[Base]
[Index]
Child Sexual Abuse - Chapter 5: Four Preconditions: A Model
David Finkelhor
The Free Press, New York, pp.53-68, 1984
[...]
Precondition I: Motivation to Sexually Abuse
Precondition II: Overcoming Internal Inhibitors
Precondition III: Overcoming External Inhibitors
Precondition IV: Overcoming the Resistance of the Child
Operation of the Model
The operation of the four-preconditions model is illustrated in Figure
5-1. It suggests that the various preconditions come into play in a
logical sequence.
[...]
The model of sexual abuse, with its four preconditions, is useful
for categorizing and integrating many of the suggestions in the
literature about individual, family, and cultural factors which
predispose to sexual abuse. But the model also has other uses.
No Distinction Between Intra- and Extrafamilial Abuse
[...]
Family-Systems Model
The four-preconditions model should not be seen necessarily as an
alternative to the family-systems model. [...]
Putting Responsibility in Perspective
One of the most persistent criticism of explanations of sexual abuse
is that they tend to take responsibility for the abuse off the
offender and displace it onto either victim, third parties, or society
as a whole. [...]
The four-preconditions model of sexual abuse puts the issue of
responsibility into a somewhat better perspective. [...] The matter of
victim's and mother's behavior are relevant only because the offender
is already embarked on an antisocial train of events, better showing
where responsibility lies.
Combining Psychological and Sociological Explanations
Use of the Model in Treatment
The four-preconditions model also has implications for working with
abusive families and abusive individuals. It suggests that evaluation
and inteeeervention can operate at four separate sites to prevent
sexual abuse from re-occuring. [...]
Conclusion
This chapter has integrated much of what we currently know about child
sexual abuse into a four-preconditions model. [...]