Peer-reviewed article
Identification of red flag child sexual grooming behaviors
Elizabeth L. Jeglic, Georgia M. Winters, Benjamin N. Johnson ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study identified specific behaviors used by adults to sexually groom children, by comparing accounts from adults who experienced childhood sexual abuse with those who did not. Researchers found that certain grooming behaviors—particularly those involving desensitizing children to physical contact and sexual content—reliably differentiated abusers from non-abusers. The type of relationship between the adult and child (family, non-family, or community member) affected which behaviors were reported. These findings can help adults recognize warning signs of grooming and take protective action.
Key points
- Sexual grooming behaviors were identified that differentiated adults who engaged in child sexual abuse from those who did not
- Desensitizing behaviors related to physical contact and sexual content were identified as key red flag indicators
- The relationship type between the adult and child (family member, non-family member, or community member) was an important consideration in identifying grooming behaviors
- Some grooming behaviors resemble normal adult-child interactions, making detection difficult
- The study used the Sexual Grooming Scale - Victim Version (SGS-V) to measure reported behaviors
Limitations
The study relies on retrospective self-reports from adults about their childhood experiences, which may be subject to recall bias or incomplete memory. The findings cannot determine causation or establish the prevalence of grooming behaviors in the general population.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Sexual Grooming is the deceptive process wherein a would-be perpetrator prepares a child for sexual abuse (CSA) and prevents disclosure and detection. It is often difficult to detect sexual grooming because some grooming behaviors resemble normal adult-child interactions. To prevent CSA, it is vital to identify sexual grooming behaviors that can be considered "red flag" behaviors. OBJECTIVE: This study compared reported sexual grooming behaviors between adults who experienced CSA and those with no CSA history to identify which behaviors differed between the two groups. Further we explored whether the relationship to the adult male in the Non-CSA group impacted reported behaviors. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants were recruited online through Prolific and included adults who experienced CSA (n = 411) and those with no CSA history (n = 502). METHODS: Participants who reported CSA completed the Sexual Grooming Scale - Victim Version (SGS-V) about their CSA experience. Those with no CSA history were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (family member/non-family member/community member) and completed a modified version of the SGS-V about an adult male with whom they had the most interpersonal contact before age 18. RESULTS: Numerous sexual grooming behaviors that differentiated the behaviors of adults who engaged in CSA and those who did not were identified. The relationship to the adult was an important consideration. CONCLUSIONS: Red flag sexual grooming behaviors, specifically those related to desensitizing the child to physical contact and sexual content, can be identified in cases of CSA and have an important role in prevention.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Identification and characterization of red flag sexual grooming behaviors through comparative analysis between adults with and without childhood sexual abuse history
- Population
- Adults who experienced childhood sexual abuse (n=411) and adults with no childhood sexual abuse history (n=502), recruited online through Prolific
Key finding
Numerous sexual grooming behaviors differentiated adults who engaged in child sexual abuse from those who did not