NCJ Number
189932
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 45 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2001 Pages: 314-324
Date Published
June 2001
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study consisted of an 8-year comparative analysis of the sexual recidivism of adolescent perpetrators of child molestation and adolescent perpetrators of rape.
Abstract
Study purposes were to determine whether juvenile delinquency was a risk factor associated with future sexual offending, whether being a treated juvenile sex offender increased the risk for sexual offending upon return to the community compared with other delinquents and the general population, and whether there was a significant difference in the risk of future sexual offending between child sex offenders and adolescent rapists. The study was conducted at a secure juvenile correctional facility in Wisconsin. The combined rapist and child offender groups (n=100) completed a mandatory serious sex offender treatment program that included group psychotherapy, general education, sex education, behavior management programming, and individual and family therapy. On average, the program lasted 8 months. A control group was created by using a sample size of 50 based on the rate of sexual convictions in the adult male population. Follow-up data on the sex offenders and non-sex offender delinquents was completed through a Central Records Office of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, which maintains records on further convictions and sentences. The study found that adolescent sex offenders were significantly more likely to sexually reoffend in the 8-year period after their release than were a control group of non-sex offending adolescent delinquents from the same institution. Juvenile non-sex offenders, adolescent sexual offenders against children, and adolescent rapists were all found to be significantly more likely to be involved in sexual assault than was the general male population in the United States. 19 references