| Purpose : |
The goal of this research project is to become more familiar with patterns of parent-child interactions in terms of parents' ability to meet the support needs of teenage sex offenders. It is anticipated that the comparative study of these patterns will highlight various similarities and differences concerning the family system and the nature of the relationship with the victim. For instance, it is expected that sexual assault by a sibling will not be found to involve the same issues as sexual assault by a peer who is not a family member. This project also aims to identify what factors should be considered in the development of an intervention module for parents of teenage sex offenders.
A systemic approach to analyzing this problem should allow us to use the research results to create interventions aimed at enhancing parents' ability to perform their parental functions. An intervention module designed for the family system would likely result in more effective interventions. This project is the first step in a larger initiative that will serve to identify key factors to be considered when dealing with teenage sex offenders.
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