TY - JOUR PY - 2004// TI - Revisiting recent research on Social Learning Theory as an etiological proposition for sexually abusive male adolescents JO - Journal of evidence-based social work (2004) A1 - Meezan, W. A1 - Burton, David L. A1 - Burton, David L SP - 41 EP - 80 VL - 1 IS - 1 N2 - Sexual abuse by adolescent males continues to be a serious public health issue. Recent statistics from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation demonstrate that males under 18 account for 19.7 percent (n = 8,969) of arrests for sexual crimes (not including rape and prostitution) and 16.4 percent (n = 2,312) of rape arrests.�  Research on juvinal sexual assault is not plentiful, but one of the primary etiological assumptions is that sexual aggressivity is a learned behavior.

This article examines social learning theory as a construct that is applicable to adolescent sexual abusers based upon recent published research. Bandura's (1986) work is used to outline the theory and then research on victimization, aggression, criminality, pornography and personality is reviewed to assess the theory as a reasonable fit for adolescent sexually abusive behavior. Research implications are offered that argue for rigorous research methods in the field to allow for further test of this theory.

LA - SN - 1543-3714 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J394v01n01_04 ID - ref1 ER -