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Sexual abuse is a heterogeneous phenomenon. The literature on sexual offenders considers risk factors in the individual and familial history as well as precursors such as cognitive distortions, defence mechanisms and moral disengagement (MD) mechanisms. This study investigates the MD in sex offenders and non-sex offenders in a sample of 362 males comprising a control group of 268 non-offenders, a group of 42 detained sex offenders and a group of 52 detained non-sex offenders. Participants were administered a semi-structured interview and the Moral Disengagement Scale (MDS). The results show a significant difference between the jailed participants (non-sex offenders and sex offenders) and controls; offenders were found to generally display overall higher levels of MD. Among the jailed participants, sex offenders seem to make more use of MD mechanisms than non-sex offenders.

In the current study, we investigated the developmental dynamics between positive youth development, being bullied in adolescence, gender, and sociocultural risk factors. Participants were 3,509 males (49%) and 3,656 females (51%) studied longitudinally across the ages of 9, 13, and 17 years in the Growing Up in Ireland study. Using structural equation modeling, we discovered that being bullied in early adolescence was most strongly predicted by having fewer close friends, higher family poverty, and living in neighborhoods with higher levels of disorder. However, the social disadvantage of a young person’s school did not impact being bullied. More positive reports of connection and caring in early adolescence were negatively predicted by neighborhood disorder and family poverty, and being female had positive association with relationships with teachers. Developing confidence, competence, and character in late adolescence was notably related to having fewer experiences of family trauma and transitions in childhood and to having higher levels of rapport with parents in early adolescence. The results highlight the importance of studying relationships and psychological development in sociocultural context.

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This study investigates the moral-disengagement strategies and influence of drug use in adolescence on 49 offenders in Italian jails, 30 of which are drug traffickers and 19 of which are offenders against other persons. A semi-structured interview was conducted to collect data on family, social and medical histories and the manner in which the deviant act was carried out, and the Moral Disengagement Scale was used to identify specific moral disengagement mechanisms. The results show that the traffickers reported higher levels of general moral disengagement, dehumanization of victims, and advantageous comparison with respect to offenders against other persons. However, the offenders who used drugs in adolescence reported higher levels of advantageous comparison with respect to offenders who did not use drugs. Studying self-regulatory mechanisms is important for enriching the literature about risk factors connected with moral disengagement and deviant behaviour committed by offenders in order to implement the promotion of effective and targeted treatment and educational strategies.