BACKGROUND: The lack of empirical support for interventions commonly used to treat adolescents with problematic sexual behaviors (PSB) has led to restrictive policies and interventions largely based on perceptions of these youth as younger versions of adult sex offenders, without consideration for developmental and etiological differences between populations.
OBJECTIVE: This study's aim is to evaluate a low-intensity outpatient treatment regarding the reduction of internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors to include, PSB. PARTICIPANTS & SETTING: The study examined outcomes for 31 adolescents who completed Problematic Sexual Behavior - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents (PSB-CBT-A) at a Children's Advocacy Center between 2013 and 2016.
METHODS: Evaluation of PSB and other symptomology was conducted through pre- and post-treatment administration of standardized instruments.
RESULTS: Adolescent PSB-CBT-A treatment completers demonstrated a trend towards statistical significance in reduction of PSB on the YSBPI from 5.33 (SD = 6.86) at pre-treatment to 0.17 (SD = 0.41) at completion. Additionally, significant reductions in caregiver-reported youth internalizing and externalizing problems were associated outcomes of completing PSB-CBT-A (t(13) = 5.00, p <.001 and t(13) = 2.34, p =.036, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: The promising results achieved in this study support further exploration of low-intensity outpatient treatment interventions for adolescents with PSB.