Validation of the Sexual Grooming Model of Child Sexual Abusers

ABSTRACT

Sexual grooming has been deemed an integral part of the child sexual abuse process. However, there has yet to be a universally accepted model for this process and, as a consequence, there is no clear understanding of which behaviors constitute sexual grooming. One proposed model of in-person sexual grooming outlined five stages of the process: 1) victim selection, 2) gaining access and isolating a child, 3) trust development, 4) desensitization to sexual content and physical contact, and 5) maintenance following the abuse. The present study sought to validate this Sexual Grooming Model (SGM) and identify behaviors that may be employed during each stage of the process. First, a thorough review of the literature was conducted to generate a comprehensive list of sexual grooming behaviors (n = 77). Second, 18 experts in the field completed a survey which asked them to rate the extent to which each of the five stages and potential grooming behaviors were relevant to the sexual grooming process. Results provided support for the SGM and produced 42 behaviors that were considered to be grooming tactics within these stages. From this, the first validated, comprehensive model of in-person sexual grooming is proposed. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications and future directions in the field.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexual grooming
• child sexual abuser
• child sexual abuse
• sex offenses

Declaration of interests

There are no conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Notes

^1. It should be noted that the authors also created an a priori model which identified which of five stages each behavior fell under, this was later utilized in making final determinations regarding what stage of the grooming process each relevant (as identified by experts in the field) grooming behavior would likely be utilized.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Georgia M. Winters

Georgia M. Winters, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Forensic Psychology M.A. Program, School of Psychology, at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her research interests include sexual grooming behaviors of child sexual abusers and paraphilic interests.

Elizabeth L. Jeglic

Elizabeth L. Jeglic, Ph.D is a professor of psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. Her research focuses on sexual violence prevention.

Leah E. Kaylor

Leah Kaylor, Ph.D. graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a Master’s degree in Forensic Mental Health Counseling. She earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Saint Louis University. Her research interests include forensic issues and deviant sexual behavior.