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What do young children know about sex? Research on the sexual knowledge of children between the ages of 2 and 6 years
Author(s) -
BrilleslijperKater Sonja N.,
Baartman Herman E. M.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
child abuse review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1099-0852
pISSN - 0952-9136
DOI - 10.1002/1099-0852(200005/06)9:3<166::aid-car588>3.0.co;2-3
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , human sexuality , sex organ , sexual abuse , child sexual abuse , injury prevention , poison control , medicine , gender studies , sociology , genetics , environmental health , biology
We investigated the sexual knowledge of 63 Dutch children in the age range 2–6 years. Boys and girls were equally represented in the sample. The children had an average, or above‐average IQ and none of them had any experience of sexual abuse. It was found that young children have a very limited knowledge of sexuality. They only possess some basic knowledge of genital differences, gender identity, sexual body parts and (non‐sexual) functions of the genitals. Knowledge of pregnancy and birth, reproduction and adult sexual behaviour was found to be very limited and decreased in the order presented here. Non‐sexually abused children appear to interpret situations that show physical intimacy between adults and children in terms of their own experiences. None of the children talked about sexual activities. Older children generally knew more than younger ones. No significant differences in knowledge between boys and girls were found. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.