NCJ Number
220965
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior: An International Journal Volume: 34 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2007 Pages: 1441-1462
Date Published
November 2007
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study examined the behavioral antecedents of sexual aggressors and sought to determine how they related to persistent sexual reoffending in adulthood.
Abstract
Suffering from methodological limitations, results indicate the presence of three broad dimensions of deviance: internalization, externalization, and sexualization. Aggressors against children showed higher levels of internalization, whereas aggressors against adults reported higher levels of externalization. It is the dimension of sexualization and externalization, however that appear the most valuable in the understanding of sexual offending. Over the years, the study of the individual differences associated with the propensity to commit a sexual crime has been the subject of much debate. Drawing on recent theoretical and empirical developments, this study investigated the behavioral antecedents of deviance in sexual aggressors and how they related to sexual offending. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 553 convicted sexual aggressors to gather data on developmental history. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the behavioral antecedents. Tables, figures, references