Factors Related to General Sexual Behavior of Children Under 10 Years Old in Korea

ABSTRACT

The risk factors for intrusive or problematic sexual behavior in a specific population, including abused or clinically referred children, have been occasionally explored. However, sexual behaviors broadly in the general population have not been investigated. This study aimed to determine whether child characteristics, exposure to trauma, family factors, and exposure to sexuality, which were proposed as predictors of sexual behavior problems in previous studies, significantly affected the general sexual behaviors of children under 10 years in the Korean population. The parents of 652 children aged 3–9 years in a Korean community completed questionnaires, including the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory, the Korean version of the Child Behavior Checklist, Trauma Symptom for Young Children, the Korean version of the Family Inventory of Life and Change, the Dysfunctional Parenting Scale, and exposure to trauma and sexuality. Regression analysis indicated that children’s age, externalizing behavior problems, post-traumatic symptoms, exposure to trauma, and exposure to sexuality were significant predictors of overall sexual behaviors. Therefore, it may be helpful to explore trauma and exposure to sexuality even to understand a child’s general sexual behavior. In addition, psychoeducation can help parents monitor and reset family boundaries and sexual exposure that can affect children’s sexual behavior.

KEYWORDS:

• Child sexual behavior
• general population
• trauma
• sexuality

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2020S1A5A8042987).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical standards and informed consent

All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation for the Inha University and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2020S1A5A8042987).

Notes on contributors

Ji Young Choi

Ji Young Choi Ph.D., is a Professor at Inha University in Incheon, Republic of Korea.

Kang Hyunmi

Kang Hyunmi is a researcher at the Gyeonggi Women & Family Foundation, Gyeonggido, Republic of Korea.