NCJ Number
169156
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 23 Issue: 3/4 Dated: special issue (1996) Pages: 71-83
Date Published
1996
Length
13 pages
Annotation
A 7-year research project was conducted between 1986 and 1993 using male and female, adolescent and adult sex offenders, victims, and their families.
Abstract
Of 656 subjects, 423 (64 percent) were male and 233 (36 percent) were female, with an age range of 4 to 71 years. Subjects were either self-referred or referred by a law enforcement official or child protective services. They were individually interviewed for a minimum of 90 minutes by a clinical psychologist with a specialty in paraphilia. Comparative data were recorded on age, marital status, educational level, psychological history, violence, life stressors, sexual behavior, and sexual health. Four groups were used in the analysis: offenders (OO's), victims, people in both categories (OV's), and persons in neither category. The OV group had a higher percentage of psychological difficulties than the other three groups. Within the overall sample, 33 percent came from families in which a member tried to kill someone. One-third of OO's and OV's had more than one sexual partner in a year, yet there were no significant reports of sexually transmitted diseases except for oral herpes. All groups differed significantly on 13 life stressors and on several sexual history factors. Findings on sexual difficulties indicated the importance of a comprehensive assessment of the sexual health status of both sex offenders and sexual abuse victims. 35 references and 5 tables