DCC: Young offenders can be helped

Colleen P. Dempsey, LMSW and Dalina Rainey, MSW
Dorchester Children’s Center

In light of the media coverage of a public figure’s inappropriate sexual behaviors with family members as an adolescent, Dorchester Children’s Center (DCC) would like to shed light on some misconceptions surrounding problematic sexual behavior in youth. Childhood sexual behavior problems (SBP) can range widely in their degree of severity and potential harm to other children. Although some features are common, virtually no characteristic is universal and there is no profile or constellation of factors characterizing these children.

Sexual Behavior Problems vs. sex offenses, pedophilia and child molestation

Pedophilia, the attraction to children rather than same-age peers, is rare in adolescents. The term pedophilia implies a fixed status which is at odds with the known progression/variation of adolescent development and the known long-term outcomes of these youth. Adolescents who exhibit inappropriate or illegal sexual behaviors with younger children, often family members, do so for a number of reasons including curiosity, poor impulse control, exposure to sexual material, and a lack of education about sexual development.

Some adolescents with illegal sexual behaviors may be charged. However, the objective of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate, not punish the youth. Preliminary research has shown poor outcomes for youth placed on sex offender registries. Many adolescents can be successfully treated in the community in programs like the Sexual Behavior Problems groups offered at DCC. This offers most youths better outcomes than being placed in in-patient treatment or at a detention center.

Problematic sexual behaviors are sexual behaviors that do not align with typical sexual development and can include but are not limited to sexual interactions with younger children, voyeurism, excessive or public masturbation and coercive or aggressive sexual behaviors.

Children who exhibit sexual behavior problems may have an abuse history and may not. The presence of a sexual behavior problem does not mean a child was sexually abused. Children with sexual behavior problems come from families of all ethnicities, income level, education level and family structure.

Children and Adolescents with illegal or inappropriate sexual behaviors are different than adult sex offenders.

Research has shown that sexual behavior problems in children and adolescents do not represent a diagnosable mental condition or disorder, rather a set of behaviors that can be corrected.

Research has shown that adolescents and children with sexual behavior problems are much less likely than adult offenders to re-offend and are more responsive to treatment than adult sex offenders.

Children and Adolescents with illegal or inappropriate sexual behaviors should be treated differently than adult sex offenders

Research has shown that juveniles with sexual behavior problems are responsive to therapeutic interventions that are different than those used with adult sex offenders.

A 10-year follow-up study conducted by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center reported that children ages 5-12 with sexual behavior problems who received treatment like that offered at DCC had future sex offense rates that were not only low, but indistinguishable from a comparison group of children with nonsexual behavior problems.

A 15-year follow-up study conducted by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center reported that adolescents who completed the Sexual Behavior Problems program offered at DCC had a 3 percent recidivism rate for sexual offenses.

What can you do?

Educate your children about the proper names and functions of private parts as well as sexual development. Let your children know they can come to you if they have questions.

If you have a child exhibiting inappropriate or illegal sexual behaviors, schedule an assessment at DCC. We have evidence-based treatment groups for preschoolers, school-age children and adolescents with sexual behavior problems.

If you have a child who you are concerned may have experienced sexual abuse, contact DCC to schedule a forensic interview by a trained professional. Children are often reluctant to disclose abuse to their caregivers.

Services at DCC:

Greater than one-third of sexual offenses against child victims are committed by other youth, with 12-14-year-olds being the peak ages.

Efficacious early interventions have been developed and evaluated that address the needs of youth with problematic sexual behaviors, child victims, and their families. These evidence-based practices (EBPs) share a common underlying theory and emphasis on working with caregivers. However, across the nation, family members are commonly separated and served by different service agencies (if referred at all for services) and rarely provided evidenced based practice.

At DCC we provide a 6- or 12-month outpatient group program with adolescents and their caregivers; often in collaboration with juvenile justice authorities but this is not a requirement. The program focuses on improving behavior, increasing self-control, and parenting in general. The goals are relevant to both sexual and non-sexual behavior and recognize that problems of youth with illegal sexual behavior are not solely, or often even mostly, sexual in nature.

The program has a substantial parent focus (teaching parenting skills and involving parents directly in all sessions) and includes a focus on parental monitoring of peer groups, school engagement, and support for healthy lifestyles and environments. There is comparatively less focus on individual adolescent traits or personality features as a driving force in behavior.

Victim Services

Victims of any sort of sexual abuse may experience trauma symptoms and deserve a prompt response by caregivers and agencies as well as evidence based treatment to heal. The seriousness of the experience of victims of inappropriate or illegal sexual behaviors should not be minimized just because the offender is a child or adolescent. If any sort of abuse is suspected, a forensic interview should be conducted by a trained professional at a children’s advocacy center. DCC offers Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy, an evidence based treatment, to children who have experienced sexual abuse.