An Exploration of Factors Related to Deviant Sexual Arousal Among Juvenile Sex Offenders

Abstract

Abstract:To date, there has been limited literature on the measurement of sexual arousal in adolescent sex offenders. The data that exist have been somewhat mixed in terms of factors related to deviant sexual arousal in this group. The present study, with 71 adolescent sex offenders, investigates the relationship between offender and offense characteristics, including gender of victim, history of sexual abuse, history of physical abuse, race, and interactions between these factors in the prediction of physiologically measured sexual arousal to deviant and nondeviant stimulus categories. A number of variables signifi cantly predicted sexual arousal. The most consistent predictors were gender of victim, race, the interaction of race and gender of victim, and to some extent the interaction of offender abuse history and gender of victim. Caucasian subjects tended to respond more than African American subjects did, and this has not been reported previously in the literature. The data are discussed in terms of consistency with other literature, suggesting that those juvenile offenders who target male victims and have been abused themselves may be a high risk group. Limitations of this study are also addressed.

Individual, Family, Peer, and Academic Characteristics of Male Juvenile Sexual Offenders

“…Of course, it is also possible that there are variables besides those examined in the present study that uniquely contribute to one type of sexual offending or another. In the future, controlled studies should examine variables (e.g., deviant sexual beliefs and arousal patterns; Lakey, 1992;Murphy, DiLillo, Haynes, & Steere, 2001) pertaining to putative specific causes of sexual offending in youths.…”

Differences between Sexually Victimized and Nonsexually Victimized Male Adolescent Sexual Abusers: Developmental Antecedents and Behavioral Comparisons

“…Notably, these rates vary by study method. For example, studies of youth in residential facilities (Hunter et al, 2003) reveal higher rates of sexual victimization (75%) than studies of youth in community settings (39%; e.g., Murphy, DiLillo, Haynes, & Steere, 2001). Authors of a meta-analysis of more than 50 studies (N > 9,000 youth) reported that the average rate of sexual abuse may be as low as 40% (Burton & Schatz, 2003).…”

Relating psychiatric disorders, offender and offence characteristics in a sample of adolescent sex offenders and non‐sex offenders

“…Race, although not widely investigated, might be an important characteristic, since several authors have suggested that Caucasian sex offenders show different sexual arousal patterns compared with sex offenders from ethnic minorities (Murphy et al, 2001;Långström, 2004). While many studies have demonstrated low (verbal) IQ in delinquent youth (Loeber and Farrington, 1998;Vermeiren et al, 2002a), this does not appear to distinguish sex offenders and non-sex offenders (e.g.…”