Do you think that victims of sexual child molestation.....

butterbeansmama

have a tendency to revert back to that as adults? I mean, if an adult was sexually molested (in any way) as a child, would there be a concern that they might possibly molest there own children?

wdyt

kevschickee2

I think there is always that chance that they could but hopefully not.  I think if they got help the chances go way down

femmegem

The man who molested me was molested as a child, and he actually used that as an excuse to me after it happened. But I wasn't related to him.

femmegem

Oh, and I was an adult when he molested me, BTW. If that makes it any better.

butterbeansmama

okay - if the child never got any help (because they never said a word to anyone) and they never got counseling as an adult. The child (at the time) was molested by an uncle.

fireflymama

I believe (and I could be wrong) that most studies have shown that a disproportionate number of sexual predators have history of having been sexually abused as children themselves.

Brewster

I don't know.  I would never assume that.  Most instances I hear of the person is so utterly disgusted/scarred by the offenders actions, so I would lean toward no. 

kevschickee2

I would be worried that they would revert back to that behavior if they got no help.

Femm I am so sorry that happened to you

femmegem

Sure, I'd be concerned. Will the person definitely abuse a child? No. But could it happen? Yeah, it could.

Brewster

fireflymama:

I believe (and I could be wrong) that most studies have shown that a disproportionate number of sexual predators have history of having been sexually abused as children themselves.

That makes me sad.  I guess just like any abuse, it very easily can go in cycles.

femmegem

kevschickee2:

I would be worried that they would revert back to that behavior if they got no help.

Femm I am so sorry that happened to you

Thanks kevs. It was pretty hard to deal with at the time, but I'm okay now. 

Sarahpep

I used to work extensively with victims of sexual abuse and abusers. Although many of those who abused were also victims, it is not necessarily true that all will re-offend again. The likelihood of those re-offending is contigent upon several factors--did they complete therapy re: their abuse, did/do they have supports/resources in place, etc.

With that being said, however, most abusers that I worked with were 'opportunistic' meaning that if the situation presented themselves, and their inhibations were impaired they would act on that opportunity. Also, those who were classified as 'oppotunistic' offenders preferred to offended those who were not related to them.

minnasmommy

child molesters generally don't molest their own children. Its more likely to be another relative (uncle, etc) or a family friend.

(I did my master's thesis on the effects of childhood sexual abuse.) ?

Zenya

I read something before that said that that theory is WAY overplayed and has lead to a lot of pain/fear in the abused.

minnasmommy

and that's not to say that b.c someone was molested as a child that they are guaranteed to repeat the behavior although there is a higher risk.?

kevschickee2

this is such a sad post.  I am so sorry to the posters that have gone through this

gracendantho26

It's not that I think it. It has been proven in study after study that most predators were once victims. A ton of psychological research already exists on this topic.

jennrg1019

My friend's 3 year old daughter was molested by her uncle.  We later found out that he had been molested by his sister.  He had a daughter of his own who they don't believe was ever molested by him.

butterbeansmama

Thank you for all your responses. It is a sad post, but an unfortunate very real reality.

SpartanGirl

I used to work for our county's probation department that included treatment for adult and juvenile sex offenders.  A lot of the adults who committed sex offenses were abused themselves at some point.  However, the juvenile sex offenders who completed treatment very rarely reoffended.  I'm not sure if it was just our county or a general statistic but the succesful treatment of a juvenile was in the 90% range.

MrsJLK

I do think it can have some correlation.

My mom was physically/mentally abused by her mom and she physically/mentally abused me.  It's not molestation, but I think it's similar enough for comparison.

mags2041

No.

I think maybe most abusers were victimized as children, but not all victims become abusers.  Thats just speaking from personal experience. 

sweetie1528

Femme, I am so sorry that you went through this.

KoriBrett

Having been molested for years as a child I can say that for me, FOCKING SH*T NO WAY IN HELL.

I think it's like anything else - it all depends entirely on each person, end of focking story.