An exploratory evaluation of the contribution of personality and childhood sexual victimization to the development of sexually abusive behavior

An Exploration of Racial Differences Among Male Youth Adjudicated for Sexual Offenses

In 2019, the male adjudicated youth (AY) population in correctional facilities was 33% White and 67% minority. Yet, the distribution among male AY charged with sexual offenses (AYSOs) was 55% White and 45% minority, highlighting the lack of disproportionate minority contact within the AYSO population. Little research on AYSOs has focused explicitly on exploring racial differences within this population. Using secondary data from 720 AY 11-18 years of age, the goal of this exploratory study was to identify differences in length of detention, presence of clinical syndromes, attachment patterns, and childhood trauma experiences among a sample of AYSOs and AYs by race category. Although few racial differences were identified among AYSOs, study results overwhelmingly highlighted differences between AYSOs and AYs.

The Unpopular Victims: Individuals Who Are Sexually Abusive - The Black Swans

This article contends that youth who engage in persistent coarse sexual improprieties and/or, sexually abusive behaviors are too often viewed primarily through a criminological lens, regardless of their age, gender, judicial status, and/or experiences of past trauma/victimization. Such a posture likely falsifies the clinical perception of the individual referred for "treatment." Assessment and interventions for these youth must be holistic and idiosyncratic, considering numerous multiplex developmental variables (i.e., overall human sexual development, gender identity, sexual identity, sexual orientation, erotic development, intimacy deficits, adverse childhood experiences/trauma), as well as sociological and anthropological fundamentals. The lens for assessing and intervening with youth must also include in its focus the constantly changing Zeitgeist, that is, the spirit or the mood of the times. The proposed lens is applicable to all youth, adjudicated and non-adjudicated. Specific considerations are discussed related to those youth with a history of significant child maltreatment who later engage in persistent coarse sexual improprieties and/or sexually abusive behaviors.

Associations Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma Among Young People Who Offend: A Systematic Literature Review

This systematic review synthesized current knowledge about the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among young people known to have offended and examined evidence of associations between ACEs, trauma symptoms, and offending behavior. A systematic search of English-language, peer-reviewed studies published from the year 2000 onwards was conducted. A final pool of 124 studies that reported quantitative data were included in the review. The Cambridge Quality Checklist for the assessment of studies on offending was used to assess methodological quality of included studies. Pooled data indicated that almost 87% of justice-involved young people across 13 countries experienced at least one traumatic event. The odds of experiencing at least one ACE were over 12 times greater for justice-involved young people compared with nonjustice-involved young people. Prevalence of individual ACEs ranged from 12.2% for childhood sexual abuse to 80.4% for parental separation among justice-involved young people. Those who reported both a higher number and multiple types of ACEs were more likely to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress symptoms. However, when considering only high-quality studies, there was minimal evidence to suggest that a higher incidence of ACEs predicted trauma symptoms or that trauma symptoms mediated the association between ACEs and offending behavior. Further research is needed to elucidate factors that differentiate young people exposed to ACEs who go on to offend from those who do not. This research is essential to understanding whether ACEs and trauma are drivers of offending behavior and for informing prevention and intervention strategies.

Assessing the Victimizaton-Offending Hypothesis of Sexual and Non-Sexual Violence in a Nationally Representative Sample of Incarcerated Men in the United States: Implications for Trauma-Informed Practice in Correctional Settings

Rates of exposure to sexual and non-sexual physical violence and other adverse childhood events are greater among people who are incarcerated with convictions for offenses related to sexual and non-sexual violence compared to other incarcerated populations and the general community. Few studies have differentiated which types of prior adverse experiences are greatest predictors of sexual and non-sexual violent offenses. The following study investigated associations between experiencing sexual abuse as a child or adult; experiencing non-sexual physical violence during childhood, adulthood, or both; having a caretaker who uses drugs; being in foster care; growing up in socioeconomically marginalized conditions; and the likelihood of reporting a prior physical or sexual conviction. The sample consisted of 13,604 men incarcerated in state and federal prisons in the United States. Multinomial regression models compared convictions for sexual offenses and non-sexual violent offenses to all other crimes. A model also compared sexual offenses to non-sexual violent offenses to differentiate between types of adverse childhood experiences associated with sexual versus non-sexual violent offending. Models adjusted for race/ethnicity, education, and age. Results suggest that exposure to violence during childhood was significantly and violence during adulthood was insignificantly associated with increased risk of conviction for a non-sexual physical offense. Sexual violence victimization as a child only was associated with increased risk of conviction for sexual violence perpetration during adulthood. Foster care involvement was associated with increased risk of being convicted for a non-sexual violent offense. Findings suggest that different traumatic pathways may differentiate types of aggression in adulthood. Future research must evaluate if trauma-informed approaches should be catered to address the unique effects of sexual and non-sexual victimization and the perpetration of different types of aggression in adulthood.

Understanding Sexually Victimized Male Adolescents With Sexually Abusive Behaviors: A Narrative Review and Clinical Implications

A high percentage of adolescents with sexually abusive behaviors have been found to have a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). The purpose of this review is to synthesize literature specific to adolescents with sexually abusive behaviors who have histories of CSA. This review will explore characteristics of this subset of adolescents with sexually abusive behaviors, risk factors, etiological theories that aim to explain the pathway from childhood sexual victimization to sexually abusive behavior in adolescence, and the clinical implications of this literature. Using Kiteley and Stogdon's narrative review framework, findings from 66 peer-reviewed articles published between 1990 and 2017 that included male adolescent participants with sexually abusive behaviors were integrated to inform the purpose of this review. The literature presented that different characteristics of CSA experiences, such as a younger age at the time of abuse and a longer period of abuse, were more prevalent among adolescents with sexually abusive behaviors. The CSA experiences of these adolescents could act as triggers for their sexual offenses, and the Trauma Outcome Process Assessment model addresses the importance of processing past trauma in treatment with adolescents with sexually abusive behaviors. This review concludes with clinical recommendations for how the reviewed literature could be applied within trauma-informed interventions with adolescents with sexually abusive behaviors with a history of CSA.

Non-intimate Relationships and Psychopathic Interpersonal and Affective Deficits as Risk Factors for Criminal Career: A Comparison Between Sex Offenders and Other Offenders

Sex-offenders are at risk of criminal recidivism. For the treatment to be truly effective, it must be individualized. For this purpose, an accurate assessment should focus on criminological, psychological, and psychopathological features. The present study compared sex offenders with other offenders on historical experiences (i.e., problems with violence, anti-social behaviors, problems with personal relationships, problems with substance use, traumatic experiences, and parenting style). In addition, given the association between life events and psychopathy, we explored whether the relation between life events and crime type (sexual crime vs. other types of crime) might be moderated by psychopathy traits (interpersonal and affective deficits and antisocial behavior). Eighty-eight sex offenders (76% of whom child molesters) and 102 other offenders were included. The Historical, Clinical and Risk Management - 20 item Version 3 (HCR-20V3) and Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) were administered. The scores of the HCR-20V3 Historical scale items were computed to assess life events. The scores of the PCL-R factors, F1 Interpersonal affective deficits and F2 Antisocial behavior, were recorded. The presence of a history of problems with non-intimate relationships was the only significant risk factor for sexual crime compared with other crimes. Interpersonal and affective deficits provided an increased likelihood of being sex offenders as compared with other offenders when problems with non-intimate relationships were possibly/partially or certainly present.

Die Entwicklung von Sexualität bei Kindern und Jugendlichen mit sexuellen Gewalterfahrungen

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Zu den Folgen sexueller Gewalt gehören neben somatischen und psychischen Folgen auch Veränderungen in der Entwicklung der Sexualität. Fragestellung: Ziel dieses Reviews ist es, einen systematischen Überblick über den aktuellen Forschungsstand bezüglich der Entwicklung von Sexualität bei Kindern und Jugendlichen nach sexuellen Gewalterfahrungen zu geben. Methode: Eine systematische Literaturrecherche wurde in den Datenbanken PubMed, ERIC, Cochrane und PubPsych durchgeführt. Die Folgen von sexueller Gewalt bezüglich der Sexualität wurden systematisch analysiert. Ergebnisse: Es konnten insgesamt 127 Studien zur Sexualität nach sexueller Gewalt identifiziert werden, die acht Unterkategorien zugeordnet werden konnten: Sexuelles Risikoverhalten, Teenagerschwangerschaft, jugendliche Sexualstraftäter_innen, sexuelle Verhaltensauffälligkeiten, sexuelle Überzeugungen, Prostitution, Geschlechtskrankheiten und körperliche Symptome. Diskussion und Schlussfolgerung: Insgesamt zeigt die Literaturrecherche, dass die Sexualität von Kindern und Jugendlichen mit sexuellen Gewalterfahrungen teilweise nur lückenhaft untersucht wurde.

Social Class Identity, Public Service Satisfaction, and Happiness of Residents: The Mediating Role of Social Trust

Happiness is the eternal pursuit of mankind and is also the ultimate goal of social governance and national development. Based on data from the Chinese General Social Survey, this study used a structural equation model to analyze the influence of social class identity and public service satisfaction on the happiness of residents. The effect of public service satisfaction and social trust between social class identity and residents’ happiness was tested using the Monte Carlo method. The empirical results show that social class identity, social trust, and public service satisfaction all had a significant positive impact on residents’ happiness. The influence coefficients of social class identity on the happiness of residents and on the satisfaction degree of public service for those born in the1970s group were greater than the 1980s and 1990s groups. The influence coefficients of social class identity on the happiness and public service satisfaction of non-agricultural household residents were greater than those of agricultural household residents. Therefore, to improve the happiness of residents, we should make new breakthroughs in the equality of quality and the quality of public services, promote the integration of urban and rural areas, highlight key areas of rural development, and increase the construction of basic public services for agricultural household residents.

Early life stress increases vulnerability to the sequelae of pediatric mild traumatic brain injury

Early life stress (ELS) is a risk factor for many psychopathologies that happen later in life. Although stress can occur in cases of child abuse, studies on non-accidental brain injuries in pediatric populations do not consider the possible increase in vulnerability caused by ELS. Hence, we sought to determine whether ELS increases the effects of pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) on cognition, hippocampal inflammation, and plasticity. Male rats were subjected to maternal separation for 180 min per day (MS180) or used as controls (CONT) during the first 21 post-natal (P) days. At P21 the rats were anesthetized with isoflurane and subjected to a mild controlled cortical impact or sham injury. At P32 the rats were injected with the cell proliferation marker bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU, 500 mg/kg), then evaluated for spatial learning and memory in a water maze (P35-40) and sacrificed for quantification of Ki67⁺, BrdU⁺ and Iba1⁺ (P42). Neither MS180 nor mTBI impacted cognitive outcome when provided alone but their combination (MS180 + mTBI) decreased spatial learning and memory relative to Sham controls (p < .01). mTBI increased microglial activation and affected BrdU⁺ cell survival in the ipsilateral hippocampus without affecting proliferation rates. However, only MS180 + mTBI increased microglial activation in the area adjacent to the injury and the contralateral CA1 hippocampal subfield, and decreased cell proliferation in the ipsilateral neurogenic niche. Overall, the data show that ELS increases the vulnerability to the sequelae of pediatric mTBI and may be mediated by increased neuroinflammation.

Intra- and Extra-Familial Victimization Experiences: Differentiating Between Incarcerated Serious Youth Offenders and Youth Rapists

Although research is becoming increasingly nuanced by exploring differential risk factors linked with types of youth offenders, typological distinctions have rarely been made between youth rapists and other serious youth offenders. This study tests the relative effects of intra- and extra-familial victimization-while holding other theoretically driven variables constant-on membership in three mutually exclusive youth offending groups: non-serious non-sexual offenders (n = 4,013), serious non-sexual offenders (n = 2,571), and rapists (n = 489). Data were drawn from the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (SYRP). Incarcerated youth (N = 7,073) were surveyed on multiple constructs. Using appropriate weights in analyses, a multinomial logistic regression (referencing serious offenders) revealed youth who were victims of intra-familial physical abuse (22%) and intra-familial forced sex (42%) had a decreased risk of being in the non-serious offender category relative to the serious offender category. Furthermore, intra-familial emotional abuse (75%) and intra-familial forced sex (202%) demonstrated an increased risk of being in the rapist category relative to serious offender category. Although extra-familial victimization was statistically significant, victimization within the family had larger effects when predicting rape group membership. The research and practice implications are discussed.

An examination of the psychometric properties and dimensionality of the Aggression-Problem Behavior Frequency Scale in a sample of Black South African adolescents

Advancing research into aggressive behaviour in South Africa necessitates a range of suitable measuring instruments. The Aggression-Problem Behavior Frequency Scale is one such instrument that has been extensively used in diverse settings. The authors of the Aggression-Problem Behavior Frequency Scale present it as a multidimensional scale that purports to measure physical, non-physical, and relational aggression. Despite the widespread use of the scale as a three-factor scale, the psychometric properties, specifically the factor structure of the instrument, have not been examined either globally or in South Africa. This article reports on the reliability, factor structure, and dimensionality of the Aggression-Problem Behavior Frequency Scale among a sample of Black South African adolescents. The scale demonstrated a high level of reliability both in terms of coefficient alpha and coefficient omega. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a second-order factor model and a bifactor model demonstrated a better fit than a one-factor model. Despite the superiority of fit of the two models, bifactor indices demonstrated that the Aggression-Problem Behavior Frequency Scale is essentially unidimensional. First, Omega Hierarchical Subscale indicated a significant reduction in the reliability of the subscales after partitioning out the variance attributable to the general factor (total aggression). Second, the percentage of common variance explained by the total scale was 75% with only 25% attributable to the three subscales. While the findings of the study tentatively confirmed the suitability of the Aggression-Problem Behavior Frequency Scale for use in South Africa, the results indicate that there is no empirical basis for the use of subscale scores and that the Aggression-Problem Behavior Frequency Scale is essentially unidimensional.

Personality disorders in men with sexual and violent criminal offense histories

Little is known about personality disorders (PDs) in offenders with histories of both sexual and (nonsexual) violent offenses. This study aimed to identify possible differences of PD profiles across three different offender groups with both sexual and violent (S+V), only sexual (S), and only violent (V) offenses. Nonviolent (N) offenders were used as a comparison group. Typing of individuals according to their offensive histories was performed on the basis of 259 psychiatric court reports that included the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID)-II for PD diagnostics. Men from the S+V group committed significantly more acts of rape and sexual coercion than the mere sexual offenders. Furthermore, S+V offenders showed the highest rates of PDs overall (68.3%), with every second offender being diagnosed with an antisocial PD and every third offender with a borderline PD. In summary, the results suggest that S+V offenders form a group of individuals with remarkable differences regarding PD profiles, the relatively highest frequencies of conduct disorders, familial addictive problems, and PDs overall.

Cumulative childhood maltreatment and depression among incarcerated youth: impulsivity and hopelessness as potential intervening variables

Youth involved in the juvenile justice system are at high risk for mental health problems, particularly depression. Furthermore, these youth often present with a history of childhood maltreatment. Despite research consistently demonstrating a link between childhood maltreatment and depression, our understanding of intervening factors of this relationship remains limited. This study examined impulsivity, hopelessness, and substance use as potential explanatory variables in the relationship between cumulative childhood maltreatment and depression severity among 110 incarcerated youth. The data were analyzed using path analysis. As hypothesized, cumulative maltreatment maintained a strong direct relation with depression severity in the context of the additional variables in the final model. Cumulative maltreatment also had an indirect relation with depression severity through both impulsivity and hopelessness. Contrary to expectation, substance use was not an explanatory variable in the model. These findings suggest that impulsivity and hopelessness might be important factors to consider in future studies on the relation between childhood maltreatment and depression symptoms among incarcerated youth.

Differences between sexually victimized and nonsexually victimized male adolescent sexual abusers: developmental antecedents and behavioral comparisons

This study compares sexually victimized and nonsexually victimized male adolescent sexual abusers on a number of variables. Self-report measures were administered to 325 male sexually abusive youth (average age 16) in six residential facilities in the Midwest, 55% of whom reported sexual victimization. The results indicate that the sexually victimized sexual abusers have more severe developmental antecedents (trauma, family characteristics, early exposure to pornography and personality) and recent behavioral difficulties (characteristics of sexual aggression, sexual arousal, use of pornography, and nonsexual criminal behavior) than the nonsexually victimized group. Results are contrasted with recent typological research, which found no relationship between sexual victimization and subtype membership. Treatment, research, and theoretical implications are discussed.