Child sexuality is the sexual feelings, behaviors, and development of children.
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Until Sigmund Freud published his Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality in 1905, children were often regarded as asexual, having no sexuality until later development. Freud was one of the first researchers to seriously study child sexuality. While his ideas, such as psycho-sexual development and the Oedipus complex, have been rejected, acknowledging the existence of child sexuality was a significant change.[1] Children are naturally curious about their bodies and sexual functions — they wonder where babies come from, they notice anatomical differences between males and females, and many engage in genital play or masturbation. Child sex play includes exhibiting or inspecting the genitals. Many children take part in some sex play, typically with siblings or friends.[1] Sex play with others usually decreases as children go through their elementary school years, yet they still may possess romantic interest in their peers. Curiosity levels remain high during these years, escalating in puberty (roughly the teenage years) when the main surge in sexual interest occurs.[1]
Some cultural critics have postulated that over recent decades children have been subject to a premature sexualization, as indicated by a level of sexual knowledge or sexual behaviour inappropriate for their age group.[2] The causes of this premature sexualization that have been cited include portrayals in the media of sex and related issues, especially in media aimed at children; the marketing of products with sexual connotations to children, including clothing;[3] the lack of parental oversight and discipline; access to adult culture via the internet; and the lack of comprehensive school sex education programs.[4] For girls and young women in particular, studies have found that sexualization has a negative impact on their "self-image and healthy development".[5]
When an adult or older adolescent has a sexual relationship with a child, it is considered to be a form of child abuse known as child sexual abuse.[6][7] This can also bring on the premature sexualization of the child. Other effects of child sexual abuse include depression,[8] post-traumatic stress disorder,[9] anxiety,[10] propensity to further victimization in adulthood,[11] and physical injury to the child, among other problems.[12] Child sexual abuse by a family member is a form of incest, and can result in more serious and long-term psychological trauma, especially in the case of parental incest.[13][14]
Sigmund Freud in his 1905 work Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality outlined a theory of psycho-sexual development with five distinct phases: the oral stage (0–1.5 years), the anal stage (1.5–3.5 years), the phallic stage (3.5–6 years) which culminates in the resolution of the Oedipus conflict, The Latency Phase (6–12 years of age), and the genital (or adult) stage.
Alfred Kinsey in the Kinsey Reports (1948 and 1953) included research on the physical sexual response of children, including pre-pubescent children (though the main focus of the reports was adults). It has been stated that some of the data in his reports could not have been obtained without observation or participation in child sexual abuse, or through collaborations with child molesters.[15] In 2000, Swedish researcher IngBeth Larsson noted, "It is quite common for references still to cite Alfred Kinsey", due to the paucity of subsequent large-scale studies of child sexual behavior.[16]
Empirical knowledge about child sexual behavior is not usually gathered by direct interviews of children, partly due to ethical considerations.[16] Information about child sexual behavior is gathered by the following methods:
Although there are variations between individual children, children generally are curious about their bodies and those of others, and explore their bodies through explorative sex play.[21][22] Playing doctor is one example of such childhood exploration. Such games are generally considered to be normal in young children and not sexual in nature. Child sexuality is considered fundamentally different from adult sexual behavior, which is more goal-driven. Among children, genital penetration and oral-genital contact are very uncommon,[23] and may be perceived as imitations of adult behaviors.[24] Such behaviors are more common among children who have been sexually abused.[16]
A 1997 study based on limited variables found no correlation between early childhood (age 6 and under) peer sexual play and later adjustment.[25] The study notes that its results do not demonstrate conclusively that no such correlates exist.[25] The study also does not address the question of consequences of intense sexual experiences or aggressive or unwanted experiences.[25]
Children who have been the victim of child sexual abuse sometimes display overly sexualized behavior,[26][27] which may be defined as expressed behavior that is non-normative for the culture.
Typical symptomatic behaviors may include excessive or public masturbation and coercing, manipulating or tricking other children into non-consensual or unwanted sexual activities, also referred to as "child-on-child sexual abuse". Sexualized behavior is thought to constitute the best indication that a child has been sexually abused.[26]
Children who exhibit sexualized behavior may also have other behavioral problems.[27] Other symptoms of child sexual abuse may include manifestations of post-traumatic stress in younger children; fear, aggression, and nightmares in young school-age children; and depression in older children.[26]
The following sections describe typical culturally-normed behavior among developed Western societies.
From the ages of three to seven, the following behaviors are normal among children:
Early school age covers approximately ages five to seven.
Children become more aware of gender differences, and tend to choose same-sex friends and playmates, even disparaging the opposite sex.[29] Children may drop their close attachment to their opposite-sex parent and become more attached to their same-sex parent.[28]
During this time, children, especially girls, show increased awareness of social norms regarding sex, nudity, and privacy.[30] Children may use sexual terms to test adult reaction.[28] "Bathroom humor" (jokes and conversation relating to excretory functions), present in earlier stages, continues.[31]
Masturbation continues to be common.[28][31]
"Middle childhood" covers the ages from about six to eleven, depending on the methodology and the behavior being studied, individual development varies considerably.
As this stage progresses, the choices of children picking same-sex friends becomes more marked and extending to disparagement of the opposite sex.[32]
In 1980, a survey of 796 undergraduates, 15 percent of females and 10 percent of males reported some form of sexual experience involving a sibling; most of these fell short of actual intercourse. Approximately one quarter of these experiences were described as abusive or exploitative.[33] A 1989 paper reported the results of a questionnaire with responses from 526 undergraduate college students in which 17 percent of the respondents stated that they had preadolescent sexual experiences with a sibling.[34]
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