The development of deviant sexual behaviour among adolescents and its implications for prevention and treatment

The present article examines the development of deviant sexual behaviour in adolescence and its implications for attempts to prevent sexual assault and to rehabilitate the sex offender. A general framework to account for the etiology of sexual deviance is presented. In the framework. abusive family experiences lead to predictable consequences in the developing sex offender that can be best described as a syndrome of social disability. The characteristics that comprise this syndrome include: lack of adult attachments, low self-esteem, impaired abilities to develop intimate relationships and empathy, and varying degrees of antisocial behaviour. Each of these is described in developmental terms. These social disabilities then set the stage for the development of abusive sexual behaviour. According to the proposed framework, the development of deviant sexual interest and arousal follows from the offender'S experience of sexual abuse, both as an abuser and, for some individuals, as a victim. Throughout the article. implications for effective treatment of the sex offender are presented and discussed.