title: Child sex initiation rings.
abstract: The workings of child sex initiation rings are outlined in a study of 36 prepubescent children involved in six such rings. Organizational factors include the adult capitalizing on a legitimate role in the children's lives and programming them to provide sexual services in exchange for psychological, social, monetary, and other rewards; operational factors include peer group pressures and secrecy. Symptoms noted in the children prior to disclosure, and affective and cognitive response by parents upon disclosure, are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002649:Child Abuse; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010262:Paraphilic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D010378:Pedophilia / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D012201:Reward