NCJ Number
171021
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 26 Issue: 3/4 Dated: (1998) Pages: 127-139
Date Published
1998
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study compares mentally retarded sex offenders and non-offenders on measures of hostility towards women, general hostility, self-esteem, loneliness, and depression.
Abstract
A total of 22 males participated in the study. Half were mentally retarded sex offenders and half had mental disabilities but no reported history of offending behavior. Mentally retarded sex offenders scored significantly higher than non-offenders on the Hostility Towards Women Scale. This finding supports clinical observations which claim that mentally retarded sex offenders view women in very negative and stereotypic ways. Mean scores on the general hostility, self-esteem, loneliness, and depression scales, while not statistically significant, were in the predicted direction. Study results should be accepted with some caution because significant group differences on the investigated variables may have been less readily detected in the small sample size and scores from individuals who live independently within the community may not parallel scores from individuals who live in a residential setting. Tables, references, notes