NCJ Number
81087
Date Published
1977
Length
136 pages
Annotation
Data on 25 case studies from the files of a forensic psychiatrist and a licensed psychologist were used as the basis for an examination of the behavioral and attitudinal factors characteristic of rapists and for a determination of the different types of rapists.
Abstract
The subjects were mostly between ages 19 and 35, while the victims' ages ranged from less than 2 to 87. Most victims were Caucasian and were between ages 18 and 34. The rapists generally exhibited low values on religion and human dignity as part of daily living. Most remembered their fathers as being alcoholic and brutal deserters and abandoners. Mothers were remembered as being alcoholic and promiscuous, indifferent and abusive, and even seductive. Over half of the subjects had unsatisfactory parental models in the persons of their parental substitutes. None received formal sex education. The subjects were exposed to few positive coping patterns for dealing with stress. Over two-thirds of the sample used drugs to varying degrees, while over three-quarters used alcohol. Most of the rapists had prior arrests of a nonsexual nature; all had been arrested previously for sexually related offenses. Over half of the subjects used knives in the commission of their crimes. The subjects demonstrated pronounced dependency needs together with poor senses of self-esteem. They also exhibited psychosexual confusion coupled with aggression and hostility. The majority had average or above average intelligence quotients. Rapist-victim relationships were classified as long-range acquaintances, pickups, and surprise attacks. The surprise rapist constituted the majority of the sample and was considered to be the most abnormal and the most violent. The main common characteristic of all three types of rapists was the failure to find socially acceptable ways to release frustrations. Findings indicated that rapists are the product of their environments, particularly their childhood environments. Implications of these findings, recommendations for further research, a literature review, a list of 82 references, and appendixes presenting data collection instruments and a sample case history are provided.