Developmental risk factors distinguish violent sexual offending, violent non-sexual offending and versatile violent offending in adulthood

Abstract

The continuity of developmental risk factors from childhood into adolescence to predict criminal adult offending has not been investigated. From a developmental and life-course perspective, the issue is of both theoretical and practical importance, as understanding the long-term impact of early life experiences on adult outcomes that carry forward across major developmental periods can assist clinicians with the identification of targets for early intervention and prevention. The aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which childhood and adolescent risk factors distinguish among three offender subgroups in a sample of adult male offenders. The results indicated that the groups were more clearly distinguished on adolescent risk factors, giving greater prominence to proximal than distal predictors. As well, from a dose-response perspective, the pure sex offenders showed the most adverse developmental history and were differentiated from both the versatile violent sex offenders and the violent non-sex offenders.