Explain the Role of Sexual Grooming in Feelings of Depression and Hopelessness

• In Event: Lightning Talk: Offending and Predicting Offending

Abstract

Sexual grooming is the deceptive process that may be used by persons seeking to commit a sexual offense in order to facilitate sexual contact with the minor and avoid detection. The Sexual Grooming Model purports that there are five overarching stages, consisting of a total of 42 behaviors, involved in the grooming process (Winters et al., 2020). Due to the manipulation involved in the process, sexual grooming may impact victims’ psychological response to the abuse (Plummer, 2018); however, no study has explored this relationship. The present study examined the extent to which sexual grooming behaviors were related to victims’ feelings of depression and hopelessness. Participants included 70 undergraduates who reported being victims of child sexual abuse. Participants completed an online self-report survey which included the Sexual Grooming Scale-Victim Version, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Beck Hopelessness Scale. Overall, there was a significant positive correlation between sexual grooming behaviors and feelings of depression. When examining the specific stages, there was a positive correlation between victim selection and depression, but there was a negative correlation between post-abuse maintenance and depression. There were no significant correlations between sexual grooming behaviors and hopelessness. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research will be discussed.

Authors

• Sarah Allana Baker, Fairleigh Dickinson University

• Caitlin Krause, Fairleigh Dickinson University

• Georgia Winters, Fairleigh Dickinson University