Meg S. Kaplan

Adolescent Sexual Offenders Demographics, Criminal and Sexual Histories, and Recommendations for Reducing Future Offenses

Sexual aggression is a serious and widespread problem in our society. Over the past 15 years considerable effort has been directed toward educating society about the problem and addressing the needs of victims of sexual crimes. Research efforts have focused on both adult and child victims and to a lesser extent on adult sexual offenders. Only recently have any research efforts focused on adolescent offenders. The present study describes the characteristics of 67 male adolescents referred to an outpatient clinic because of deviant sexual behavior. The results of this study indicate that the onset of sexually deviant interests is often in early adolescence and that an effective early treatment could reduce the widespread incidence of sexual crimes and prevent future victimization in our society.

Diagnosis, Assessment, and Treatment of Hypersexuality

This article reviews the current evidence base for the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of hypersexual conditions. Controversy concerning this diagnosis is discussed. Terminology and diagnostic criteria, as well as psychological, psychopharmacological, and other treatment approaches, are presented.

Characteristics of adolescent incest sexual perpetrators: Preliminary findings

Adolescent incest sexual perpetrators seen at an out-patient clinic were interviewed regarding demographic characteristics and occurrence of deviant and nondeviant sexual behaviors. Results indicate that subjects (1) committed more sexual crimes than they had been arrested for, (2) reported a very early onset of sexual behavior, (3) had additional DSM-III psychiatric disorders, and (4) reported previous sexual victimization. Recommendations for future research are made.

Psychiatric Diagnoses in Adolescent Sex Offenders

Abstract Crime statistics indicate that a high percentage of rapes and child molestations are committed by sexual perpetrators under the age of 18. To determine the psychiatric characteristics of this population, 58 outpatient male adolescent sex offenders were interviewed with structured instruments. Conduct Disorder was the most common diagnosis, while rates of other disorders were much lower than in earlier studies. Implications of these findings for future research in the evaluation and treatment of adolescent sex offenders are discussed.

The incidence of depressive symptomatology in juvenile sex offenders with a history of abuse

Depressive symptomatology was assessed in a sample of 246 male juvenile sex offenders using the Beck Depression Inventory. Of these participants, the racial composition was black = 147, Hispanic = 62, Caucasian = 34. Three adolescents elected not to identify their racial origin. Subjects were divided according to their self-reports of having been sexually or physically abused. The mean Beck score across all subjects was 14.3, a value markedly higher than published norms and indicative of mild depression. Forty-two percent of subjects attained scores indicative of appreciable depressive symptomatology. A history of sexual or physical abuse was significantly related to high Beck scores; abused subjects had a mean Beck score of 16.4, as contrasted to 12.3 for nonabused subjects (Wilcoxon test: z = 2.82; p less than .005). This relationship was apparent across all racial groups. While Hispanic subjects tended to have higher Beck scores and Caucasians lower scores, racial differences were not statistically significant. Results indicate that juveniles who have committed sexual crimes, particularly those with a history of abuse, should be evaluated for depression.

Perceived parental deviance, parent-child bonding, child abuse, and child sexual aggression

Structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretical model of the etiology of deviant sexual aggression by adolescents. The subjects were 117 juvenile male sexual offenders who had been referred from either criminal justice or social service agencies to a clinic that treated offenders. The tested theoretical model included several family factors: perceived parental deviance, child physical and sexual abuse history, and childrens bonding to their parents. The model as a whole fit the data well. Results indicated that physical abuse by the father and sexual abuse by males increased sexual aggression by adolescents. Also, childrens bonding to their mother was found to decrease their sexual aggression. These results are explainable from a social learning perspective and from a parent-child attachment, or social control, perspective, but the alternative perspectives of evolutionary psychology are also considered. Directions for future research are suggested.

Factors associated with erection in adolescent sex offenders

A majority of adult child molesters report that their deviant interest began prior to the age of 18. This illustrates the need to evaluate adolescents who have molested children. Since self-report of deviant interest is rare in adolescent offenders, psychophysiologic assessment is necessary to help to determine the extent for a deviant interest pattern. The current study was designed to determine what factors are associated with erectile responding to age-inappropriate stimuli in an adolescent sex offender population. Factors studied were (a) admit/deny, (b) history of physical abuse, (c) history of sexual abuse, (d) history of nonsex arrests, and (e) incest/nonincest. The dependent variables were two pedophile indices, a relative measure of deviant to nondeviant arousal. Results indicated that history of sexual abuse was associated with more deviant erectile responding in those adolescents who had molested young boys. The possibility of adolescents modeling their own victimization is discussed.

Psychiatric Impairment and Childhood Victimization Experiences in Female Child Molesters

OBJECTIVE To assess psychiatric impairment and childhood victimization experiences in female child molesters. METHOD Eleven incarcerated female child molesters were compared to 11 women imprisoned for nonsexual offenses as to their psychiatric diagnoses based on interviews with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, Outpatient Version (SCID-OP), the SCID II for Personality Disorders, and the Harvard-Upjohn Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Interview. A family and sexual history with a description of childhood victimization experiences was also obtained by using the Wyatt Sexual History Questionnaire. RESULTS The majority of the subjects in each group exhibited major depression, alcohol/substance abuse, and PTSD, but the sexual offenders demonstrated more psychiatric impairment on the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale on the SCID-OP. The sexual offenders demonstrated a higher incidence of childhood physical and sexual abuse within the family than the comparison group, and these victimization experiences were more severe and more frequently associated with PTSD. The sexual offenders and the comparison women described negative relationships with parents and caretakers, and with spouses or boyfriends. However, the sexual offenders perceived their parents as more abusive, while the comparison women regarded their parents as more neglecting. CONCLUSIONS Incarcerated female child molesters exhibited greater psychiatric impairment and more intrafamilial physical and sexual abuse than a comparison group of women imprisoned for nonsexual offenses.

The relationship of abuse history, denial and erectile response profiles of adolescent sexual perpetrators

Erectile responses were examined among 83 inner-city male adolescent perpetrators of sexual offenses whose victims were female and ranged in age from children to adults. Responses to 19 audio cues portraying sexual and nonsexual interactions were measured. Profiles were produced from the responses to female cues depicting targets of different ages. Profile classifications included: (1) Nonresponder and Minimal responder; (2) Nondiscriminator; and (3) Child, Peer, Adult & Adult-Child responder. Participants were grouped according to self-report of sexual and/or physical victimization as well as their admission of a sexual crime. Over half of the participants discriminated between female age categories. Although only 25 in our sample were Nonresponders, they were more likely to be subjects who denied committing any sexual crimes. Perpetrators who reported having been abused were less likely to be Nonresponders and more likely to be Nondiscriminators than non-abused participants. Since a history of victimization and denial are associated with erectile response profiles, these differences must be recognized whenever penile plethysmography is applied.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Treatment for the Aggressive Adolescent Sexual Offender

This paper has described a cognitive-behavioral outpatient treatment program for adolescent sexual offenders. The multicomponent treatment program consists of verbal satiation, cognitive restructuring, covert sensitization, social skills training, anger control training, sex education, and relapse prevention sessions. Data has been presented on 24 adolescents who completed treatment. Results indicated that adolescents involved with male victims significantly decreased deviant sexual arousal pre- and posttreatment, as measured by penile plethysmography. For those adolescents who molested female victims, a decrease in deviant arousal was also evidenced, although it was not statistically significant.