Neuropsychological functioning in child sexual abusers: A systematic review

Abstract

Impairments in neuropsychological functioning are emphasized among the core components in etiological models about sexual offending against children. In order to distinguish those neuropsychological deficits that can specifically be found in child sexual abusers, the present systematic review summarizes all studies published between 1980 and 2019 comparing neuropsychological functions of child sexual abusers with different control groups. The databases PubMed, Google scholar, and PsycInfo were used to find relevant studies. After applying certain inclusion criteria (e.g., at least one comparison group), 25 studies were identified as being relevant for the present review. Most evidence exists about the assumption that child sexual abusers have more deficits in set-switching, inhibition, and verbal functioning compared to healthy controls. When comparing child sexual abusers to non-sexual offenders or sexual offenders against adults, no distinct differences were found. Single studies indicate that pedophilic child sexual abusers tend to have superior abstraction and planning abilities compared to non-pedophilic child sexual abusers. Impairments in executive functioning could lead to more self-regulatory deficits thereby increasing the likelihood of committing sexual offences. The findings of the present review indicate that classifying child abusers based on their motivation to offend might help to dissolve some of the existing empirical inconsistencies. • Child sexual abusers show pronounced deficits in neuropsychological functioning • Executive functions are most impaired • Inhibition and set-shifting are most impaired in child sexual abusers • In pedophilic child sexual abusers abstraction and planning are least impaired