What is it about?

Community management of problematic sexual behavior in youth is challenging and complex. This study investigates urban and rural community policies for youth with problematic sexual behavior. Our team analyzed interviews with 219 professionals from throughout the United States to document what policies exist, and what is needed to improve policies for youth with problematic sexual behavior. This paper advocates for policy reform, collaborative multidisciplinary teams, and community outreach and education to address problematic sexual behavior in youth.

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Why is it important?

Our findings show that there are limited community-based policies in place to support youth with problematic sexual behavior. This is important because without policies, youth with problematic sexual behavior are labeled, discriminated against, and do not receive evidence based treatment. This paper highlights the context of existing service systems, attitudes and perceptions of policies that impact services, and policy reform and current practices related to youth with problematic sexual behavior.

Perspectives

Without policies, youth with problematic sexual behavior will not receive evidence based treatment they need and misperceptions, stigma, and inconsistent identification and treatment will continue. Unfortunately, there has been limited policy progress since the 1980s when problematic sexual behavior was identified as a unique problem. Schools, communities, families, law enforcement, and clinicians cannot ignore problematic sexual behavior any longer. It is time for communities and policy makers to step forward and create policies that help youth, child victims, and their families.

allyson kelley

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This page is a summary of: A qualitative investigation of policy for youth with problematic sexual behavior, Journal of Community Psychology, April 2019, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/jcop.22187.
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