The prevalence of sexual grooming behaviors among survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

BACKGROUND

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a global problem that is preventable. Sexual grooming behaviors have been deemed an integral part of CSA for the purpose of avoiding detection and preventing disclosure. Many of these behaviors are reported more often by adults who experienced CSA as compared to those that did not (Jeglic et al., 2023). Such behaviors form important targets for prevention efforts, as well as the investigation and prosecution of CSA. Consequently, it is important to identify the prevalence rates of sexual grooming behaviors.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to identify the prevalence of sexual grooming as reported by adult survivors of CSA.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A large sample of adults who reported a history of CSA (n = 1045) completed the study online via Prolific.

METHODS

Participants completed an anonymous self-report survey which included the Sexual Grooming Scale - Victim Version (Winters & Jeglic, 2022).

RESULTS

Overall, 99% of participants endorsed experiencing at least one sexual grooming behavior, with an average of 14.25 sexual grooming behaviors out of a possible 42 (range = 0-36) reported per survivor. Participants endorsed behaviors across all five stages of the sexual grooming process: victim selection, gaining access and isolation, trust development, desensitization, and post-abuse maintenance. The most frequently reported sexual grooming behaviors included the perpetrator selecting a child who was compliant/trusting (68%) or had low self-esteem (61%); arranging activities alone with the child (57%); presenting themselves as nice/charming/likeable (70%); showing the child large amounts of attention (56%) or affection (54%); and using seemingly innocent touch (51%).

CONCLUSIONS

Sexual grooming is prevalent based on reports from adult survivors of CSA. These findings will be discussed as they pertain to the prevention, detection, and prosecution of CSA.