Sexual Deviance Among Male College Students: Prior Deviance as an Explanation

• NCJ Number: 222995
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2004 Pages: 72-89
• Author(s): Arrick Jackson; Louis Veneziano; Katherine Riggen
• Date Published: January 2004
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

It is argued that group affiliation as an explanation of sexual deviance among male college students provides a narrow understanding of sexual deviance, and that because sexual deviance is a criminal activity, the more appropriate approach for understanding sexual deviance is to examine an individual’s history of deviance.

Abstract

The results are supportive of the hypothesis that sexual deviance on college campuses is not a function of aggressive sports training, psychopathic, or serial rapist behavior. Sexual deviance is more likely a function of prior deviance and possibly other antecedent variables. The findings within this study suggest that if one has a history of deviance, he or she is more likely to offend again in the future regardless of his or her group affiliation. This finding is consistent with prior research findings. The findings also suggest that by focusing on groups, individuals within these groups are extended the negative stereotypes that have been attributed to the group as a whole, thereby discounting individual differences and experiences. The study's findings support the argument that sexual deviance along with crime in general is a very complex and often wicked problem that should not be examined through narrow approaches. Much research on sexual deviance on university and college campuses is limited by its narrow focus on group affiliation and leads to much speculation and conjecture. This paper suggests that an alternative explanation is more suitable for explaining this issue. It argues that prior deviance serves as a more robust predictor variable of sexual deviance. This study examined the contribution of prior deviance to the prediction of sexual deviance among a sample of male college students. It hypothesized that prior deviance would be a better predictor of sexual deviance among male college students than group affiliation. Tables, appendix, notes, and references