Self-reports of "positive" childhood and adolescent sexual contacts with older persons: an exploratory study

Abstract

An exploratory, descriptive study of 37 male and 26 female subjects reporting childhood or adolescent intergenerational sexual contacts about which subjects maintained, at least in part, "positive" feelings is reported. An informal comparison group of 7 female victims of sexual abuse also participated. Subjects were administered a 21-page, 130-item questionnaire designed to explore and evaluate childhood functioning and development, the nature of the sexual experience, and its possible impact on adult life. Eight subjects also participated in subsequent in-depth telephone interviews. A wide range of characteristics and possible effects of the experiences were reported, suggesting that intergenerational sexual contacts may represent a continuum of experience rather than a unitary and discrete pathological phenomenon.