Child Sex Offenders and Rapists in a Military Prison Setting

Abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the demographic, background, diagnostic, and personality (i.e., MMPI) characteristics of child sex offenders (N= 28), rapists (N= 35), and nonsex offenders (N= 75) confined in a maximum security military prison. Results indicated that child sex offenders tended to be older, better educated, white, married, and prone to major affective disorder relative to inmates in the other two conditions. Rapists were more likely to be black and were less likely to evidence clinically significant levels of psychopathology. The only clinically significant finding on the MMPI was that child sex offenders scored significantly higher on Scale 5 (Masculinity-Femininity) compared with inmates in the other groups, suggesting greater interpersonal passivity, dependency, and possible concerns about psychosexual identity. The frequently cited relationship between alcohol abuse and sexual offending was not observed in the present study. The potential implications of these results are discussed.