NCJ Number
140407
Journal
Psychiatric Quarterly Volume: 61 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1990) Pages: 273- 284
Date Published
1990
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article uses the literature on schizotypic personality organization to describe a subgroup of sex offenders, and a study by the authors is presented to confirm the existence of such a subgroup; implications are drawn for the treatment of sex offenders.
Abstract
Meehl (1964) has provided a detailed description of the key components of schizotypy, a type of schizophrenia located in the mid-range of symptom manifestation. Among the 25 schizotypic signs, Meehl identifies chaotic sexuality as a component of schizophrenia. He defines chaotic sexuality as "the occurrence of either acted-out or fantasized episodes ...(which are characterized by)...a scrambling of heterosexual, homosexual autoerotic, voyeuristic- exhibitionistic, sado-masochistic, oral, anal, and genital components." Based on the theoretical propositions of Meehl, the clinical observations of Dunaif and Hoch, and Hoch and Cattell, as well as the empirical findings of Frost and Chapman, there is apparently a subtype or subtypes of sexual offenders who can be described as schizotypic, as defined by Meehl. This conclusion leads to a hypothesis that at least some sex offenders present signs of disturbed thought processes that coexist with their sexual deviance. The authors of this article note that they have consistently observed in their studies of sexual offenders that subgroups present elevations on MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory) scales indicative of disturbed thought processes. The authors caution, however, that this does not indicate that thought disturbance causes sexual deviance. The authors conclude that the findings suggest that treatment programs which address the heterogeneity of sex offenders and use interventions to treat cognitive disturbances will likely be more effective than other treatment techniques. 1 table and 40 references