Deviant Sexual Arousal, Offense History, and Demographic Variables as Predictors of Reoffense among Child Molesters

• NCJ Number: 122675
• Journal: Behavioral Sciences and the Law Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1988) Pages: 267-280
• Author(s): H E Barbaree; W L Marshall
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 13 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Ontario Ctr for the Prevention of Child Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The present study examined selected demographic and offense history variables and deviant sexual arousal as predictors of repeated offense in a group of 35 untreated child molesters.

Abstract

The measure of deviant sexual arousal, based on laboratory measures of sexual preference using penile plethysmography, resulted in three prediction factors. The first factor, called Sexual Deviance, was the measure of deviant arousal, the amount of force used in the offense, whether or not the offender had intercourse with the child victim, and the number of previous victims. The second factor, called Social Status, measured the IQ and the socioeconomic status. The third factor, called the Offender Age, measured the age of the offender and the age of the victim. Entering the three factor scores as predictors in a multiple correlation, over 20 percent of the variance in recidivism was explained, but the factor Sexual Deviance was the only significant predictor of recidivism (p is less than .02). Almost 30 percent of the variance in number of repeated offenses was explained, and both Sexual Deviance (p is less than .01) and Social Status (p is less than .10) were significant predictors. A cluster analysis identified a group of offenders characterized by low socioeconomic status and low IQ who also showed higher sexual deviance scores and a high rate of offense. 5 tables, 34 references. (Author abstract modified)