No abstract

We are grateful to the many individuals responsible for the data collection and preparation. We have no known conflicts of interest to disclose.

Drawing from sexual scripting theory, the present study employed semi-structured interviews with 101 individuals incarcerated for sexual offenses in a Midwestern minimum-security prison to explore: (1) Do individuals who have committed sexual offenses report that porn scripts influenced or informed their sexual behavior? and (2) How do participants understand the norms and values inherent in porn? Through a qualitative analysis, several themes were identified which included living the porn, transforming sex, porn as grooming and offending, and porn as risk. For some individuals, porn serves as a salient factor in how they navigate their sexual behaviors and relationships, however, most did not report relying on these scripts in their offenses. We discuss treatment and supervision implications related to pornography use.

Although research has been conducted on the risks and effects of juvenile sexual assault, there is a gap in our knowledge surrounding juvenile sexual assault and how the law discusses victims. The goal of this endeavor is to provide a systematic summary of juvenile sexual assault statutes in the United States of America. In pursuit of this objective, a content analysis of the sexual assault and consent state laws of the United States of America was performed. Four themes emerged, including laws that sought to (1) conceptualize juvenile sexual assault victimization, (2) offer evidentiary standards in juvenile sexual assault cases, (3) assess the seriousness and punishment of juvenile sexual assault, and (4) provide services for juveniles who have been sexually victimized. Within these themes, legislation was inconsistent from one state to another. From these findings, however, we encourage legislative bodies to offer greater specificity in their laws, re-assess the seriousness of this phenomenon, and express greater support for victims of child sexual assault.