Sexual Development in Childhood

John Bancroft was trained in medicine at Cambridge University and in psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, London. He has been Director of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, and Professor of Psychiatry at Indiana University since May 1995. He is the author of Human Sexuality and Its Problems, and was founding editor of Annual Review of Sex Research.

"This book grew out of a Kinsey Institute workshop, at which 30 or so invited guests summarized their previously circulated papers on childhood sexuality. The volume includes both the papers and the discussion. Historian Philip Jenkins opens by emphasizing what he called the research pendulum on childhood sexuality: interest in the subject has swung several times between intense concern and research and virtual neglect. Clearly, childhood sexuality is now a popular topic. Essays address methodological issues and the importance of getting a wide variety of subjects. The two concluding papers summarize problems and prospects: Diane di Mauro outlines a pattern for future research but also emphasizes the importance of finding ways of disseminating the findings to the public and interested groups; Bancroft, the editor of the collection, reemphasizes the lack of knowledge about sexual development of children and urges that developing more effective methods of studying the subject should be a priority. The book as a whole takes a major step forward in opening up research and discussion on the subject. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper—division undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers."—V. L. Bullough, emeritus, California State University, Northridge , Choice, July 2004"The book as a whole takes a major step forward in opening up research and discussion on the subject. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers.July 2004"—Choice

• IntroductionPart 1. The Historical ContextWatching the Research PendulumPart 2. Methodological Aspects Methodological Issues Associated with Studies of Child Sexual BehaviorUsing the Parents as Source of Information About the Child with Special Emphasis on the Sex Problems Scale of the Child Behavior ChecklistDiscussion PaperGeneral DiscussionMethodological Issues involved in Adult Recall of Childhood Sexual ExperiencesUsing Computer-Assisted Self-Interview (CASI) for Recall of Childhood Sexual ExperiencesThe Use of Meta-analysis in Understanding the Effects of Child Sexual AbuseDiscussion PaperGeneral DiscussionPart 3. Some new studies of normal sexual development Studies of Sexuality of Nonabused ChildrenBody Awareness and Physical Intimacy: An Exploratory StudyDiscussion Paper General DiscussionThe Nature of Childhood Sexual Experiences: Two Studies 50 Years ApartMasturbation as a Marker of Sexual Development: Two Studies 50 Years ApartDiscussion Paper: Normative Sexual Development in Childhood and AdolescenceDiscussion PaperGeneral DiscussionAntecedents of Sexual Activity at Ages 17 and 18 in a Community Sample Followed from Age 5Part 4. Cross-Cultural AspectsCross-cultural aspects - the African American perspectiveCultural Dimensions of Childhood Sexuality in the United StatesDiscussion PaperGeneral DiscussionPart 5. Retrospective studies of effects of child sexual abuse on adolescent sexualitySexual Contact Between Children and Adults: A Life Course Perspective with Special Reference to MenChildhood/Adolescent Sexual Coercion Among Men who have Sex with Men: Understanding Patterns of Sexual Behavior and Sexual RiskAbusive Sexual Experiences Before Age 12 and Adolescent Sexual BehaviorsDiscussion PaperGeneral discussionPart 6. Theoretical models for mediating mechanismsThe Social Context of Adaptation to Childhood Sexual Maltreatment: A Life Course PerspectiveChildhood Sexuality and Adult Sexual Relationships: How are they Connected by Data and by Theory?Discussion PaperDiscussion PaperGeneral DiscussionPart 7. Towards a consensus Conclusions from Research, Policy and Advocacy PerspectivesConclusions from a Theoretical PerspectiveGeneral DiscussionConference ParticipantsIndex