Psychopathology, psychosocial factors and sexuality of incarcerated sexual offenders in Greek prison

Abstract

There are few studies in Greece on sexual offenders. The research aims to contribute knowledge and information related to psychopathology, psychosocial factors and the sexuality of this particular category of convicts for sexual offenses. The search took place in the Greek prison in Grevena, where the largest number of sexual offenders are being held. This is a quantitative study and descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used. The study involved 127 sexual detainees and used the STAI, BDI, EPQ, SCL-90 questionnaires and a special sexual behavior questionnaire. The reliability of the tools was high as the lowest price of Cronbach alpha was equal to 0.733 (STAI) and the highest was 0.975 (SCL-90). The Special Sexual Behavior Questionnaire was 0.877 reliable. ResultsThe results of the research confirmed the heterogeneity of the population of sexual perpetrators in many categories of data. The importance of some factors such as abuse in childhood, substance use, difficulty in having close relationships, and young delinquent behaviour in the subsequent delinquent evolution of the individual also emerged. Our study did not show particularly high levels of psychopathology except for some elements of anxiety and depression. The results also showed the existence of high transient anxiety, while in the subscales Paranoid Idea and Compulsiveness we had the highest average scores and lower in the subscales Phobic Stress, Aggression and Psychoticism. We had high scores on the scale Neuroticism-Stability and the lowest on the scale Psychoticism-Superego. There were no significant differences between adult and pediatric rapists in terms of differences in stress levels and depression. Sexual perpetrators against minors had higher scores than the dimensions Psychoticism-Superego and Neuroticism-Stability. Minor statistically significant differences in the dimensions Aggression, Anxiety, Paranoid Idea and Neuroticism-Stability were also found. The results show that juvenile delinquency is becoming more serious and violent. Substance users are less likely to sexually abuse a minor. As for the early onset of sexual activity, it appears to be associated with an increased risk of adult rape as well as the fact that the perpetrator's sexual abuse during childhood increases the likelihood that as an adult he or she will harm his or her relatives. In terms of sexual behaviour, incarceration in prison burdened almost all sexual problems of detainees with statistically significant differences in sexual desire and erection problems. There was a universal reduction in the sexual behavior of sexual offenders in prison and a universal reduction in all sexual practices used before imprisonment. Masturbation is the main sexual practice in prison. The main gender of sexual attraction is women despite its significant statistical decline. Statistically, attraction to underage girls has also declined, while homosexual and bisexual tendencies have increased, but there are no statistically significant differences. There was also a significant decrease in the use of pornographic material with adult women and minors, while the use of pornographic material with homosexual content increased. ConclusionsThe investigation of psychopathology, sexual behaviour and those psychosocial factors that characterize and determine the lives of sexual offenders, offers important data and knowledge on which we will rely for the development of therapeutic and preventive programs. Future research on sex offenders should focus on further research on psychopathology and how to think about it, as well as the possibility of using reliable relapse prevention tools to protect society as a whole.