Differences in Psychosexual Development Among Child, Peer, and Mixed Juvenile Sex Offenders

Abstract

Researchers have examined a number of typologies of juvenile sex offenders, including victim age. Using data from psychological evaluations and the Multiphasic Sex Inventory‐II (MSI‐II; [Psychological assessment of sex offenders, 2010]), this study compared child offenders (i.e., victims were more than 4 years younger), peer offenders (i.e., victims were 4 years younger or less), and mixed offenders (i.e., both child and peer victims) on variables including victim, offender, and offense characteristics, and psychosexual development. Peer offenders had more severe sexual offenses, prior status/nonviolent charges, and issues with sexual functioning. Mixed offenders began offending at a younger age and were indiscriminate in gender and relationship of the victim. Mixed offenders were also more likely than child and peer offenders to have prior sex offender treatment, meaning they had previously failed treatment. As juvenile sex offenders are a heterogeneous group, these research findings suggest that child offenders, peer offenders, and mixed offenders’ treatment needs differ from each other.

Characteristics of adolescent boys who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) against children of younger or equal age

“…In the present study, we could not distinguish the boys in the HSB-C group who in fact had a specific sexual need/drive towards younger children from those motivated by other developmental, emotional, or situational factors [49]. However, a theoretical hypothesis is that physical maturation and sexual development in puberty, together with situational factors such as victim access and a lower IQ, facilitate HSB against younger childrensuch as in a kind of a developmentally appropriate sociopsychological relationship [10]. This view of the HSB-C group would be qualitatively different from understanding and approaching them as adolescent boys motivated by "atypical sexual interest" in young children.…”

“…Lower cognitive functioning for the boys in the HSB-C group could have implications for their difficulties in social relations with peers and for identification with younger children [18]. This inclination might also restrain them from building more ageadequate intimate and sexual relations with peers [10]. The lower cognitive functioning in the HSB-C group could also imply less sophistication and regulation related to their HSB (c.f.…”

“…In summarizing our effect size results, which suggest that the HSB-C boys experienced traumas earlier, had lower cognitive function, had more victims, and had displayed more repeating HSBs, we could support a pathway model to HSB that contains basic attachment and social skills deficits in interactions with peers. They might have less discretion in victim choice, be less sophisticated, have more cognitive/emotional/social identification with younger children, and have more access to this group of potential victims [4,[7][8][9][10]50]. Additionally, we clearly need to know more beyond the HSB-C boys' individual characteristics such as their caregivers' background, qualities, supervision, and monitoring (e.g., [51]).…”

“…To summarize some of the relevant findings on differences linked to our study, adolescents in the HSB-P group a more likely to use force or violence, have indicators of delinquency, have criminal records and arrest histories [10,14,15,[17][18][19], and offend against female strangers [9,10]. Adolescents in the HSB-C group have fewer behavioural problems, have more internalizing and social problems [14][15][16][17], more often have a history of sexual abuse [18], and offend against both family members or acquaintances of both sexes [7,9,14].…”

“…The literature also describes subgroups of adolescents with both peer/adult victims (HSB-P/A) and mixed-aged victims (HSB-M). Although these groups are interesting [9][10][11], we will not discuss them further because the adolescents in these subgroups were few in number or /were outliers and thereby were excluded from our study.…”