ABSTRACT
The first phase of the Boundary Violation Cycle examines idiosyncratic risks and vulnerabilities for sexual and romantic involvement with a patient. Research on risk presents with serious limitations. Foremost among these, except in rare instances, is that it tends to treat risk factors as independent variables and rarely examines the interactions between or among them. The chapter discusses the numerous factors that complicate sexual decision-making for humans in general; and focuses on those risks associated with sexual violations in the clinical realm. Research has examined the personality traits of those engaging in risky sexual behaviors. Each person’s idiosyncratic history presents with developmental risk factors. One recurrent finding is a correlation between childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual risk-taking, though the reason for the association remains unclear. There is agreement that sexual boundary violations are a result of a confluence of personality, proximal, distal, and situations factors.
