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Grooming Behaviors in Adult Sex Offenders: Safety, Prevention, and Recovery
Original Recording Date :
Course Format
Recorded webinar.
In understanding and addressing the grooming behaviors of adult sex offenders, professionals can work toward preventing future harm. This workshop provides the participant with an understanding of grooming behaviors by adult sex offenders as grounded in the empirical literature. To begin, the harmful impact grooming has on individuals (victim, family members of them and the offender), family systems, and communities will be discussed. From there, we will undergo an in-depth exploration into the methods sex offenders use to groom child victim’s, their family, and the environments the victim and offender are embedded within. Combined with a comprehensive review of the stages of grooming, participants will walk away with the knowledge necessary to recognize grooming behaviors when working with either a potential child victim or adult and skills to intervene across professional roles.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the impact grooming has on individuals, family systems, and communities.
- Identify the types of grooming behaviors utilized by adult sex offenders.
- Recognize the various stages of grooming by adult sex offenders.
- Formulate effective intervention strategies to address grooming behaviors by adult sex offenders in a variety of professional roles.
Research: Research information about this program can be found on the following websites:
- Wolf, M. R., Linn, B. K., & Pruitt, D. K. (2018). Grooming child victims into sexual abuse: a psychometric analysis of survivors’ experiences. Journal of sexual aggression, 24(2), 215-224.
- Wolf, M. R., & Pruitt, D. K. (2019). Grooming hurts too: the effects of types of perpetrator grooming on trauma symptoms in adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Journal of child sexual abuse, 28(3), 345-359.
- Winters, G.M., & Jeglic, E.L. (2017). Stages of sexual grooming: Recognizing predatory behaviors of child molesters. Deviant Behavior, 38(6), 724-733.
- McAlinden, A.M. (2012). Grooming and the sexual abuse of children: Institutional, internet, and familial dimensions. Oxford University Press.
- Episode 132 - Dr. Doyle Pruitt: Understanding and Responding to Youth Who Engage in Sexual Harm. (2013, November 25). inSocialWork Podcast Series. [Audio Podcast] Retrieved from http://www.socialwork.buffalo.edu/podcast/episode.asp?ep=132
Target Audience: social workers, mental health practitioners, creative arts therapists, marriage and facility therapists, psychologists, addiction professionals, case managers, and other interested individuals.
Customer ServiceWe are happy to respond to any concerns or questions you may have. Please contact us at by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.
ADA Accommodations: If you require any support for your ADA needs in the United States, please contact us by email at least 3 weeks prior to the event by email at sw-ce@buffalo.edu or by phone at 716-829-5841.
Doyle K. Pruitt, PhD, LCSW-R
Dr. Pruitt is a psychotherapist in private practice with 19years of experience. Her clinical practice has included a specialized focus on children, youth, and families; interpersonal trauma; and juvenile delinquency in both community based and residential settings. Dr. Pruitt serves as a forensic evaluator and expert witness for victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse, consultant on trauma informed care and intervention practices to child welfare organizations and adult treatment facilities, and clinical supervisor to graduate level practitioners and students. Dr. Pruitt’s research focuses on the grooming behaviors of adult sex offenders, differential impact trauma has on individuals, and various interventions intended to address this. She has presented at state, national, and international conferences, and has authored peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters related to trauma and sexual aggression.
