Rethinking research on sexual exploitation of boys: Methodological challenges and recommendations to optimize future knowledge generation

dc.contributor.authorMitchell, K., Moynihan, M., Pitcher, C., Francis, A.,English, A., & Saewyc, E.
dc.date.accessioned2017-02-10T16:17:02Z
dc.date.available2017-02-10T16:17:02Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.description.abstractResearch and policies on child and adolescent sexual exploitation frequently focus on the sexual exploitation of girls and fail to recognize the experiences of sexually exploited boys, including their potentially unique health care and social support needs. This oversight limits the ability of health care and social service providers to offer both targeted and evidence informed care to sexually exploited boys. As a first step in a larger grant to understand the experiences of sexually exploited boys and to develop interventions for this specific population, we conducted a systematic review to address the question, “What is the state of the research on sexually exploited boys internationally?” As we undertook this review, we faced a number of significant challenges that made the process more difficult than anticipated. In this paper we discuss four key methodological challenges we encountered: lack of a consistent definition of child and adolescent sexual exploitation, difficulties in differentiating sexual exploitation as a specific concept within child sexual abuse, failure to disaggregate data usefully across multiple variables, and limited epidemiological studies to inform prevalence. We reflect on how these challenges limited our ability to systematically analyze, synthesize, and interpret the available research. We conclude by making recommendations to improve the state of the research regarding sexually exploited boys with the aim of better informing future policy and practice. © 2017 The Authors.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMitchell, K., Moynihan, M., Pitcher, C., Francis, A.,English, A., & Saewyc, E. (2017). Rethinking research on sexual exploitation of boys: Methodological challenges and recommendations to optimize future knowledge generation. Child Abuse & Neglect,. Online ahead of print. doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.01.019 0145-2134/en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://ac.els-cdn.com/S0145213417300303/1-s2.0-S0145213417300303-main.pdf?_tid=4173adb0-efab-11e6-a472-00000aab0f01&acdnat=1486743129_d0b828c9314e9371f9c2d438fdd36f3d
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/3219
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherChild Abuse & Neglecten_US
dc.subjectsexual exploitationen_US
dc.subjecttransactional sexen_US
dc.subjectSystematic reviewen_US
dc.subjectmalesen_US
dc.subjectexchanging sexen_US
dc.titleRethinking research on sexual exploitation of boys: Methodological challenges and recommendations to optimize future knowledge generationen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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