NCJ Number
217125
Journal
Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2006 Pages: 319-342
Date Published
October 2006
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study compared recidivism risk factors and traits among three groups of male juvenile sex offenders: (1) offenders against children; (2) offenders against peers or adults; and (3) mixed type offenders.
Abstract
Results indicated higher overall risk scores for mixed type juvenile sex offenders on all scales included in the study. Few differences in risk factors were found between offenders against children and offenders against peers/adults, which is a departure from previous research that had indicated significant differences between these two groups. Offenders against peers/adults demonstrated low levels of sexual preoccupation compared to the other two groups, suggesting that this type of sexual offense is often opportunistic in nature. Offenders who victimized children and offenders who victimized peers/adults exhibited similar levels of nonsexual delinquency. Offenders who victimized both types of victims had the most extensive history of problem behaviors compared to the other two groups of offenders. Mixed type offenders also exhibited significantly greater deficits in affective characteristics than offenders against children and offenders against peers/adults. In terms of sexual recidivism, offenders against peers/adults had recidivism rates over twice that of offenders against children. No significant differences between these two groups were found for nonsexual recidivism. The findings suggest that most juvenile sex offenders do not reoffend. Restrictive treatment options are best targeted at the highest risk offenders. Participants were 156 male juvenile sex offenders in a secure correctional facility in Oklahoma who had enrolled in the sex offender treatment program and were discharged between 1992 and 2004. Participants were divided into one of the three offender groups based on their archival file data. Researchers coded risk factors from the offenders’ closed files using the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (JSOAP-II) and the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV). Comparisons between the three groups were made using analysis of variance, survival curve analysis, and Cox regression analysis. Future research should include a larger sample to allow for more complex regression tree analyses. Tables, footnotes, references