مشکلات رفتار جنسی در کودکان در خدمات حفاظت از جوانان استان کبک : عوامل مرتبط

The objective of this study is to explore the factors associated with sexual behavior problems (SBP) of children toward other. The sample is composed of 187 children aged six to 11, which sample was part of a more substantial study, which included a representative sample of children under the care of child protective services. Five factors appeared to be associated to SBP: the child's temperament (mood and persistence), the presence of violence in the family within the last 12 months, the psychological distress of parents, and a child sexual abuse. These results seem to support, in part, some theories which explain SBP's in children.

For the longest time, sexual behavior problems (SBP) in children and adolescents have been either ignored altogether or downplayed considerably by both researchers and clinicians alike (Hall et al., 1998). Although there have been a few attempts by researchers to define SBP, notably Ryan (2000), consensus on the definition of child SBP has proved elusive (Larsson & Svedin, 2002). However, many researchers agree that it is difficult to draw a clear-cut line between normal and SBP in children. They indicate instead that the nature of child sexual behaviors is more aptly represented over a continuum running from normal to problematic (Ryan, 2000). In a literature review of the factors associated with child SBP, Gagnon et al. (2008) underscored that all the studies considered reported a higher proportion of children with a history of sexual victimization among children with SBP, relative to children without. Most of the studies also demonstrated the presence of internalized or externalized behavior problems to be strongly correlated to the presence of SBP. Despite the wide variability of family characteristics investigated and certain mixed results, parental distress, inadequate family environment and deteriorated parent–child relations have generally been found to be associated with the presence of SBP. Current scientific knowledge indicates that the factors associated with the presence of SBP are extremely diversified and relate to several spheres of a child's life. The multiplicity of these factors suggests, then, the possible existence of different subgroups of children with SBP. The few studies that have explored the question of subgroups have yielded two major categories: children with SBP directed toward self involving no other person and children with SBP directed toward others involving at least one other person (Bonner et al., 1999 and Hall et al., 2002). Against this backdrop, the purpose of our study was to identify, within a set of personal and environmental factors, the ones most strongly associated with children with SBP directed toward others.