Psychopathology and Sexual Aggression in Nonincarcerated Men

Abstract

Men who self-reported rape or attempted rape (N=47) were compared to sexually active men who denied perpetrating sexual aggression (N=56) on psychopathology. Men were surveyed using the Sexual Experiences Survey (Koss & Gidycz, 1985), and completed structured clinical interviews. Sexually aggressive men reported a pattern of symptoms indicating impulse control problems; they had more conduct-disordered behavior in childhood, and abused alcohol and illicit drugs more than nonviolent men. These symptoms were clinically significant: a higher proportion of sexually aggressive men met criteria for child conduct disorder, and alcohol and drug abuse diagnoses than nonviolent men. Sexually aggressive men also reported more personality disorder symptoms than nonviolent men, suggesting that they had less empathy, and were more self-centered and manipulative than nonviolent men. These findings suggest that undetected sexually violent men have fairly severe and long-standing problems with impulsivity and add to the growing literature on common factors in criminal and nonincarcerated samples.