Juvenile Sex Offenders Research Articles

Recent Research Related to Juvenile Sex Offending: Findings and Directions for Further Research

Serious scholarly inquiry into juvenile sex offending represents a relatively new field, dating from the mid 1940s. During the next 4 decades, a mere handful of articles exploring aspects of juvenile sex offending were added to the available literature. By the 1980s, however, the literature began to increase rapidly, a trend that continues today. The purpose of this article is a focused review of the juvenile sex offender literature cited in PubMed over the last 5 years (2009-2013). The authors have chosen studies that will bring readers up to date on research they believe impacts our current understanding of best practices in the management of juvenile sex offending. For convenience, our review is organized into topical categories including research into characteristics and typologies of juvenile sex offenders, risk assessment and recidivism, assessment and treatment, the ongoing debate about mandatory registration of sex offenders as it applies to juveniles, and other thought provoking studies that do not fit neatly into the aforementioned categories. The studies included contain findings that both reinforce and challenge currently held notions about best practices concerning treatment and public policy, suggesting that our knowledge of the field continues to evolve in important ways.

Underreporting of Bestiality Among Juvenile Sex Offenders: Polygraph Versus Self‐Report

Juvenile sex offenders (JSO) are a specific subset of delinquent adolescents that are receiving more attention because of the crimes they commit and the issues surrounding how to successfully treat their deviant behaviors. Given JSO are such predominant treatment concerns in society, it is essential to identify and target key risk factors. One sexual behavior, bestiality, may be of particular importance to address in treatment. In a meta-analysis conducted by Seto and Lalumiere, a 14% rate of bestiality among JSO was reported. This current study examined the differences in JSO (n=32) who admitted bestiality based upon a self-report measure, the Multiphasic Sexual Inventory-II (MSI-II), compared to information elicited by polygraphs. The results indicated extensive underreporting of bestiality behaviors between these two sources of information (MSI-II=37.5%; polygraph=81.25%). These findings are important given the reliance treatment programs place on information elicited from self-report tools.

Examining Antisocial Behavioral Antecedents of Juvenile Sexual Offenders and Juvenile Non-Sexual Offenders

In prospective longitudinal studies of juvenile offenders, the presence of multiple developmental pathways of antisocial behaviors has consistently been identified. An "antisocial" type of juvenile sex offender (JSO) has also been identified; however, whether antisocial JSOs follow different antisocial pathways has not been examined. In the current study, differences in antisocial pathways within JSOs and between JSOs and juvenile non-sex offenders (JNSOs) were examined. Data on Canadian male incarcerated adolescent offenders were used to identify whether behavioral antecedents differed within JSOs and between JSOs (n = 51) and JNSOs (n = 94). Using latent class analysis (LCA), three behavioral groups were identified. For both JSOs and JNSOs, there was a Low Antisocial, Overt, and Covert group. Overall, there were important within-group differences in the behavioral patterns of JSOs, but these differences resembled differences in the behavioral patterns of their JNSO counterpart. Risk factors including offense history, abuse history, and family history were more strongly associated with the Overt and Covert groups compared with the Low Antisocial group. Implications for JSO assessment practices were discussed.

Juvenile Sex Offender Rehabilitation: How The Us Approach Can Help Indonesia Satisfy Its Commitment To Restorative Justice Principles

In July 2012, Indonesia enacted landmark legislation to reform the juvenile justice system. The Juvenile Justice Act is a break through which constituted to protect the rights of children in the juvenile justice system. This Act explicitly includes the principle of restorative justice, a principle that guarantees the government’s commitment to use rehabilitative and restorative approaches. The question that arises now is how this law can be satisfied through the implementation of the Act. Specifically, this paper will focus on how the restorative justice principle can be applied to juvenile commit sexual offense. This paper, learning from the United State’s rehabilitation system, will offer some suggestions to form the rehabilitation process for juvenile sex offenders in Indonesia, such as enhancing research about juveniles commit sexual offense; improving the law and regulation; and implementing counseling, supervised group homes, and other support mechanisms.

EPA-0103 – Sex Offenders, psychiatric illnesses and Addiction: Different profiles, clinical implication and recidivism

Sex offenders represent an heterogeneous sample of criminal subjects. They can be divided in child and adult sexual abusers, and any of them has some different characteristics from the other. They can also be divided in subjects who commit this kind of crime just few times and people who experience recidivism. The addiction field of Psychiatry is often involved, since sex offenders have a higher history of drug abuse than healthy controls. Half of them have a positive history for drug abuse, one quarter to half have an history of alcohol dependence and one quarter to half appear to be intoxicated at the time of the offence. Violent sex offenders are more prone to abusing of alcohol than non sexual violent offenders. Murderous sex offenders are in general more afflicted by Schizoid personality disorder and have a higher history of alcohol abuse than non murderous sex offenders, as well as sexual sadism and dysfunctions. Sex offender against adult women show an higher rate of addiction problems, impulsiveness and are younger at the time of the first offence than sex offenders against prepuberal females. Juvenile sex offenders are more incline to aberrant behaviours (e.g. online pornography). Regarding recidivism, people abusing three or more subjects have an higher score at Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and in Addictive behaviours. In conclusion, addiction is strictly linked to sexual aberrant behaviours, and it can be used as an indicator of different types of sexual offenders. Moreover, it could be seen as a part of sex offenders behavior since drugs and alcohol reduces inhibitions but meantime it migth be included in the presentation of some psychiatric disorders associated with aberrant sexual behavior.

Does childhood sexual abuse victimization translate into juvenile sexual offending? New evidence.

The cycle of violence thesis posits that early exposure to maltreatment increases the likelihood of later maladaptive and antisocial behaviors. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) specifically has been shown to increase the likelihood of sexual offending, although less is known about its linkages to other forms of crime. Based on data from 2,520 incarcerated male juvenile offenders from a large southern state, hierarchical logistic regression models suggested that CSA increased the likelihood of later sexual offending nearly sixfold (467% increase). However, CSA was associated with an 83% reduced likelihood of homicide offending and 68% reduced likelihood of serious person/property offending. These findings suggest further support for the cycle of violence where CSA promotes sexual offending but novel findings regarding the linkages between CSA and other forms of crime.

Timeline of victim disclosures by juvenile sex offenders

This study examined the number of victims disclosed by 12- to 17-year-old male, adjudicated juvenile sex offenders over the course of their mandated sex offender treatment program. Records were reviewed to ascertain the number of unique victims disclosed at each of four time periods: Adjudication, Assessment/Education phase (first day of treatment until polygraph), at the Polygraph Examination, and Continued Treatment (from after the polygraph until discharge). Results indicated a statistically significant increase in victims disclosed over those periods, representing a mean of 2.39 additional victims (SD = 3.50), with the greatest number of additional victims being reported during the Assessment/Education phase (prior to the polygraph). Notably, not all of the juvenile sex offenders reported additional victims; during the period of the highest disclosure (Time 2), 58.11% reported additional victims whereas polygraph examination resulted in disclosure by only one offender. These findings are somewhat different from previous studies and the results are discussed with reference to previous findings.

Victimization, Substance Use, and Sexual Aggression in Male Adolescent Sexual Offenders

Relations among childhood victimization, substance use prior to the commission of a sexual offense, and force used during a sexual offense were examined in a sample of residentially based, male juvenile sex offenders ( n = 406; Mage = 16.6). Marshall and Marshall’s (2000) theory of sex offending proposes that childhood victimization, among other factors, creates a vulnerability to offend, which when paired with disinhibition (e.g., from substance use) may lead to sexual offending. Guided by this theory, we examined whether substance use prior to the commission of a sexual offense mediated the relation between trauma and force used in sexual offending. Six mediation analyses were used to examine subtypes of childhood victimization and the effects of cumulative victimization. Results provided support for partial mediation of substance use prior to a sexual offense on the effects of cumulative victimization on force used during a sexual offense. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Eileen P. Ryan, John. A Hunter, and Daniel C. Murrie (eds): Juvenile Sex Offenders: A Guide to Evaluation and Treatment for Mental Health Professionals

Eileen P. Ryan, John. A Hunter, and Daniel C. Murrie (eds): Juvenile Sex Offenders: A Guide to Evaluation and Treatment for Mental Health Professionals

Male-on-Male Sexual Assaults

While the concept of male victimization is not a new phenomenon, the sexual assault of a male is a relatively new notion, emerging over the last 30 years in social research literature. Studies of female rape, pedophilia, and juvenile sex offenders have suggested that different styles of offending are reflected in the different types of behaviors committed by offenders at the crime scene. These studies suggest that there are three distinct themes of behavior: Control, Hostility, and Involvement. Using the crime scene actions of 305 male-on-male sexual assault from a U.K. national police database, multidimensional analysis was carried out. The proposed framework was found to be a useful way of classifying male-on-male sexual assaulters with 74% displaying a dominant theme. These resulted in 42% classified as displaying hostility, 23% as control, and 9% as involvement. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Self-Reported Psychopathic Traits in Sexually Offending Juveniles Compared With Generally Offending Juveniles and General Population Youth

The aim of the current study is to gain a better insight into the relationship between sexually aggressive behaviour and psychopathy in youths; juveniles who sexually offended (JSOs) were compared with generally offending youths and a general population group. Seventy-one JSOs, 416 detained general offenders, and 331 males from the general population were assessed by means of the Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory (YPI), a self-report instrument. Sexually and generally offending juveniles had significantly lower levels of self-reported psychopathic traits than youths from the general population. Juvenile sexual offenders and generally offending juveniles did not differ in self-reported psychopathic traits. Furthermore, no differences in self-reported psychopathic traits were found between subgroups of JSOs (i.e., child molesters, solo offenders, and group offenders). The finding that self-reported psychopathic traits are less prevalent in offending juveniles than in general population youths raises questions about the usefulness of the YPI when comparing psychopathic traits between clinical samples and general-population samples.

The juvenile sex offender: The effect of employment on offending

PurposeIn many countries, sex offenders are treated as a special group of offenders, requiring special criminal justice responses and treatment modalities, presuming they are at high risk of re-offending. These special measures limit them in entering adult roles, especially employment. At the same time, such adult roles have been found to reduce offending risk in general offenders. We aim to investigate whether employment reduces offending rates in juvenile sex offenders' (JSO). MethodUsing longitudinal data on a Dutch sample of 498 JSO, we investigate employment and offending careers in JSO. A hybrid random effects model is used to investigate within-individual changes of employment quality and employment stability on offending. We also investigated whether the effects differ for child abusers, peer abusers and group offenders, who have different background profiles and for whom employment effects could be less. ResultsWe first show that JSO enter the labor market at relatively young ages, with stagnating participation rates from age 25 on, and numerous and short-lived employment contracts. In spite of these fractured careers, employment is associated with a decrease in offending. We found no difference for offender types in the effect of employment on offending. ConclusionsWe conclude that for JSO, employment decreases offending. Policies aimed at guidance towards employment, or the inclusion into conventional society, may be effective for JSO.

The adolescence-adulthood transition and Robins’s continuity paradox: Criminal career patterns of juvenile and adult sex offenders in a prospective longitudinal birth cohort study

PurposeIt is assumed that juvenile sex offenders (JSO) are tomorrow's adult sex offenders (ASO) and ASO were previously JSO. The current study tests these two assumptions using prospective longitudinal data. MethodsUsing data from the 1984 Dutch Birth Cohort study, the study examines the criminal career of JSO and the continuity of sex offending into early adulthood. ResultsThe study findings show much heterogeneity in the criminal careers of JSO suggesting several criminal career outcomes in adulthood. Put differently, the vast majority of JSO do not become ASO while adult sex offending does not require juvenile sex offending. Against the backdrop of this principle, the study found a small group of JSO recidivist at-risk of persisting into adulthood and a group of chronic juvenile offenders who are at-risk of escalating their offending to sex crimes in adulthood. ConclusionsFor the most part, JSO and ASO are two distinct phenomenon. The vast majority of JSO desist from sex offending while the vast majority of ASO started sexually offending in adulthood. As the frequency of general nonsexual offending increases during adolescence, so is the risk of becoming ASO. This group of youth warrants closer scrutiny for prevention programs.

Against Juvenile Sex Offender Registration

Imagine if you were held accountable the rest of your life for something you did as a child? This is the Child Scarlet Letter in force: kids who commit criminal sexual acts and who pay the price with the burdens and stigma of sex offender registration. And in a game of “how low can you go?,” states have forced children as young as nine and ten years old onto sex offender registries, some with registration requirements that extend the rest of their lives. No matter the constitutionality of adult sex offender registration – and on that point, there is debate – this article argues that child sex offender registration violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Once a sex offender, always a sex offender is not an apt adage when dealing with children who commit sexual offenses. Low recidivism rates and varied reasons for their misconduct demonstrate that a child’s criminal sexual act does not necessarily portend future predatory behavior. And with a net cast so wide it ensnares equally the child who rapes and the child who engages in sex with an underage partner, juvenile sex offender registration schemes are not moored to their civil regulatory intent. Compounding the problem is mandatory lifetime registration for child offenders. This paper analogizes this practice to juvenile sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in Miller v. Alabama and Graham v. Florida. This article argues that mandatory lifetime registration applied to children in the same manner as adult offenders is cruel and unusual punishment because it violates fundamental principles that require sentencing practices to distinguish between adult and child offenders. Scrutiny of child sex offender registration laws places front and center the issue of what it means to judge our children. And on that issue, we are failing. The public’s desire to punish children appears fixed despite our understanding that child offenders pose little danger of recidivism, possess diminished culpability, and have the capacity for rehabilitation. In a debate clouded by emotion, it is increasingly clear that juvenile sex offender registration is cruel and unusual punishment.

Child versus peer/adult offenders: A critical review of the juvenile sex offender literature

Sexual offenses are serious crimes and it is believed that adolescents perpetrate 20% of all sexual assaults and 50% of all child sexual abuse (Barbaree & Marshall, 2006). To better understand the etiology of juvenile sexual offending, researchers have explored differences between those who offend children versus those who offend peers/adults. This paper critically reviewed 21 studies that compared juvenile sex offenders who abused children with those who abused peers/adults on a variety of variables including victim, offense, and offender characteristics; psychosocial variables; and predictors and rates of recidivism. Strengths and weaknesses of these studies as well as future directions for the literature are discussed. Common methodological limitations of victim-age based comparisons of juvenile sex offenders included inconsistent definitions, low-powered studies, lack of standardized measures, and recidivism data based solely on conviction rates. Overall, many inconsistent findings limit our ability to give overarching conclusions; however, the research does suggests that not only is it important to examine child and peer/adult offenders, but mixed offenders (i.e., offender with both child and peer victims) as a distinct group need to be included in comparisons as well. • We reviewed 21 articles pertaining to child and peer juvenile sex offenders. • Methodological limitations of these articles are discussed. • Lack of consensus hinders ability to describe differences between groups. • Mixed offenders are a distinct group to examine separately.

Effectiveness of the CBT program for Juvenile Sexual Offenders: 7-year follow up recidivism study

본 연구는 성폭력을 저지른 후 보호처분을 받은 청소년들을 대상으로 인지행동치료를 실시하고 재범률을 통해 그 장기적 효과를 검증하는 것을 목적으로 하였다. 연구대상은 서울, 경기 지역에서 성폭력을 저지른 후 보호관찰과 수강명령을 부과받아 인지행동치료를 통해 수강명령을 이수한 청소년 64명과 기존의 다양한 프로그램을 통해 수강명령을 이수한 82명 및 수강명령을 부과받지 않은 50명의 청소년이었다. 재범률은 경찰조사 기록을 조회하였고, 3년 간격으로 3회를 조사하여 누락되는 소년사건이 없도록 하였다. 연구 결과, 전체 범죄에 대한 재범률에서는 인지행동치료집단에서 39.1%, 기존프로그램집단에서 53.7%, 비수강 집단에서 62.0%의 재범률을 보여 의미있는 차이가 나타났다. 하지만 세 집단의 성범죄 재범자는 각각 3명, 4명, 3명으로 의미있는 차이가 발견되지 않았다. 성범죄를 제외한 다른 범죄에 대한 재범률은 각각 37.5%, 52.4%, 60.0%로 의미있는 차이를 보였다. 결과를 중심으로 인지행동치료의 효과성 및 성범죄 재범 방지를 위한 개선점 등에 대해 논의하였다.

The long term recidivism risk of young sexual offenders in England and Wales– enduring risk or redemption?

PurposeTo examine the long-term sexual recidivism risk of juvenile sex offenders in England and Wales, and to compare the risk to that of a first time sexual offense for non-convicted juveniles. Additionally, the study explores the long term sexual recidivism risk of other types of juvenile offenders, and the long term violent recidivism risk of these groups. MethodsThe England and Wales Offenders Index was used to extract birth cohort data. Life table methods were used to estimate cumulative recidivism risk, and discrete time hazard models were used to compare hazard functions. ResultsAt the five year period, 7% of juvenile sexual offenders have been reconvicted of a sexual offense; reaching 13% by the end of the 35year follow-up. When the reconviction hazard of the juvenile sexual offenders was compared with the first sexual conviction risk of a non-convicted comparison group, the hazards converged statistically after 17years. ConclusionsThe study has implications for the registration periods of juvenile sex offenders. Indefinite registration for some juveniles needs to be considered, and a review of registration after a conviction free period would provide more balance between the protection of the public and the rights of the offender.

Characterization and Prediction of Sexual and Nonsexual Recidivism Among Adjudicated Juvenile Sex Offenders

Estimating the risk of sexual recidivism for a juvenile sex offender is essential in order to protect public safety by identifying and evaluating high risk adolescents and to ensure the rights and welfare of juvenile offenders who will not likely reoffend. Empirically validated risk assessment methods are needed to aid in the classification and treatment of juvenile sex offenders. The present study utilized a dataset collected by Maricopa County, AZ, and aggregated by the National Juvenile Court Data Archive. The purpose of the study was to evaluate and characterize risk factors for juveniles who have been charged with a sexual offense in order to determine the predictive utility of these factors for subsequent offending, as well as offense trajectory, and to evaluate risk factors for nonsexual offenders who have committed crimes of various severities. The results of the present study show the strongest individual predictors of sexual recidivism to be prior nonsexual offending, prior sexual offending, hands-off offending, offending against a child, younger school grade/age at time of initial offense, Asian or Hispanic ethnicity, and not attending school. A preliminary screening measure was developed from the seven positive risk factors, and ROC analysis produced an AUC indicating moderate predictive utility in discriminating between juvenile sex offenders who would sexually reoffend and those who would not.

The importance of treating harmful sexual behaviour

British Journal of School NursingVol. 8, No. 3 SafeguardingThe importance of treating harmful sexual behaviourJon BrownJon BrownSearch for more papers by this authorJon BrownPublished Online:16 Aug 2013https://doi.org/10.12968/bjsn.2013.8.3.129AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View article References Ringrose J, Gil R, Livingstone S, Harvey L (2012) A qualitative study of children, young people and ‘sexting’: a report prepared for the NSPCC. NSPCC, London Google ScholarRich P (2011) Understanding, Assessing And Rehabilitating Juvenile Sexual Offenders. 2nd edn. Wiley, New Jersey Crossref, Google ScholarRadford L, Corral S, Bradley C, et al. (2011) Child abuse and neglect in the UK today. NSPCC, London Google Scholar FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails 1 April 2013Volume 8Issue 3ISSN (print): 1752-2803ISSN (online): 2052-2827 Metrics History Published online 16 August 2013 Published in print 1 April 2013 Information© MA Healthcare LimitedPDF download

Comparing Sexuality, Aggressiveness, and Antisocial Behavior of Alleged Juvenile Sexual and Violent Offenders,

Sexual delinquency in juveniles is insufficiently explored in regard to the specificity of offender characteristics. The aim is to investigate relevant areas for juvenile sexual offending in a precourt, pretreatment group. Thirty-two alleged juvenile sexual offenders (ASO) referred to by police were compared with 32 juvenile nonsexual violent offenders (VNO) on standardized measures of aggressiveness and psychopathology, antisocial behavior, substance use problems, and sexuality. Less externalizing disorders and antisocial behavior were found among the ASOs than among the VNOs. The ASO group was sexually less experienced, had less trust in their relationship abilities, fewer victimization experiences, and reported more sexual deviance, while pornography use and obscene calls were reported less often. Few juvenile sexual offenders had severe problems in the investigated areas. Including groups of offenders before court, treatment or incarceration in research appears crucial to understand the full spectrum of sexual deviance in youth and avoid misguidance due to selection factors.