Adolescentes autores de abuso sexual: atitudes e comportamentos face à sexualidade

Adolescents perpetrators of sexual abuse: attitudes and behaviors towards sexuality

Abstract

Objective and Methods: The objective of this paper is to present a survey of current knowledge on sexual delinquency of
minors, keeping in mind the normative developmental trajectories of adolescents, to better distinguish them. To date, it is
known that the evolutionary stages of normative sexuality in children and adolescents are diffi cult to study and the evolution
of non-normative sexuality is diffi cult to defi ne as a whole. This applies to research results which provide information about
development factors in children and adolescents with problematic sexual behaviors and are sexual abusers. Results: With
regard to adolescents who are sexual abusers (currently cited as AAAS), it seems diffi cult to determine the physiological,
psychological and neuropsychological factors that differentiate them from other young people, especially non-sexual
offenders. Although we know that hormonal factors have an important infl uence on the emotional and behavioral functioning, existing theoretical and empirical knowledge cannot suffi ciently explain why some AAAS are noted for high
levels of arousal, sexual concerns or compulsive sexual behavior similar to adults. Conclusion: It must be acknowledged that
the phenomenon is complex by the involvement of interactions that affect both the somatic and the psychic levels, and that
it declines across multiple life trajectories without being able to avoid the infl uence of environmental factors