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Exploring sexual behaviour of children and adolescents – some ethical and methodological aspects

Mirosław Dąbkowski1, Monika Dąbkowska2

Affiliacja i adres do korespondencji
PSYCHIATR. PSYCHOL. KLIN. 2014, 14 (2), p. 106–111
DOI: 10.15557/PiPK.2014.0014
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Streszczenie

In the already existing resources of original Polish studies concerning the sexuality of children and adolescents as well as in planning similar studies there are important methodological shortcomings and ethical controversies. Beginning with the “sensitivity” of the topic, having diversified social assessment, through the difficulties in comparative studies (most of the literature comes from English-speaking cultural area) as well as the specifics of the selection of the studied populations (narrowed almost entirely to victims of sexual abuse), ending with the difficulties in formulating research objectives and ways of their implementation without compromising the subjects with possible damage. Significant limitations, strictly connected with the above ethical issues are the methodological aspects of sexual behaviour studies among children and adolescents – both the healthy and the ones from clinical groups. This article discusses the advantages and shortcomings of the ways of collecting data and research methodology – case studies; interviews with children and adolescents concerning their sexual behaviour; retrospective descriptions made by young adults, their sexual behaviour from childhood and adolescence time; observations of sexual behaviours of younger children made by parents and carers; standardized behaviour rating scales; direct observation and self-monitoring and neuroimaging studies. The values and limitations of these methods are presented in the axiological optics on the basis of own studies on children from the clinical population.

Słowa kluczowe
children and adolescents, sexual behaviour, methodology of studies, research procedures, ethics