A Little Weird and Strange: Children’s Detection of Adult Grooming Tactics

Background: Grooming is commonly used by perpetrators of child sexual abuse (CSA) to initiate and sustain abuse, so we need to understand children’s awareness of grooming behaviors.Objective: This study explored whether school-aged children can identify adults’ grooming tactics.Participants and Setting: Children (6-11; N = 524) were recruited from a summer camp.Methods: Children were read two stories involving a child helping a custodian or coach, with grooming behaviors varying by (1) private vs. public settings, (2) repeated encounters (multiple) vs. first-time (single), and (3) whether the child provided a vague explanation for their absence (secrecy) or not. After the stories, children were asked follow-up questions and their responses were categorized as direct detection (grooming-related concern), indirect detection (sensitivity to grooming, e.g., negative feelings), or no detection.Results: Overall, 19% of responses indicated direct detection, and 35% indicated indirect detection of grooming. Direct detection significantly increased in scenarios involving frequent grooming behaviors combined with secrecy (Estimate = -9.86, 95% CI [-19.20, -0.96]) and privacy (Est. = -12.58, 95% CI [-23.23, -2.56]). Older children demonstrated greater direct detection ability, particularly in highly secretive and multiple interactions (Age × Secrecy × Multiple: Est. = 1.17, 95% CI [0.13, 2.24]). Indirect detection was significantly higher when the adult was a custodian compared to a coach (Est. = -0.55, 95% CI [-0.93, -0.21]), and when the child in the story was a girl compared to a boy (Est. = 1.02, 95% CI [0.69, 1.36]).Conclusions: These findings underscore the need for CSA prevention education.