By Joan Tabachnick and David Prescott

Child sexual abuse exerted a direct effect on PSB while no direct effect of child physical abuse was found. However, physical abuse exerted a direct effect on self-dysregulation which is associated with PSB.  

This study explored the development of a model where child sexual abuse and child physical abuse could predict the onset of problematic sexual behavior in children through their impact on the emergence of post-traumatic stress symptoms and self-dysregulation.  

The caregivers of 189 children between the ages of 3-11 entering into mental health treatment were given a battery of tests. Unlike previous studies, these children were not necessarily selected because of PSB, the comparison groups also experienced childhood stress. Building upon two previous models of PSB development, one directly related to experiencing CSA and the other a developmental psychopathology, the authors of this study explored the potential that these factors are related. 

The results suggest that CSA did exert a direct effect on the development of PSB. This may be explained through a social learning perspective which suggests that the exposure to sexual experiences provided a modeling experience for the development of PSB. While CPA did not exert a direct effect on the development of PSB, it did play a significant role in the development of self-dysregulation which is associated with the development of PSB. The authors did not find that post-traumatic stress symptoms mediated the impact of CSA on PSB which has implications for interventions which focus only on trauma. The results of this study suggest that both models – the direct effect of CSA on the development of PSB as well as a direct effect through self-dysregulation – offer two distinct pathways to the development of PSB in young children. 

The authors note the need for further research and in particular, the impact of potential moderation effects or protective factors that would change the outcome for a child.  

This study reminds us of the importance of understanding how each youth’s individual early life experiences, including a history of trauma and adversity (and their effects on self-regulation) contributes to their offending. Rather than view one’s history of abuse as a particular factor in their history, this study illustrates how the unfolding of each client’s life can be complex, with some life experiences contributing to abuse either directly or indirectly. An analogy might be to the factors that contribute to one’s becoming a professional in our field. Often we enter the field as a result of a confluence of life events and interests and not any one experience.

Just as human experience and trauma can be complex, so is offending, especially among children adolescents. 40 years ago, it was commonly believed that people abuse because they had been abused themselves. These finding illustrate how the emergence of abuse is more nuanced than that (and, of course, the vast majority of those who experience sexual victimization do not go on to sexually abuse others). While the authors emphasize behaviorally oriented interventions, other research and clinical experiences also remind us of the need for holistic intervention.

More research into the pathways involving how some who experience adversity go on to abuse is certainly welcome. By extension, those seeking to prevent abuse, whether in research or practice, would do well to examine how strengths, positive attributes, resilience, and benevolent experiences combine to serve a protective functioning. The good news in all of this is that the picture is becoming clearer as to how adults can best intervene to prevent abuse.

Allen, B. (2023). Etiological pathways to the emergence of preteen problematic sexual behavior: An exploratory mediational model. Sexual Abuse, 35(4), 488-502.

Studies examining the etiology of problematic sexual behavior (PSB) among pre-teen children often rely on identifying correlational relationships without examining potential causal mechanisms. This study describes an exploratory analysis of a potential mediational model where child sexual abuse (CSA) and child physical abuse (CPA) predict the onset of PSB through their impact on the emergence of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and self-dysregulation. The caregivers of 189 children between the ages of 3 and 11 years presenting for mental health treatment in the United States completed a battery of measures designed to assess each of the variables in the model. Cross-sectional, regression-based mediational analyses showed that the overall model performed adequately (R = 0.33, R² = 0.11, F = 3.07, p = .004). CSA exerted a direct effect on PSB that was not mediated through either PTS or self-dysregulation. However, no direct effect for CPA was found. Rather, CPA exerted a significant effect on the display of self-dysregulation, which in turn was associated with PSB. These results are discussed in light of clinical implications and directions for further research.