Gay and bisexual men's age-discrepant childhood sexual experiences

Journal of Sex Research,  Nov, 2004  by Jessica L. Stanley,  Kim Bartholomew,  Doug Oram

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RESULTS

Prevalence and Nature of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Fifty of the 192 men (26%) reported sexual contact with someone at least 5 years older before the age of 17. On average, the men were 10.10 years of age (SD = 4.45) at the time of sexual contact with a range of 2 to 16 years. The age of the older person ranged from 11 to 60 years with a mean of 24.61 (SD = 8.70). The age difference between the youth and older person averaged 14.25 years (SD = 7.71) and ranged from 5 to 45 years difference. The vast majority of older sexual partners were men (92%) with only 4 (8%) of the 48 men who indicated the sex of the older person reporting that it was a woman. Most commonly, the sexual contact occurred only once (n = 21,48%), although the duration of sexual contact ranged up to 12 years. Ten of the 45 men (22%) who described the duration of sexual contact reported that the sexual contact lasted for more than 1 year.

Forty-five men indicated they had a relationship with the older person (see Table 1). Fifteen men (33%) reported that the older person was a member of their community (e.g., shopkeeper, leader of a youth organization, or babysitter). Family friends (n = 7, 16%) and strangers (n = 7, 16%) were the next most commonly mentioned relations. Sexual contact with a member of the extended family (e.g., cousins and uncles) was reported by five men (11%). Another five men (11%) described the relationship as an acquaintanceship. Four men (9%) reported sexual relations with older brothers, and two men reported sexual relations with fathers (4%).

Table 2 presents participants' perceptions of their CSA experiences. The majority of men did not describe the experience as coercive, with only 6 of the 47 men (13%) indicating that they were forced to some degree to engage in sexual activity. Several men reported that they engaged in the sexual activity consciously and willingly. For example, some men reported going to an area that gay men were known to frequent with the intention of having a sexual encounter. However, in several men's experiences, they were too young to understand sex and as a result engaged in the experience unwittingly or in the spirit of exploration. For example, one man reported that he did not think that anything was wrong about his sexual encounters with his older brother until his parents reacted strongly when he cheerfully told them, "Bro kissed my dinky."

The majority of men (n = 41, 82%) reported that at the time of sexual contact they did not perceive the experience as abusive. Of the 48 men who described their childhood perception of the sexual experience, 20 (42%) perceived the encounter negatively. However, the degree of negativity varied and included descriptions such as "the worst thing in my life" to mixed perceptions acknowledging good and bad aspects of the experience. Twenty-eight men (58%) described that as a child they perceived the experience positively or neutrally. The degree of positivity also varied and ranged from "wonderful, affirming, and hot" to more neutral and nonnegative descriptions of the sexual contact. From an adult perspective, the majority of men (31 out of 50; 62%) did not define their experience as abusive. In addition to the 9 men who continuously perceived their CSA experiences as abusive, 10 men changed their characterization of the experience from nonabusive to abusive. Of the 10 men who came to perceive their experience as abusive, many indicated that as a child they "did not understand" the experience and that they are now viewing it from an "adult perspective."