Sexual Recidivists Research Articles

Revisiting the Relationships between Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) Facets and Sexual Recidivists versus Nonsexual Recidivists

ABSTRACT The role of psychopathy in Asian samples has not been well reported. This study tests the ability of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) to predict sexual recidivists compared to nonsexual recidivists. A total of 451 Korean male high-risk offenders were assessed by the PCL-R in 2005, and 445 offenders recidivated by 2016. Factor 1 (interpersonal-affective) and facet 2 (affective) showed the highest effect size of 0.53 in a comparison between sexual recidivists (n = 201) and nonsexual recidivists (n = 244). We further tested four facets for different forms of recidivism using one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Sexual recidivists scored significantly higher in facet 2 than misdemeanors (n = 59, d = 0.79), robbers (n = 31, d = 0.58), burglars (n = 33, d = 0.57), and murderers (n = 65, d = 0.54). The highest effect sizes were found in facet 2 (d = 0.79) to separate sex offenders from misdemeanors, followed by Factor 1 (d = 0.75) and facet 1 (d = 0.73) to separate sex offenders from burglars. Finally, hierarchical binary logistic regression revealed that only facet 2 (27.3%) predicted sexual recidivism, indicating the importance of personality traits over behavioral traits in predicting sexual violence.

남성 성폭력 초ㆍ재범자와 일반 범죄자의 특성 비교 : 강간통념, 공감, 일상 사디즘, PID-5를 중심으로

남성 성폭력 초ㆍ재범자와 일반 범죄자의 특성 비교 : 강간통념, 공감, 일상 사디즘, PID-5를 중심으로

The Impact of Using Documented but Uncharged Offense Data on JSORRAT-II Predictive Validity

Following the implementation of sexual offender notification laws, researchers have found a drop in the rate of prosecutions and an increase in plea bargains for sexual offenses committed by male juveniles. This type of prosecutorial hesitation has implications for the predictive validity of sexual recidivism risk assessments, such as the Juvenile Sexual Offender Recidivism Risk Assessment Tool-II (JSORRAT-II), that require data from officially adjudicated offenses in the scoring of several items. The present study sought to test the impact of including data from documented but uncharged (DBU) sexual offenses in the scoring of the JSORRAT-II on its predictive validity using an exhaustive sample of 1,095 juveniles who offended sexually from the states of Iowa and Utah. Although sexual recidivists had significantly more DBU data, the inclusion of those data did not improve the predictive validity of the tool. The authors discuss additional reasons why changes in prosecutorial practice might remain confound in risk assessment studies and suggest future research to investigate those hypotheses.

Tracking and managing high risk offenders: A Canadian initiative.

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the utility of a national initiative (the National Flagging System [NFS]) in correctly identifying high risk violent and sexual offenders and facilitating the appropriate application of preventative detention in Canada. A sample of 516 flagged offenders (FOs) was compared with 58 dangerous offenders (DOs) and 129 long-term offenders (LTOs) on demographic variables and risk assessment measures. Recidivism was also examined for a sample of FOs and LTOs. Results found many similarities among the 3 groups but FOs, on average, scored lower on structured risk assessment measures. Despite this latter finding, a significant proportion of FOs were rated as high or very high risk to reoffend according to the risk categories of the risk assessment instruments used in this study and based on percentile rankings. Violent (including sexual) reconviction rates for FOs were also significantly higher when compared to both LTOs and a sample of federal offenders. The base rate for preventative detention designations among FOs was substantially higher than the expected base rate among violent and sexual recidivists, thereby confirming the utility of the NFS. Although the NFS identifies high risk offenders, NFS coordinators would benefit from utilizing structured risk assessments when making flagging decisions.

Sex Offender Modus Operandi Stability and Relationship With Actuarial Risk Assessment

Three studies conducted in Vermont yielded data on 82 sexual recidivists' index offenses (Time 1) and sexual reoffenses (Time 2) across 16 modus operandi (MO) characteristics. The current study examines the stability of these 16 characteristics between Time 1 and Time 2 offenses. Probabilities of Time 1-Time 2 characteristic combinations are reported, including when controlling for static risk as measured by the Static-99R and Vermont Assessment of Sex Offender Risk-2 (VASOR-2). Overall, considerable stability of offenders' MO was evident between Time 1 and Time 2 offenses. Victim characteristics and offense behaviors were the most stable MO characteristics, and degree of force used and victim injury were less stable and trended toward less forceful and less injurious reoffenses. Controlling for static risk had little impact on the patterns of MO stability.

Why Do Young Males Attack Schools? Seven Discipline Leaders Share Their Perspectives

Mass shootings in public places such as political rallies in Arizona, movie theaters in Colorado, and grade schools in Connecticut and Norway are some of the most horrifying events we face in the 21st century. The time has come for us to research, understand, and communicate the causes for perpetrators who wreak such havoc on unsuspecting, unprepared, innocent people. The time has come for a peer-reviewed scientific journal to do everything possible to explore the contributing factors of such violent acts in order to mitigate or prevent them in the future. To this end, Violence and Gender has assembled a multidisciplinary panel of experts to look at the basic information regarding shooters--generally white males between fifteen and thirty years of age--from a wide range of scientific and behavioral perspectives as a foundation for understanding "why." Language: en

Does the LSI-R Have Utility for Sex Offenders?

Despite societal perception that sex offenders will repeat their crimes, research indicates these offenders are more likely to be generalists than sex offense–specific offenders. Sex offender–specific legislation has reinforced this erroneous perception while contributing to the excessive labeling of sex offenders as sexual recidivists. Additionally troubling is the lack of research on the efficacy of generalized risk/needs assessments for sex offenders. The present study fills this void by evaluating the adequacy of the Level of Service Inventory–Revised (LSI-R) for use with a sexual offending population. The predictive accuracy of the LSI-R for sexual and nonsexual recidivism outcomes was explored using a sample of 21,298 individuals released from New Jersey correctional facilities from 2004 to 2006. Results indicate that while the LSI-R does not have predictive utility for sexual offenses, it has utility for sex offenders overall. Policy implications of the usefulness of the LSI-R for this offending population are discussed.

Development and Validation of Web-based Training Modules for Systematic Evaluation of Active Inflammatory Lesions in the Spine and Sacroiliac Joints in Spondyloarthritis

Exhibitionism has historically been viewed as more of a nuisance than a serious criminal justice matter. Research has demonstrated that the number of exhibitionists who are detected re-offending is a significant under-representation of the number who actually re-offend. The objective of this study was to extend a previous study conducted on exhibitionists, while attempting to solve the limitations described in that study. Two hundred eight exhibitionists were assessed at a university teaching hospital between 1983 and 1996. Archival data were derived from police and medical files. Results indicated that, over a mean follow-up period of 13.24 years, 23.6, 31.3, and 38.9 percent of exhibitionists were charged with or convicted of sexual, violent, or criminal offenses, respectively. Undoubtedly, this is an under-representation of the true rate, as we have no way of knowing how many exhibitionists re-offended and did not get caught. Nevertheless, in the present investigation, sexual recidivists compared with non-recidivists were less educated, scored higher on the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST), the Psychopathy Checklist, Revised (PCL-R), and the Pedophile Index. Violent recidivists were also less educated and scored higher on the MAST, PCL-R, and the Pedophile Index, and had accumulated a greater number of prior violent or criminal charges and/or convictions. Criminal recidivists were less educated; scored higher on the MAST, Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), PCL-R, and Pedophile Index; and had accumulated a greater number of prior sexual, violent, and criminal offenses. Finally, the hands-on sexual recidivists accumulated a greater number of prior violent and criminal charges and or convictions than did the hands-off sexual recidivists.

Recidivism in pedophiles: an investigation using different diagnostic methods

The relationship between pedophilia and recidivism was examined in a sample of 206 extra-familial child molesters assessed at a university teaching hospital between 1982 and 1992. To address definitional issues, pedophilia was defined in one of four ways: (1) a DSM diagnosis made by a psychiatrist; (2) a deviant phallometric profile; (3) a combination of DSM diagnosis and deviant phallometric results; and, (4) high scores based on the Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interest (SSPI; Seto & Lalumière, 2001). Of the various definitions for pedophilia only phallometric assessment (PAI) distinguished between sexual recidivists and nonrecidivists. Overall recidivism rates were 22.8%, 33.9%, and 45.6% for sexual, violent, and any reoffence, respectively. No differences were found between pedophiles and nonpedophiles with respect to recidivism rates, regardless of how pedophilia was defined. Based on these results, the utility of the DSM diagnosis of pedophilia for the purpose of predicting future reoffending is discussed.

Failure to Register as a Sex Offender: Is it Associated with Recidivism?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between failure to register (FTR) as a sex offender and subsequent recidivism (N = 2,970). No significant differences were found between the sexual recidivism rates of those who failed to register and compliant registrants (11% vs. 9%, respectively). There was no significant difference in the proportion of sexual recidivists and nonrecidivists with registration violations (12% vs. 10%, respectively). FTR did not predict sexual recidivism, and survival analyses revealed no significant difference in time to recidivism when comparing those who failed to register (2.9 years) with compliant registrants (2.8 years). Results fail to support the supposition that sexual offenders who fail to register are more sexually dangerous than those who comply with registration requirements. The punitive emphasis on registration enforcement may not be justified and might divert limited resources away from strategies that would better facilitate public protection from sexual violence.

Factors associated with recidivism among intrafamilial child molesters

This study examined factors that could potentially differentiate between sexual, violent and criminal recidivist and non-recidivist incest offenders (n=295). The objective of the study was to extend a previous study conducted on incest offenders by increasing the sample size, adding seven years to the follow-up and attempting to address some of the limitations identified in the previous study. Results indicated, that by the end of the 19th year (mean=10.78), 9.8%, 20% and 27.5% of incest offenders were charged or convicted of a sexual, violent or criminal offence, respectively. This study identified a number of predictor variables demonstrating either moderate or strong associations with recidivism (i.e. Cohen's effect size), some of which are changeable and, thus, should be considered important treatment targets for this type of offender. Specifically, sexual recidivists had higher psychopathy scores than non-recidivists. Violent recidivists were younger, demonstrated more problems with alcoholism, were more hostile, had higher psychopathy scores and had more previous criminal charges and/or convictions than non-recidivists. Finally, criminal recidivists were younger, demonstrated more problems with alcoholism, were more hostile, had higher psychopathy scores and had more previous violent and criminal charges and/or convictions than non-recidivists.

Does a watched pot boil? A time-series analysis of New York State's sex offender registration and notification law.

Despite the fact that the federal and many state governments have enacted registration and community notification laws as a means to better protect communities from sexual offending, limited empirical research has been conducted to examine the impact of such legislation on public safety. Therefore, utilizing time-series analyses, this study examined differences in sexual offense arrest rates before and after the enactment of New York State’s Sex Offender Registration Act. Results provide no support for the effectiveness of registration and community notification laws in reducing sexual offending by: (a) rapists, (b) child molesters, (c) sexual recidivists, or (d) first-time sex offenders. Analyses also showed that over 95% of all sexual offense arrests were committed by first-time sex offenders, casting doubt on the ability of laws that target repeat offenders to meaningfully reduce sexual offending.

Rückfallprognosen bei Sexualstraftätern — Vergleich der prädiktiven Validität von Prognoseinstrumenten

In order to evaluate risk assessment instruments for sex offenders in Germany, we compared the predictive validity of the Static-99, HCR-20, SVR-20, and PCL-R scales for 134 sex offenders. The mean follow-up time was 9 years (range 1-340 months), using the first entry into the National Register of Criminal Convictions as endpoint variable. For the estimate of predictive power, the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was calculated. The AUC plots accurately identified violent or sexual recidivists and "false positives" at all scale levels. Comparing the predictive validity of these four instruments, the results favored Static-99. As for the limited sample size, differences between the assessment instruments were, however, not statistically significant. The ROC analysis for Static-99 showed that including treatment dropouts does not improve predictive accuracy (including dropouts: AUC 0.710; excluding dropouts: AUC 0.721). Kaplan-Meier survival analyses yielded highly a significant correlation to recidivism time point for two Static-99 and SVR-20 risk categories. Higher-risk categories were related to earlier recidivism. However, relying on the Static-99 and SVR-20 alone showed false positive results: for up to two out of three sex offenders, they predicted recidivism which did not occur.

Low base rates limit expert certainty when current actuarials are used to identify sexually violent predators: An application of Bayes's theorem.

The author applied Bayes’s theorem to agewise sexual recidivism rates and the accuracy of high actuarial scores for predicting sexual recidivism in civil commitment cases. Recidivism rates consistently declined with age, paralleling the ageinvariance pattern found for other offenders. Furthermore, actuarials were efficient for only the youngest group, were inaccurate for identifying recidivists, and misclassified many nonrecidivists as recidivists. Opinions about the accuracy of actuarials are therefore often wrong, and actuarials need to be reformulated. Finally, actuarials are useless for identifying likely sexual recidivists from populations with recidivism base rates below .25. Recommendations include seeking new trials in cases that overlooked age, focusing attention on young offenders, limiting commitment periods, and shifting resources from commitment centers to impact all offenders released to the community.

Pathways to Sexual Offense Recidivism Following Treatment

Ward and Hudson (1998, 2000) proposed a self-regulation model of relapse in sexual offenders, which classifies offenders into one of four pathways. This study examined the validity of the model, whether sexual recidivists are characterized by one predominant pathway and offense type, and whether participants would change pathway pre- to posttreatment intervention. Twenty-five sexual offenders who had participated in a comprehensive cognitive-behavioral treatment program during a prison sentence, but committed a further sexual offense on their release from custody, participated in the study. Results supported the content validity of the model. The predominant pathway pre- and posttreatment was approach explicit. The hypothesis that participants would change pathway posttreatment was not supported. These results may have implications for the efficacy of treatment of approach-explicit sexual offenders.

What is the Future Repeat Danger from Sexual Offenders against Children? Implications for Policing

This article reports a long-term follow-up study of persons detected for a sexual offence against a child between the ages of 5 and 12. The study focuses on the likelihood of a subsequent conviction, the success (or otherwise) of risk assessment and the geographical mobility of sex offenders. It is estimated that sexual recidivists coming to the attention of the police will come from three sources: just under one third from offenders who are convicted and in high-risk categories, around one third from those who are convicted and in the more numerous low/medium-risk categories and around one third from those strongly suspected of, but not convicted for, a sexual offence.

Prediction of recidivism in exhibitionists: psychological, phallometric, and offense factors.

Exhibitionists have traditionally been regarded as nuisance offenders. However, empirical studies show that some offenders can be highly recidivistic and can escalate to incidents of Hands-on sexual assault. The objective of this study was to investigate predictors of recidivism in exhibitionists and clarify the differences between Hands-on and Hands-off sexual recidivists. The hundred and twenty-one exhibitionists were assessed at a university teaching hospital between 1983 and 1996. Archival data came from medical files and police files. The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) was assessed retrospectively. Results indicated that over a mean follow-up period of 6.84 years, 11.7, 16.8, and 32.7% of exhibitionists were charged with or convicted of sexual, violent, or criminal offenses, respectively. Sexual reoffending recidivists were less educated, and had more prior sexual and criminal offenses. Violent, recidivists were also less educated, had lower Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI) scores, higher PCL-R Totals, and more prior sexual, violent, and criminal offenses. Criminal recidivists were younger, less educated, had lower DSFI scores, higher PCL-R scores, higher Pedophile Indices, and more prior sexual, violent, and criminal offenses. Hands-on sexual recidivists demonstrated higher PCL-R ratings, higher Pedophile and Rape indices, and more prior sexual, violent, and criminal offenses than did Hands-off counterparts.

The relative utility of fixed and variable risk factors in discriminating sexual recidivists and nonrecidivists.

This study compared the relative utility of fixed and variable risk factors in discriminating between recidivist and nonrecidivist sexual offenders. Subjects were 95 adult male offenders released from the Canadian federal correctional system between 1988 and 1992. Risk factors from the Sexual Violence Risk--20 (SVR-20; D. P. Boer, S. D. Hart, P. R. Kropp, & C. D. Webster, 1997) were coded from prerelease institutional records; sexual and nonsexual violent recidivism was coded from postrelease police and correctional records. SVR-20 risk factors were categorized as fixed (static) or variable (dynamic) markers according to the criteria of H. C. Kraemer et al. (1997); the fixed risk markers were further divided into offense history and psychosocial factors. Hierarchical Cox regression survival analyses were conducted to compare the relative contribution of fixed offense history, fixed psychosocial, and variable psychosocial risk markers in accounting for any violent recidivism and sexually violent recidivism. Analyses indicated that fixed psychosocial factors added little to the models comprised fixed offense history factors alone. There was some evidence that variable psychosocial factors had incremental validity when added to predictions made on the basis of fixed factors, particularly in the prediction of sexual violence. The individual factors that were included in the final models are consistent with previous findings, and support the use of sexual deviance and antisocial lifestyle variables in the prediction of recidivism among sexual offenders.

Prediction of recidivism in extrafamilial child molesters based on court-related assessments.

One hundred ninety-two convicted extrafamilial child molesters were followed for an average of 7.8 years after their conviction. The percentage of men who had committed a sexual, a violent, or any criminal offense by the 12th year was 15.1, 20.3, and 41.6, respectively. The sexual recidivists, compared with the nonrecidivists; demonstrated more problems with alcohol and showed greater sexual arousal to assaultive stimuli involving children than to mutually consenting stimuli with children. The violent recidivists, compared with the nonrecidivists, were more likely to have a history of violence in the families in which they were raised and were rated significantly more psychopathic on the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R). They also showed more sexual arousal to stimuli depicting mutually consenting sexual interactions with children than to adult stimuli. In terms of any criminal recidivism, recidivists were younger, had completed fewer years of school, and were raised in psychologically more harmful family environments compared with nonrecidivists. They also reported that, before 16 years of age, they were more likely to have been physically abused and were more likely to have been removed from their homes compared to those that did not recidivate. In addition, recidivists demonstrated more general hostility on the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory and were rated significantly more psychopathic on the PCL-R. The phallometric assessments revealed, that the criminal recidivists, compared to the nonrecidivists, showed more sexual arousal to stimuli depicting coercive sexual activity with children than consenting sexual activities with children. In addition, they showed more sexual arousal to scenes depicting adult rape then adult mutually consenting sex. Finally, the recidivists also had more charges or convictions for violence and any criminal acts. The small number of significant differences between recidivists and nonrecidivists in the sexual and violent categories precluded an attempt to determine which combination of factors meaningfully predicted reoffending. However, for criminal recidivism, a stepwise discriminant function analysis to assess the combination of factors that most successfully distinguished between groups in terms of criminal recidivism was significant, with subjects' age, total number of criminal convictions, and pedophile assault index being retained for optimal prediction. The procedure correctly classified 70.6% of the original group, 82.8% of the nonrecidivists, and 52.6% of the recidivists. PCL-R Total Score alone was equally successful in a similar discriminant function.

Prediction of Recidivism in Incest Offenders

Approximately 6.5 years after their conviction, the percentage of incest offenders who had committed a sexual, violent, or criminal offense of any kind was 6.4, 12.4, and 26.7, respectively. The sexual recidivists scored higher on the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST), and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). The violent recidivists had higher MAST and PCL-R scores as well as more violence in their police records. Regarding any criminal recidivism, recidivists were older and reported higher rates of being physically abused, and being removed from their homes prior to 16 years of age. They demonstrated more hostility on the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, and higher MAST and PCL-R scores. They also had more previous charges or convictions for sexual, violent, and criminal acts. A combination of total criminal offenses, PCL-R, age, and the number of previous sexual offenses correctly classified 97.6% of the nonrecidivists and 35.4% of the recidivists for any reoffense.