457 Sexuality and family education in violent and sexual offender

Abstract

The aim of this research is to identify family, social and individual factors that influence psychological well-being of prisoners who commit violent and sexual crimes. The final objective is to identify possible factors useful to promote prevention, rehabilitation and relapse prevention programmes. The sample consist of 29 male subjects with an average age of 40,76 (SD=11,16) inmates in two prisons of Southern Lazio for violent and sexual crimes. Participants completed a socio- demographic questionnaire and specific questionnaires about sexuality: Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory (CSBI), Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale (SSSS), Health Protective Sexual Communication Scale (HPSCS). Most of the participants are recidivist (55,2%), did not receive a treatment or psychological support in prison (44,8%) and do not make activities or social works (79,3%). As regards the social and family background, most of offenders made use of substances (62,1%), received severe education (55,2%), had low communication in family about sexuality (86,2%) and had parents who had committed a crime (58,6%). Regarding sexuality, 75,9% of participants reported high score in compulsive use of control in sexual relationships and 69% of them reported high scores in the use of violence in sexual relationships and in the SSSS; furthermore, 75,9% showed high scores in the communication about safe sex with new sexual partners. Significant and positive correlations emerged between SSSS total score and CSBI total score (p<.01). Significant and positive correlations emerged also between the SSSS total score and the two subscales of CSBI, respectively the use of violence in relationships (p<.01) and the tendency to have control (p<.05). No correlation was found between the HPSCS score and both the CSBI and SSSS scores.