Sexual abuse histories of adolescent male sex offenders: differences on the basis of the age and gender of their victims.

Childhood sexual abuse has often been implicated in the etiology of adolescent sex offending behavior. Victimization rates in the literature vary according to whether data are collected prior (22%) or subsequent (52%) to treatment. Previous research suggests that the incidence of sexual abuse varies as a function of victim age and gender. Sexual abuse histories were collected from 87 adolescent male sex offenders following an average of 13 months of clinical interactions. Offenders were categorized according to the age and gender of their victims; groups were comparable in age and socioeconomic status. It was found that 75% of adolescent offenders who ever assaulted 1 male child reported sexual abuse in comparison to only 25% of those who assaulted female children, peers, or adults. Results suggest that sexual victimization may be an important explanatory variable for adolescent sexual assaults against male children.