One of the most compelling problems in child sexual abuse prevention has been how to describe to parents, caregivers, and the general public exactly what signs to look for to identify concerns. Frankly, much of the discussion has been so general because, what might, with hindsight, have been a sign of abuse, might well in another setting be of no concern at all. Describing what grooming behaviors are has up until now been fraught and difficult.

Now enter researcher Elizabeth Jeglic from John Jay College, whose research looks at which behaviors are most clearly linked to child sexual abuse. And even more importantly, it identifies red flag behaviors that any mandatory reporter, parent, or professional can recognize to sound the alarm. This research has the potential to revolutionize both mandatory reporter training and the prevention education we conduct with kids in schools. And wait until you hear the implications for investigators and prosecutors as well. This is a seminal piece of research, and one we are all going to be citing and referring back to for years to come. Please take a listen.

This interview was originally published on March 24, 2023.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:48)
• What is grooming? (4:12)
• The hindsight bias (7:20)
• High-risk grooming behaviors (8:56)
• The kids abusers target (12:05)
• Favoritism and trust development (17:34)
• Post-abuse maintenance (24:33)
• Implications for prevention (27:35)
• Implications for investigation (32:24)
• For more information (38:21)

Links:

Elizabeth Jeglic, Ph.D., is a researcher and professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is the co-director of the Sex Offender Research Lab at college. The co-author of two books, Sexual Violence: Evidence Based Policy and Prevention and Protecting Your Child from Sexual Abuse, she also blogs for Psychology Today

 Georgia Winters, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the School of Psychology and Counseling at Fairleigh Dickinson University

The research paper we’re discussing today is “Identification of red flag child sexual grooming behaviors,” by Elizabeth L. Jeglic, Georgia M. Winters, and  Benjamin N. Johnson. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105998 This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC_ND license.

Sexual Grooming Model

Level of Concern Guide

Post-abuse maintenance chart

Megan’s Law

Jenna’s Law

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