Deviant sexual interests but not antisocial behaviors are associated with deficits in executive functioning in individuals convicted of sexual offenses against children.

Abstract

Objective: Impaired neuropsychological functioning is one possible factor contributing to sexual offending against children. Previous research showed that neuropsychological and especially executive functioning deficits could be related to the two most important risk factors for sexual (re-)offending, namely an antisocial lifestyle and deviant sexual interests. Method: By using a quasi-experimental research design, the present study compared the performance of a sample of men convicted of child sexual abuse (CSA) offenses (n = 70) with men convicted of sexual offenses against adults (n = 49), men convicted of nonsexual offenses (n = 54), and nonoffending men (n = 70) in a set of neuropsychological tests assessing different aspects of executive functioning. Results: All three offending groups had a higher prevalence of brain injury and performed worse compared to nonoffending men on almost all neuropsychological tests. Individuals convicted of CSA offenses showed no differences compared to the other two offending groups. Latent class analyses revealed that a small subset of CSA-offending participants showed most pronounced neuropsychological deficits. These persons also exhibited more intense pedosexual interests but not more indicators of antisociality. Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate that only a certain subset of CSA-offending individuals demonstrates considerable neuropsychological deficits, which seem to correlate with a particularly strong sexual interest in children. This subgroup could also be described as having a particularly high risk concerning sexual reoffending with a sexual abuse offense. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).