Families Of Offenders Research Articles

Incestuous victimization by Juvenile Sex offenders

Most research and clinical data dealing with child sexual abuse have focused on adult offenders (usually a parent or relative) and their child victims. More recently, however, the data are beginning to show that a sizeable number of these sexual encounters are being committed by juvenile offenders. Thus, parents and members of the helping professions are beginning to see that what had previously been labeled sexual experimentation may be more serious. Using 37 cases drawn from the files of a local Children and Family Service agency that met the study definition of a juvenile sexual offense, data are reported on the following variables: the age difference between the victim and the offender, the relationship between victim and offender, the act involved, the context in which the act occurred, the pattern of the sexual contact, problems the offender exhibited that may have resulted from the sexual encounter, and general demographic data about the offender's family. VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research conducted by Pierce and Pierce was to examine incestuous juvenile sexual offenders. METHODOLOGY: The authors used a quasi-experimental design to do an exploratory study of a purposive sample of 37 juvenile offenders. Juvenile sexual offenders were defined for this study as a child under 18, who engaged in sexual activities, including, fondling, attempted intercourse, vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, oral intercourse, and exposure with a relative or a person who was providing child care, or a person for whom child care was being provided. Protective service workers were provided with this definition and were asked to identify any case record that fit the definition. Data were gathered from reviewing open protective service records. The variables that this study looked at were age difference between victim and offender, how they were socially related, acts involved, context acts occurred in, pattern of sexual contacts, problems offenders were currently exhibiting, and information on offender's family of origin. The authors used descriptive statistics to explore the data. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: Ages of juveniles at the time of the last reported offense ranged from 4-16. While victims ranged in age from 3 years to adult. In 46 percent of the case at least one victim was at least 5 years younger than the offender. Victims that were at least 10 years younger occurred in 13 percent of the cases. 44 percent of the victims were male. Two thirds of the subjects had committed more than one sexual offense. 51 percent of the incidents were fondling which made it the most typical type of abuse. Oral intercourse was the second most common form making up 30 percent of the total incidents. Offenses took place in foster homes 46 percent of the time and in offenders own home 30 percent of the time. 50 percent of offenders engaged in some other form of delinquent behavior and 40 percent had academic problems. Only 3 juveniles had no records of being victims of abuse themselves. Subjects were physically abused in 62 percent of the cases. 43 percent were victims of sexual abuse. 70 percent had been neglected. 45 percent of mothers for whom information was available were described as emotionally ill and 19 percent were substance abusers. AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS: The authors recommend that since most offenders were victims themselves counseling and therapy should be used after the original victimization. This will help children deal with their emotions surrounding their victimization and may prevent them from becoming offenders. The family of the juvenile offender needs to be focused on also. The family needs help in becoming more functional. If the abuse of the offenders by their family could be prevented they will be less likely to offend. Case workers should draw up a summary sheet to record the description of patterns of sexual offenses, date of occurrences, and the disposition. This will enable an easier assessment of data and a more complete understanding of the situation. The authors recommend a balance of punishment and treatment, citing that many offenders are prosecuted without any treatment. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) KW - Child Abuse Offender KW - Child Sexual Abuse Offender KW - Incest Offender KW - Juvenile Violence KW - Juvenile Offender KW - Sexual Assault Offender KW - Sibling Violence Offender KW - Sibling Incest KW - Domestic Violence Offender KW - Child Sexual Abuse Offender KW - Offender Characteristics KW - Offense Characteristics KW - Victim Offender Relations

Drug abuse and the adolescent sex offender: a preliminary analysis.

VioLit summary OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article by Mio et al. was to examine the relationship between substance abuse and adolescent sex offenders. METHODOLOGY: This was a non-experimental case study of 7 male adolescent sex offenders who were court mandated to a residential treatment facility in Southern California. The family history of crime, violence and substance abuse, and the juvenile's history of crime, violence, substance abuse, suicide attempts, peer crime and runaway status were examined in a questionnaire administered a licensed clinical social worker and the houseparent staff. Demographic characteristics were noted as well. No statistical analysis of the data was done conducted. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: Six of the adolescents had committed incest and the remaining one had committed a non-incest sexual offense. Six offenders used marijuana or its derivatives, four used stimulants, amphetamines, and uppers/speed, and one used no drugs. Four of the offender's family members used stimulants, amphetamines, upper/speed, and marijuana or its derivatives, two used no drugs. Other drugs used were sedatives/barbiturates, Valium/downers, cocaine, dust/THC/PCP and heroin. The sex offenders had typically negative relationships with either their real or step parents, and siblings. Four out of the seven fathers abused the mothers, while in one case the mother fought back. Four of the adolescents had been raped, three were emotionally and physically abused and one was sexually abused. Two had attempted suicide. All 7 sex offenders committed a variety of crimes, including auto theft, assault, shoplifting and child molestation. AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS: The author stated that juvenile substance abuse may be a indicator of poor judgement. This coupled with family violence may be a predictor of sexual violence. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) KW - Case Studies KW - Juvenile Offender KW - Juvenile Male KW - Juvenile Violence KW - Male Violence KW - Male Offender KW - Drug Use Effects KW - Sexual Assault Causes KW - Sexual Assault Predictors KW - Sexual Assault Risk Factors KW - Sexual Assault Offender KW - Domestic Violence Victim KW - Domestic Violence Effects KW - Child Abuse Effects KW - Child Abuse Victim KW - Juvenile Victim KW - Juvenile Substance Use KW - Parent Substance Use KW - Family Relations KW - Family Substance Use KW - California KW - Child Physical Abuse Victim KW - Child Physical Abuse Effects KW - Victim Turned Offender KW - Child Abuse-Violence Link KW - Substance Use Effects Language: en

Abuse in the investigation and treatment of intrafamilial child sexual abuse

This paper examines the effects of current practice in the investigation and treatment of documented incest abusers on the offenders and families involved. Fifteen offenders attending the Utah Parents United group completed a questionnaire on the sequence of events in the investigation and prosecution of their cases and the concomitant results of the investigation on their job status, living and financial situations, family and social relationships, and media reporting of the abuse. Results indicate that there is great variability in the investigation and prosecution of incest cases and the public announcement of abuse convictions. The consequences of the abuse investigation are devastating for offender and his family in terms of job loss; need for public assistance; family disbandonment through removal of the offender, victim, or both from the family, marital separation, and foster care for nonabused siblings; changes of residence, and the public announcement of the abuse in the media. Results also show that offenders receive little, if any, social support from family or friends. Changes in the current approach to the investigation and prosecution of incest offenders are proposed and include the following: (1) banning the publication of convictions for child abuse; (2) streamlining the legal process so that it is consistent from case to case; and (3) developing diversion programs as alternatives to prison for offenders. Suggested are self-help, court-ordered therapeutic programs, such as Parents United, that are designed for the treatment of families involved in child sexual abuse and incest. The desired outcomes of such a diversion program are low offender recidivism, avoidance of the offender's family being placed on welfare, less reliance on foster care placement for the offender's children, involvement of the offender's family in moving toward reunion when feasible, and the use of existing half-way houses in lieu of incarceration when necessary.

DIFFERENTIAL LABELING OF JUVENILES A Multivariate Analysis

Abstract Prior studies and commonsense definitions of the decision‐making process suggest that the ascriptive power of the commitment offense, gravity of the commitment offense, psychiatric characteristics of the offender, and the social identity given off by the offender's family would be causally related to variance in the deviance label, i.e., decisions to commit to a mental hospital rather than to a corrections institution. Case records from both settings were analyzed for traces of the decision. However, controlling for each of the alternative variables fails to eliminate the strong relationship between intensity of the offender's prior career of delinquent behavior and the formal deviance label qua type of commitment. The multivariate path model suggests that delinquency intensity and type of commitment are the two most important determinants of mental classification.