent study populations.ResultsOf the 17,893 tests performed in our MR-pheWAS, we identified 619 associations with the genetic risk score for age at menarche at a 5% false discovery rate threshold, of which 295 were below a Bonferroni-corrected P value threshold. These included potential effects of younger age at menarche on lower lung function, higher heel bone-mineral density, greater burden of psychosocial/mental health problems, younger age at first birth, higher risk of childhood sexual abuse, poorer cardiometabolic health, and lower physical activity. After exclusion of variants associated with BMI, the genetic risk score for age at menarche was related to 37 traits at a 5% false discovery rate, of which 29 were below a Bonferroni-corrected P value threshold. We attempted to replicate findings for bone-mineral density, lung function, neuroticism, and childhood sexual abuse using 5 independent cohorts/consortia. While estimates for lung function, higher bone-mineral density, neuroticism, and childhood sexual abuse in replication cohorts were consistent with UK Biobank estimates, confidence intervals were wide and often included the null.ConclusionsThe genetic risk score for age at menarche was related to a broad range of health-related traits. Follow-up analyses indicated imprecise evidence of an effect of younger age at menarche on greater bone-mineral density, lower lung function, higher neuroticism score, and greater risk of childhood sexual abuse in the smaller replication samples available; hence, these findings need further exploration when larger independent samples become available.

The Child Abuse Risk Evaluation Dutch Version (CARE-NL): A retrospective validation study

The Child Abuse Risk Evaluation – Dutch version (CARE-NL) is a structured professional guideline for assessing the risk of all types of child abuse. The CARE-NL comprises 18 risk factors: eight Parental characteristics, three Parent-Child interaction factors, five Family factors, one Child vulnerability factor, and an extra factor for child sexual abuse risk. We examined interrater reliability and predictive accuracy of the instrument in a retrospective study at Advice and Reporting Centers on Child Abuse (ARCCA) in The Netherlands. The ARCCA files contained limited information on Parental risk factors, while parental characteristics, such as mental disorder and substance abuse, are the most important risk factors for (repeated) child abuse. On the other hand, the majority of the files included ample information on child and family characteristics. The CARE-NL could be reliably coded by trained raters and the predictive accuracy for out-of-home placement (AUC = .73) and placement of the child under court supervision (AUC = .78), at two years follow-up, was adequate. Use of the CARE-NL ensures that the assessment of the risk of child abuse focuses on the most important, empirically based risk factors in a structured and coherent way.

Prevention of Sexual Abuse in Children with Mental Disability: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract Children with mental retardation have a 2.5 times higher risk of child sexual abuse (CSA) than other normal children. Mentally retarded children tend to experience verbal ability barriers in describing CSA cases. This study aims to describe the prevention of CSA by parents, teachers and health professionals, including the risk of CSA in mentally retarded children, need for CSA prevention, form of CSA prevention and effectiveness of CSA prevention in mentally retarded children. Method: PRISMA was used as a guide in compiling the systematic literature review based on the inclusion criteria to determine research articles, search strategies, and research findings. Four databases used in this research included Sage Journal, Ebsco Host, Scopus and Taylor & Francis (Social Sciences & Humanities Subject). Results: mentally retarded children have a higher risk of CSA than other normal children. The need for CSA prevention are felt by parents and teachers because of the lack of knowledge and ability to do prevention. The form of CSA prevention can be done with various efforts from various parties including parents. The CSA prevention program through role-play or training to face threatening situations is effective for mentally retarded children. It is expected that these findings will become a reference for nurses in ensuring the need for CSA prevention knowledge and ability for mentally disabled children.

Overcrowded housing: One of a constellation of vulnerabilities for child sexual abuse.

Effective prevention of child abuse depends on an understanding of factors associated with the abuse. Increased risk of child sexual abuse has been associated with parental substance use and adverse socio-economic factors such as living in poverty and parental unemployment. This study investigated overcrowding as a potential socio-economic risk factor in child sexual abuse taking into account other socio-economic, child and parental factors. This study used de-identified linked data from health and child protection data collections for the cohort of children born in Western Australia from 1990 to 2009 (n = 524,478). Cox regression was used to estimate adjusted and unadjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for time to first sexual abuse allegation and first substantiated allegation, relative to the level of overcrowding and controlling for other risk factors. Higher levels of household overcrowding were associated with a 23%-46% increase in the risk of child sexual abuse allegations. Only the highest level of overcrowding was associated with a 40% increased risk of substantiated sexual abuse. The findings suggest that overcrowded living conditions are associated with an increased risk of sexual abuse for some children. This factor needs to be considered alongside other risk factors when assessing and improving child safety.

The moral duty to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse

Abstract Child sexual abuse and paedophilia are ethically loaded public health issues. This paper looks at whether there are any specific moral duties related to paedophilia. I argue that the moral duty not to commit child sex abuse is universal and that the duty to reduce the individual risk of child sex abuse is specific to paedophiles. A paedophile is a person who is sexually attracted to children. Some paedophiles commit child sex abuse offences, but others are able to refrain from doing so and have the rational capacity to take adequate preventive measures. The risk of committing child sex abuse and the ability to reduce that risk are a moral duty pertaining specifically to paedophiles. I further argue that society has a moral duty to help paedophiles to fulfil that duty. Unfortunately, societies rarely provide such opportunities and hence fail in their moral duty towards paedophiles and children.

Validasi Modul “GuLaLi” untuk Meningkatkan Keterampilan Guru Mengajar Siswa Tunarungu Perlindungan Diri dari Kekerasan Seksual

Children with disabilities have three-time greater risk of child sexual abuse (CSA). Unfortunately, many teachers lack of skills to teach deaf students on sexual abuse and self-protection. This study examined the validity of a module (GuLaLi, Guru Latih Lindungi/ Teachers Train and Protect) to enhance the teachers' skills to train deaf students on CSA prevention. Prior to the study, the researcher developed the module following Behavior Skills Training (BST) procedure. Seven teachers from one of kindergarten and primary schools for the deaf in Bantul Regency participated in the study. The study used one-group pre and posttest design. The data was quantitatively analyzed analysis was conducted through statistical test using Wilcoxon signed rank test and also descriptive analysis. The result showed this module can improve teacher skills to teach student how to prevent CSA (Z = -2.366, p&lt;0.05).

Attachment, Emotion Recognition and Impulsivity: As A Risk of Child Sexual Abuse

Introduction: It has been reported that certain children are more at risk of sexual abuse: these risks factors are defined as individual, familial, social and institutional factors. Although; data from clinical risks in the literature is limited. In this study, we aimed to determine the clinical risk factors of sexual abuse.&#x0D; Methods: 22 female and 12 male, sexual abused children and 34 healthy volunteer children were involved in this study. Patients and volunteers were assessed with the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), Reading Mind from Eyes Test (RMET) and the UPPS impulsive behavior scale.&#x0D; Results: There were no significant differences in maternal attachment scores in either group but the paternal attachment scores were statistically significantly lower in the study group. The RMET scores were statistically significantly lower in the study group than in the control group. The UPPS impulsive behavior scale unpersistence subscores were statistically significantly higher in the study group than in the control group.&#x0D; Conclusion: Sexual abuse is known as the most difficult type of trauma to treat and preventing the risk of identification is of the most importance. Further studies with a large sample are needed to determine the clinical risk factors of sexual abuse.

Neuroticism as a risk factor for child abuse in victims of childhood sexual abuse

Findings on the relationship of experienced sexual abuse and abuse behavior in adulthood are ambiguous. However, associations between experienced abuse and neuroticism as well as between neuroticism and active child abuse have been reported repeatedly. In our study, we compared pedosexual child abusers with consumers of internet child pornography and control subjects with adult-sexual preference with regard to traumatic childhood experience (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, CTQ), personality traits (NEO – Personality Inventory – Revised, NEO-PI-R), and sexual abnormalities (Multiphasic Sex Inventory, MSI). In an initial analysis, sexual abuse experienced in childhood was not directly linked to sexual abuse behavior in adulthood. However, this relationship was mediated by neuroticism. In a second step, the CTQ scales were conflated and, using a structural equation model, direct links between the overall level of abuse experienced in childhood (generally high CTQ levels) and sexual abuse behavior in adulthood revealed again the mediation by neurotic personality. We conclude that the overall level of abuse experienced in childhood in general, and less sexual abuse experience in particular, modulates the tendency for child sexual abuse behavior in adulthood. Data suggest that, depending on the resilience of an individual, abuse experience during childhood increases the likelihood of developing neurotic personality traits in later life, which are in turn considered to increase the risk of child sexual abuse in child sex offenders.