Background Little is known about the nature and reactions to sexual abuse of children with intellectual disability (ID). The aim was to fill this gap. Method Official reports of sexual abuse of children with ID in state care were examined (N = 128) and compared with children without ID (N = 48). Results Clear signs of penetration or genital touching by male (adolescent) peers or (step/foster) fathers were found in most ID reports. Victims often received residential care and disclosed themselves. Type of perpetrator seemed to affect the nature and reaction to the abuse. Cases of children with and without ID seemed to differ in location and reports to police. Conclusions Screening of (foster)homes seems crucial. Residential facilities should find a balance between independence of children and protection. Care providers should be trained in addressing sexual issues and sexual education, accounting for different types of perpetrators (peers/adults). Uniform reporting guidelines are needed.
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Introduction: Hardly any research exists on the relationship between substance use and sexual behaviors in patients with a substance use disorder. This study aimed to examine this relation by looking into perceived positive effects on sexual behavior, perceived negative effects and risky sexual behavior due to substance use in patient groups of users of alcohol, stimulants, sedatives and Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB). In addition, the current study aimed to address the question whether sexual behavior (e.g. number of sexual partners, sexualactivity) differs between these patient groups.Method: A total of 180 patients with a substance use disorder (i.e. alcohol, amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, GHB and opiates) participated. A self-report questionnaire was administered with questions on substance use,sexual behaviors (e.g. sexual activity, masturbation, use of pornography) and statements about the perceived changes in sexual functioning and behavior under influence of the primary substance of abuse.Results: All four groups reported changes in sexual thoughts, feelings and behavior due to the use of their primary substance. More than half of the patients reported enhancements in sexual domains (i.e. sexual pleasure,sexual arousal, sexual behavior), but also decrements or risky behaviors and about a quarter stated that their sexual thoughts, feelings and behaviors were often associated with the use of their primary substance of abuse.Patients with a GHB use disorder reported the strongest relation between drug use and sexual behavior. Users of HB not only reported more enhancement in several sexual domains, but also less decline in sexual domains compared to the other patient groups and more risky behavior or more sexual activity than some of the other groups of patients.Conclusions: The results underline the importance of addressing the relationship between substance use and sexual behavior in treatment programs, as patients may be hesitant to stop their use of substances when they experience many positive effects in their sexual behavior. Future research directions are suggested.
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Background: Sexual deviance is regarded as an important risk factor for sexual offending. However, little is known about the development of deviant sexual interests. The transfer of arousal between emotions, i.e., excitation transfer, could attribute sexual salience to stimuli that would otherwise not be sexual in nature. As such, excitation transfer could contribute to the very beginning of unusual or deviant sexual interests. The current protocol proposes a study to investigate to what extent excitation transfer occurs, i.e., to what extent genital and subjective sexual arousal to sexual stimuli is higher in an emotional state than in a neutral state. Following a prior pilot study, several adjustments were made to the study protocol, including a stronger emotional manipulation by using 360-degree film clips and the inclusion of a larger and more sexually diverse sample. Methods: We will recruit 50 adult male volunteers with diverse sexual interests. We will induce sexual arousal in four different emotional states (aggression/dominance, endearment, fear, disgust) and a neutral state. Sexual arousal will be measured genitally using penile plethysmography and subjectively via self-report. Using paired samples t-tests, sexual arousal in the emotional states will be compared with sexual arousal in the neutral state. Discussion: We aim to show that arousal in response to emotional stimuli that are initially nonsexual in nature, can enhance sexual arousal. These findings have potentially important implications for the development of unusual and/or deviant sexual interests and possibly for the treatment of such sexual deviant interests in people who have committed sexual offenses.
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