Citation

Falkenbach DM, Foehse A, Jeglic E, Calkins C, Raymaekers L. Sex. Abuse 2019; 31(5): 524-542.

Affiliation

Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1079063217708202

PMID

28643546

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious problem not only in the community but also in institutional settings such as youth-serving organizations, churches, and schools. Although research has started to examine the problem of abuse in institutional settings, there remains a dearth of information about the nature and context of CSA in different employment settings, including those that do not specifically cater to children. In addition, research on the similarities and differences between perpetrators who work with children and other sex offenders is scarce. As such, the present study compared offenders on variables relating to financial/employment lifestyle stability, risk/dangerousness level, abuse opportunity, and victim selection. Data revealed that child abusers who worked with children tended to be better educated, were less likely to be married, had fewer nonsexual convictions, and were more likely to abuse male post-pubescent children compared with intra- and extra-familial offenders who did not work with children. Implications for future research, prevention of CSA, and clinical practice are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

child sexual abuse; extra-familial; institutional abuse; intra-familial; professional perpetrators; sex offenders who work with children