A review of the research literature on young people who sexually abuse

This chapter provides an overview of the empirical research literature on sexual offending by young people. Whilst information is lacking about the factors associated with sexual offending in undetected juvenile sexual offenders, studies into juveniles whose sexual offences do come to light often reveal the presence of a variety of psycho-social problems. Empirical studies provide evidence about the nature and extent of these problems, the degree to which they vary according to type of sexual offence, and the extent to which they are unique to sex offenders.