Theories and Etiology of Child Sexual Abuse by Males

one of the foremost questions guiding research on sexually deviant behavior in the twentieth century. As with most forms of deviant behavior, there are various explanations as to the etiology and maintenance of sexual offending. Within the specialist literature, biological, psychological and sociological theories have been designed to explain the onset of deviant sexual fantasies and behavior. However, owing to the heterogeneity of the perpetrators of such abuse and the complex nature of this behavior, no one theory adequately explains : (a) the motivating factors that lead an adult male to have sexual relations with a child and (b) the sustaining factors that contribute to the continuance of such relations (Bickley & Beech, 2001) . Nonetheless, understanding the etiology and maintenance of sexual offending is important in order to implement policies that are appropriate for all types of sexual offenders . Table 1 at the end of this section summarizes the theories on deviant sexual behavior.