Characteristics of children with problem sexual behaviour and adolescent perpetrators of sexual abuse: a systematic review |
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Authors: | Catia G Malvaso Michael Proeve Paul Delfabbro Jesse Cale |
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Institution: | 1. School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia;2. School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australiacatia.malvaso@adelaide.edu.au;4. School of Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australiahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9529-8545 |
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Abstract: | ABSTRACTPeople who commit sexual offences are a heterogeneous group, with research suggesting that children and young people commit a large proportion of all sex offences, especially those committed against other children. This systematic review provides a synthesis of literature concerning the characteristics of children and adolescents who exhibit harmful sexual behaviour. There is a particular focus in this review on studies that examine the characteristics of children and young people exhibiting these behaviours within institutional and organisational settings or which take a situational and/or developmental approach to understanding sexually abusive behaviour. Using a developmental and life-course criminology lens, this review explores implications from the literature for the prevention and response to child sexual abuse, with a particular focus on institutional contexts where the perpetrators are children and adolescents. |
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Keywords: | Harmful sexual behaviour adolescent sex offender institutional abuse child sexual abuse developmental and life-course criminology developmental psychology |
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