Abstract
Current study examined the contributions of demographic characteristics, mental health problems and interpersonal trauma history to juvenile sexual offending, and the degree to which juvenile sexual offenders differ from nonsexual interpersonal offenders. Results are based on secondary analysis of a large dataset (n= 2920) of psychiatric assessments of juveniles (USA). T-test and chi-square analyses compared demographic, offense, and diagnostic characteristics of juvenile sexual offenders and nonsexual interpersonal offenders. Logistic regression examined the relationship between type of trauma exposure and sex offender status, adjusting for other significant demographic and diagnostic contributors. Results show that compared to juvenile nonsexual interpersonal offenders, sexual offenders were significantly less likely to be female, to be African American, or to meet criteria for a substance use disorder; juvenile sexual offenders were significantly more likely to have a lifetime history of a suicide attempt and a history of sexual victimization. A set of demographic and diagnostic characteristics contributed significantly to juvenile sexual offending, as did self-reported history of sexual trauma. Findings indicate that juvenile sexual offenders in some aspects differ from nonsexual interpersonal offenders; sexual victimization plays an important role in explaining some sexually abusive behavior. Further research should identify interventions that are effective for these youth.
Highlights
Over the past two decades, researchers and clinicians have become increasingly interested in understanding the sexually delinquent behavior of juveniles [1]
Investigations have documented the high rates of histories of interpersonal trauma in juvenile sex offenders [2,3], as well as their high prevalence of mental health problems [4]
Compared to juvenile nonsexual interpersonal offenders, sexual offenders were only half as likely to report a substance use disorder (OR=.54, p
Summary
Over the past two decades, researchers and clinicians have become increasingly interested in understanding the sexually delinquent behavior of juveniles [1]. Exposure to interpersonal traumatic events is consistently associated with multiple mental health problems for justice system youths, regardless of the presence/absence of a history of sexual offending [5,6,7,8,9]. The higher rates of exposure to interpersonal traumatic events (e.g., sexual and physical abuse) among juvenile sexual offenders compared to juvenile non-sexual offenders [2,3], requires the need to take a closer look at the prevalence of mental health problems in juvenile sexual offenders. Previous studies comparing juvenile sexual offenders with juvenile nonsexual offenders have shown inconsistent results, or have revealed few differences in rates of mental health problems between those with and without sex offending histories [10,11,12]. Many sexually abused individuals do not proceed to become offenders themselves [15]; research is consistent regarding both the high prevalence of sexual victimization among sex offenders and the links between these experiences and sexual offending behavior [2]
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