Heng Choon Oliver Chan

Single‐Victim and Serial Sexual Homicide Offenders: Differences in Crime, Paraphilias and Personality Traits

BACKGROUND Information on psychopathological characteristics of sexual homicide offenders is scarce. AIMS To investigate criminal, paraphilic and personality trait differences between serial and single-victim sexual homicide offenders. METHODS All 73 single-victim and 13 serial sexual homicide offenders presenting within a cohort of 671 men sentenced for sexual crimes between 1994 and 2005 and serving their sentence in one high-security Canadian prison and who consented to interview were assessed and compared on their offending patterns, personality pathology and paraphilic behaviours. RESULTS Serial sexual homicide offenders were more likely than the single offenders to report deviant sexual fantasies, having selected victims with distinctive characteristics, to have targeted strangers, structured premeditation and/or verbal humiliation of their victims during the offences. Personality pathology, defined by at least two Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV criteria for personality disorder, was common in both groups, but the serial offenders were more likely to have narcissistic, schizoid and/or obsessive-compulsive traits; they were also more likely to engage in sexual masochism, partialism, homosexual paedophilia, exhibitionism and/or voyeurism. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Samples of serial sexual homicide offenders will, fortunately, always be small, and it may be that more could be learned to assist in preventing such crimes if data from several studies or centres were pooled. Our findings suggest that an investigation of sexual homicide offenders should include strategies for evaluating premeditation as well as personality and paraphilic characteristics. Crime scene features that should alert investigators should include similar characteristics between victims and particular aspects of body exposure or organisation.

Psychological Correlates of Violent and Non-violent Hong Kong Juvenile Probationers

There is little known about Hong Kong juvenile offenders on probation. The purpose of this study was to compare Hong Kong juvenile violent with non-violent probationers on static demographic and psychological variables. The study comprised 109 male juvenile probationers aged 14-20 years (M = 16.97, SD = 1.44) in community transitional housing; 34 were adjudicated for violent offenses, while 75 were non-violent. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Social Bonding Scale-Theft (SBS-T), Social Bonding Scale-Violent Crime (SBS-VC), Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS), Impulsiveness Scale-Short Form (IS-SF) and CRIME-PICS II were administered to measure self-esteem, life satisfaction, social bond, positive and negative affect, impulsivity, pro-offending attitudes, and self-perceived life problems. Data on onset age of delinquent behavior, age of first adjudication, number of prior adjudications, and frequency of self-reported delinquency in the past year were also collected. t-tests were consistent with significant differences for violent offenders including higher self-esteem (p < 0.05). Non-violent offenders self-reported significantly more theft (p < 0.05) with a tendency to deny victim hurt more often (p < 0.01); 76.5% of violent offenders self-reported both violent and non-violent crime, while 58.7% of non-violent offenders reported only non-violent crime. For violent and non-violent offenders, the onset of delinquency was inversely related to the frequency of self-reported delinquency. Using ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression analyses, self-anticipated violent reoffending risk was predicted by age of onset, frequency of self-reported delinquency, social bond (inversely), and impulsivity, while non-violent reoffending risk was predicted by the number of prior convictions and self-reported delinquency. Only two psychological correlates, social bond and impulsivity, were related to violent delinquency; interventions are suggested.

Non-Homicidal and Homicidal Sexual Offenders Prevalence of Maladaptive Personality Traits and Paraphilic Behaviors

This study aims to examine the psychopathological profile of non-homicidal sexual offenders (NHSOs) and homicidal sexual offenders (HSOs). Using an incarcerated sample of 96 NHSOs and 74 HSOs in a federal penitentiary in Canada, these offenders are compared in terms of their offending process, maladaptive personality traits, and paraphilic behaviors. A number of cross-tabular and sequential logistic regression analyses are performed. Relative to their counterpart, findings indicate that a higher percentage of HSOs select a victim of choice, report deviant sexual fantasies, mutilate their victim, and admit to their offense upon apprehension, whereas a higher percentage of NHSOs select victims with distinctive characteristics. In addition, a higher percentage of HSOs manifest paranoid, schizotypal, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, and impulsive personality traits, and overall odd and eccentric personality traits compared with NHSOs. Similarly, a higher percentage of HSOs engage in exhibitionism, fetishism, frotteurism, homosexual pedophilia, sexual masochism, and partialism compared with NHSO. These findings are discussed with their implications for offender profiling.

Psychological characteristics of male 14‐ to 20‐year‐olds on probation and in a residential home in Hong Kong

BACKGROUND Little research has been conducted with Hong Kong juvenile probationers. AIMS The goals of this study are to examine the psychological characteristics of 14- to 20-year-old male probationers and to test their relationship with broad types of offending--violent and nonviolent. METHODS Participants were drawn from the only transitional housing facility for juvenile probationers aged 14-20 years. Offence types and numbers were rated from self-report. Various schedules were rated at interview with consenting young men to describe them in terms of eight psychological characteristics: self-esteem, life satisfaction, social bonding, positive affect, negative affect, impulsivity, pro-criminal attitude and self-perceived life problems. RESULTS A total of 113 young men completed the assessment, 90% of those eligible. The average psychological profile of these young men was fairly typical for their communities. Pro-criminal attitudes, however, correlated with both main types of offending, whereas main affective state was differently associated. Predominantly, negative affect was associated with violent offending and predominantly positive affect with nonviolent offending. CONCLUSIONS Participants in this study generally reported higher levels of positive psychological well-being than in previous nondelinquent Chinese samples. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND FUTURE RESEARCH: A case-control study comparing such offenders with nondelinquents is required to clarify these findings. A longitudinal design is now indicated to test the direction of relationships between psychological indicators and offending. These steps would be useful precursors to a service evaluation of probation hostels for young offenders.

Self-control and the fear of death among adolescents in Hong Kong

The fear of death, as one of the death attitude dimensions, is heavily studied. However, the potential influence of self-control on the fear of death is scarcely examined. Previous literature implies that self-control may be an influential element in determining the magnitude of the fear of death. However, no study, especially in the Asia region, has attempted to directly examine this relationship. Thus, the current study is among the first to investigate the effects of self-control on death fear in a group of Hong Kong adolescents. Gendered analyses, with and without being divided into different age groups, are performed. The exploration of the moderating impact of religious beliefs on self-control in influencing the fear of death is also examined. Using a cross-sectional design, a total of 1377 native Chinese secondary school-aged male and female adolescents of nine schools are surveyed. Overall, findings suggest that self-control is negatively correlated with the fear of death. Specifically, regression findings indicate that the decrease in self-control, as measured by different low self-control indicators across gender and age, is likely to increase the level of fear of death. Interestingly, findings signify that religiosity has a moderating impact on self-control in determining the level of death fear. On the whole, this study suggests that self-control plays a vital role in determining the level of fear of death among adolescents in Hong Kong. Potential caveats, future directions, and implications of the findings are addressed.