This scoping review aims to summarize current research on help-seeking behaviors and patterns among children who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) victimization and/or are at high risk of exploitation. Because the literature on help-seeking specific to CSEC victimization is limited, the current review was expanded to summarize findings from help-seeking research for children who have experienced harms that often co-occur with CSEC, such as maltreatment and homelessness. The authors searched three large article databases (PsycInfo, Ovid MEDLINE, and Web of Science) for articles that were (a) empirical; (b) measured or used the term “help-seeking” in their framing and/or results; (c) included children between the ages of 12 and 18; (d) primarily focused on children from the United States; (e) published in English. Ultimately, 22 articles met all inclusion criteria and were included in the final review. Results suggest that cisgender white females are the most likely to seek help, followed by sexual and gender minority children. Cisgender male children were the least likely to engage in help-seeking behaviors. Universally, children were more likely to engage in informal help-seeking rather than formal help-seeking, with younger children being more likely to reach out to parents and older children more likely to reach out to friends. Importantly, ethnically diverse children were under-represented, leading to limited information about how and why these children seek help. Implications for help-seeking by children impacted by commercial sexual exploitation are discussed, providing guidance for programming and research related to CSEC prevention.

中文翻译：

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受商业性剥削影响的儿童寻求帮助：范围界定审查


本次范围审查旨在总结目前对经历过儿童商业性剥削 (CSEC) 受害和/或处于高剥削风险的儿童寻求帮助行为和模式的研究。由于针对 CSEC 受害寻求帮助的文献有限，当前的综述进行了扩展，以总结针对经常与 CSEC 共同发生的伤害（例如虐待和无家可归）的儿童寻求帮助的研究结果。作者搜索了三个大型文章数据库（PsycInfo、Ovid MEDLINE 和 Web of Science），寻找 (a) 实证性的文章； (b) 在其框架和/或结果中衡量或使用“寻求帮助”一词； (c) 包括 12 至 18 岁的儿童； (d) 主要关注来自美国的儿童； (e) 以英文出版。最终，22篇文章符合所有纳入标准并纳入最终评审。结果表明，顺性别白人女性最有可能寻求帮助，其次是性少数儿童。顺性别男孩最不可能做出寻求帮助的行为。普遍而言，儿童更有可能进行非正式的寻求帮助，而不是正式的寻求帮助，年幼的孩子更有可能向父母求助，而年龄较大的孩子更有可能向朋友求助。重要的是，不同种族的儿童代表性不足，导致有关这些儿童如何以及为何寻求帮助的信息有限。讨论了受商业性剥削影响的儿童寻求帮助的影响，为与 CSEC 预防相关的规划和研究提供指导。