Do internet-based sexual offenders reduce to normal, inadequate and deviant groups?

Abstract

How heterogeneous men who download paedophilic content from the Internet are is unknown. Cluster analysis of 422 Internet-based sexual offenders examined whether they fell into clear groups according to their scores on a standard psychometric screening battery. Three clusters were identified; the apparently normal (near or within the normal range on all measures), the inadequate, and the deviant. Though the inadequate cluster had clear socio-affective deficits, they were not high in pro-offending measures. The deviant group were characterised by very poor victim empathy. Test differences between clusters were statistically significant. These findings were supported by a factor analysis which revealed two underlying test dimensions, emotional inadequacy and deviancy, upon which the inadequate and deviant were respectively raised. Emotional inadequacy correlated more with impulsivity than did deviancy. These results were not attributable to social desirability. Our clusters are equivalent to contact sexual offender groupings, and support general interventions with such persons.