NCJ Number
224486
Journal
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Volume: 6 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2008 Pages: 363-385
Date Published
October 2008
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This meta-analysis of sexual reoffending by juvenile sex offenders focused on the role of antisociality and sexual deviancy as risk factors.
Abstract
The findings suggest that it is still too early to draw firm conclusions about the risk factors for juvenile sexual reoffending; however, consistent with previous reviews this meta-analysis concludes that a significant proportion of juvenile sex offenders will reoffend, but their subsequent offenses will most likely be nonsexual crimes. On average, 53 percent of the juveniles included in this meta-analysis (n=3,189 offenders in 18 studies) reoffended following their sex crimes, with most committing nonsexual crimes. Only 12 percent reoffended with sexual offenses, which is a sexual reoffense rate similar to that reported for adult sex offenders. Although it is too early to draw firm conclusions about the risk factors for juvenile sexual reoffending, some trends emerged that parallel those found with adult sex offenders and juvenile nonsexual offenders. Risk factors related to victim characteristics were the strongest predictors of sexual recidivism. Having a stranger victim, a child or adult victim, and a male victim were all significantly related to sexual reoffending; therefore, it can be hypothesized that the presence of early deviant sexual behavior with extra-familial young male victims might be indicators of the development of a sexual preference for children. The reviewed empirical studies of the risk predictors of recidivism for juvenile sexual offenders were plagued by theoretical, conceptual, operational, and methodological limitations that a quantitative meta-analytical review cannot solve. The final sample of 18 studies were located through an extensive literature search using research databases. Forty-eight risk factors were selected for inclusion in the coding scheme. The categories were criminal history, index offense characteristics, victim characteristics, psychological/personality characteristics, behavioral factors, and cognitive/emotional characteristics. 2 tables, appended features of each study reviewed, 6 notes, and 63 references