Despite prevention efforts, young women, particularly college students, experience sexual victimization at alarming rates, and do not always receive trauma-responsive treatment to address the devastating acute and long-lasting post-assault symptoms. Grounded in theory and research on trauma and sexual violence, the authors introduce a new…

Providing treatment to survivors of human trafficking requires mental health professionals to understand complex layers of multiple traumas. These layers include an understanding of how trafficking occurs; what gender, ages, sexual orientations, life circumstances, and ethnicities are most at risk to be trafficked; the lasting impact of…

In this policy paper we briefly review the historical predecessors of modern sex crime legislation. We then review modern policies, focusing on those that have been applied to youth who have sexually offended and for which there is at least some empirical evaluation. These include sex offender civil commitment, registration and public…

Background: Delinquency research argues that youth religion and spirituality are associated with desistence. The therapeutic alliance has been shown to be partially responsible for the influence of religiosity in therapeutic services. Asceticism within religious doctrine coupled with Social Bonding Theory, suggests perhaps existential and secular…

While theories on the etiology of sexually problematic and offending behavior have become increasingly developmental in their perspective, treatment approaches that are utilized to address these issues have not significantly changed to address this thinking. Adolescent behavioral problems are especially linked to a wide range of personal and…

Since the early 1980s, five assumptions have influenced the assessment, treatment, and community supervision of adolescents who have offended sexually. In particular, interventions with this population have been informed by the assumptions that these youth are (i) deviant, (ii) delinquent, (iii) disordered, (iv) deficit-ridden, and (v) deceitful.…

Cross, Fine, Jones, and Walsh (2012) provided a thoughtful review and critique of a book chapter describing the interview process at Child Advocacy Centers. They observed some of the ways that concerns raised in that chapter are being addressed and described revised guidelines that further clarify issues. Ongoing research and examination of the…

The results of the Program Evaluation show the OJJ Statewide Sex Offender Treatment program is exceptionally productive in meeting over 90% of its established performance markers. These markers included successful screening and assessment of risk and psychosocial needs, completion of initial and master treatment plans, establishment of sex…

While children and adolescents generally do not have the right to vote, marry, or sign contracts independently, they are often held responsible for their crimes. In spite of this, some parents of minor victims file civil suits against parents of the youth responsible for the harm. The courts must then decide to what extent, if any, parents are…

Despite Burton and Meezan's (2004) finding that sexually aggressive youth are three to four times more likely to recidivate nonsexually than sexually, there is little to no research to date that explores this overlap in criminality. With a sample of 290 male sexually violent adjudicated and incarcerated youth, this study was able to successfully…

Aggressive and destructive behaviors are an ongoing challenge for many children, adolescents, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). What's behind these high-risk behaviors, and how can professionals help manage them? Discover the answers in this comprehensive text, the most up-to-date compendium of knowledge on…

Objective: The goal of this study is to examine the role of psychological distress in predicting child re-victimization across various forms including conventional crime, peer/sibling violence, maltreatment, sexual violence, and witnessed violence. Methods: Longitudinal data from the Developmental Victimization Survey, which surveyed children…

The aim of this study was to investigate group sex offenses with regard to the role of leaders versus followers and to compare both groups on levels of psychopathology, intelligence, and psychosocial and offense-related characteristics. Eighty-nine adolescent group sex offenders (mean age = 14.9, SD = 1.4) referred by the police to the Dutch child…

Juveniles who commit crimes are likely to exhibit conduct problems in their youth. Persistent and long-term antisocial behavior can be seen in very young children. To treat these children, programs must be designed to meet the needs of them on an individualized basis. Residential treatment, typically, is the answer, but research has shown its…

A randomized clinical trial evaluated the efficacy of multisystemic therapy (MST) versus usual community services (UCS) for 48 juvenile sexual offenders at high risk of committing additional serious crimes. Results from multiagent assessment batteries conducted before and after treatment showed that MST was more effective than UCS in improving key…