The Relationship of Trauma Exposure to Sex Offending Behavior among Male Juvenile Offenders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMackin, Robert A.; Leisen, Mary Beth; Cusack, John R.; LaFratta, Joseph; Litwin, Peter

2002-01-01

Study identifies ways that traumatic experiences and trauma-associated feelings can be offense triggers for juvenile sex offenders. Researchers interviewed the treating clinicians of 40 male juvenile sex offenders. Overall, clinicians identified prior trauma exposure as being related to the offense triggers in 85% of offenders. Implications for…

The Development and Evaluation of a Life Skills Programme for Young Adult Offenders.

PubMed

Jordaan, Jacques; Beukes, Roelf; Esterhuyse, Karel

2017-10-01

The purpose of this research project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a Life Skills programme for young adult male long-term offenders with the aim of improving their life skills that, in turn, could enable them to adjust more effectively in the correctional environment. Experimental research was used to investigate the effectiveness of the programme. In this study, 96 literate young adult male offenders between the ages of 21 and 25 years, with long sentences, were selected randomly. The participants were assigned randomly into an experimental and a control group. The Solomon four-group design was utilized to control for the effect of pretest sensitization. The measurements of the effectiveness of the programme were conducted before the programme commenced, directly (short term) after, 3 months (medium term) after, and 6 months (long term) after. The findings indicated that the programme had limited success in equipping the offenders with the necessary skills crucial to their survival in a correctional centre. The programme did, however, have significant effects, especially on problem solving and anger management in the short and medium term. These improvements were not long lived.

Deliberate self-harm behavior among young violent offenders.

PubMed

Laporte, Natalie; Ozolins, Andrejs; Westling, Sofie; Westrin, Åsa; Billstedt, Eva; Hofvander, Björn; Wallinius, Märta

2017-01-01

Deliberate self-harm behavior (DSH) can have profound effects on a person's quality of life, and challenges the health care system. Even though DSH has been associated with aggressive interpersonal behaviors, the knowledge on DSH in persons exhibiting such behaviors is scarce. This study aims to (1) specify the prevalence and character of DSH, (2) identify clinical, neurocognitive, psychosocial, and criminological characteristics associated with DSH, and (3) determine predictors of DSH among young violent offenders. Data were collected from a nationally representative cohort of 270 male violent offenders, 18-25 years old, imprisoned in Sweden. Participants were interviewed and investigated neuropsychologically, and their files were reviewed for psychosocial background, criminal history, mental disorders, lifetime aggressive antisocial behaviors, and DSH. A total of 62 offenders (23%) had engaged in DSH at some point during their lifetime, many on repeated occasions, yet without suicidal intent. DSH was significantly associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, various substance use disorders, being bullied at school, and repeated exposure to violence at home during childhood. Mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and being bullied at school remained significant predictors of DSH in a total regression model. Violent offenders direct aggressive behaviors not only toward other people, but also toward themselves. Thus, DSH must be assessed and prevented in correctional institutions as early as possible, and more knowledge is needed of the function of DSH among offenders.

Deliberate self-harm behavior among young violent offenders

PubMed Central

Ozolins, Andrejs; Westling, Sofie; Westrin, Åsa; Billstedt, Eva; Hofvander, Björn; Wallinius, Märta

2017-01-01

Deliberate self-harm behavior (DSH) can have profound effects on a person’s quality of life, and challenges the health care system. Even though DSH has been associated with aggressive interpersonal behaviors, the knowledge on DSH in persons exhibiting such behaviors is scarce. This study aims to (1) specify the prevalence and character of DSH, (2) identify clinical, neurocognitive, psychosocial, and criminological characteristics associated with DSH, and (3) determine predictors of DSH among young violent offenders. Data were collected from a nationally representative cohort of 270 male violent offenders, 18–25 years old, imprisoned in Sweden. Participants were interviewed and investigated neuropsychologically, and their files were reviewed for psychosocial background, criminal history, mental disorders, lifetime aggressive antisocial behaviors, and DSH. A total of 62 offenders (23%) had engaged in DSH at some point during their lifetime, many on repeated occasions, yet without suicidal intent. DSH was significantly associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, various substance use disorders, being bullied at school, and repeated exposure to violence at home during childhood. Mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and being bullied at school remained significant predictors of DSH in a total regression model. Violent offenders direct aggressive behaviors not only toward other people, but also toward themselves. Thus, DSH must be assessed and prevented in correctional institutions as early as possible, and more knowledge is needed of the function of DSH among offenders. PMID:28817578

Ultra high risk of psychosis on committal to a young offender prison: an unrecognised opportunity for early intervention

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The ultra high risk state for psychosis has not been studied in young offender populations. Prison populations have higher rates of psychiatric morbidity and substance use disorders. Due to the age profile of young offenders one would expect to find a high prevalence of individuals with pre-psychotic or ultra-high risk mental states for psychosis (UHR). Accordingly young offender institutions offer an opportunity for early interventions which could result in improved long term mental health, social and legal outcomes. In the course of establishing a mental health in-reach service into Ireland’s only young offender prison, we sought to estimate unmet mental health needs. Methods Every third new committal to a young offenders prison was interviewed using the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) to identify the Ultra High Risk (UHR) state and a structured interview for assessing drug and alcohol misuse according to DSM-IV-TR criteria, the Developmental Understanding of Drug Misuse and Dependence - Short Form (DUNDRUM-S). Results Over a twelve month period 171 young male offenders aged 16 to 20 were assessed. Of these 39 (23%, 95% confidence interval 18% to 30%) met UHR criteria. UHR states peaked at 18 years, were associated with lower SOFAS scores for social and occupational function and were also associated with multiple substance misuse. The relationship with lower SOFAS scores persisted even when co-varying for multiple substance misuse. Conclusions Although psychotic symptoms are common in community samples of children and adolescents, the prevalence of the UHR state in young offenders was higher than reported for community samples. The association with impaired function also suggests that this may be part of a developing disorder. Much more attention should be paid to the relationship of UHR states to substance misuse and to the health needs of young offenders. PMID:22863073

Depression and aggressive behaviour in adolescents offenders and non-offenders.

PubMed

Llorca Mestre, Anna; Malonda, Elisabeth; Samper-García, Paula

2017-05-01

Adolescent behaviour is strongly linked to emotions. The aim of this study is 1) analyse the differences between young offenders and non-offenders in emotional instability, anger, aggressive behaviour, anxiety and depression, and also the differences according to sex; and 2) compare the relation between emotional instability and anxiety, depression and aggressive behaviour mediated or modulated by anger in both groups. participants are 440 adolescents, both male and female (15-18 years old). 220 were young offenders from four different correctional centres of the Valencia Region. The other 220 participants were randomly chosen from ten public and private schools in the Valencia metropolitan area. In the Schools the instruments were applied collectively in the classroom, with a 50 minutes maximum duration. In the Youth Detention Centre the application was carried out in small groups. The structural equation model (SEM) carried out on each group, young offenders and non-offenders show a relation between the assessed variables. Emotional instability appears strongly related with anger in both samples, but anger just predicts depression and aggressive behaviour in the offender population. The results give relevant information for treatment and prevention of aggressive behaviour and delinquency in teenagers through emotional regulation.

Offending, Substance Use, and Cohabitation in Young Adulthood*

PubMed Central

Lonardo, Robert A.; Manning, Wendy D.; Giordano, Peggy C.; Longmore, Monica A.

2010-01-01

Over half of young adults have cohabited, but relatively little is known about the role delinquency and substance use play in youths’ odds of cohabiting as well as the implications of cohabitation for early adult offending and substance use. This study focuses on the reciprocal relationship between cohabitation during late adolescence and young adulthood and self-reported offending and substance use. Using longitudinal data, we find that net of traditional predictors delinquency involvement is associated with increased odds of cohabitation and cohabiting at younger ages while substance use is not related to cohabiting during early adulthood. Further analysis indicates that cohabitation is associated with lower reports of substance use. However, cohabitation is not associated with self-reported offending. The results help to unravel the connection between cohabitation experience, offending and substance use, and early adult outcomes. PMID:21359092

Parent-Child Relations and Offending During Young Adulthood

PubMed Central

Johnson, Wendi L.; Giordano, Peggy C.; Manning, Wendy D.; Longmore, Monica A.

2011-01-01

There is a long tradition of studying parent-child relationships and adolescent delinquency. However, the association between parent-child relationships and criminal offending during young adulthood is less well understood. Although the developmental tasks of young adulthood tend to focus on intimate relationships, employment, and family formation, the parent-child bond persists over the life course and likely continues to inform and shape behavior beyond adolescence. Using data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS), the influence of parental involvement on patterns of offending among respondents interviewed first as adolescents and later as young adults is examined. The TARS sample used for our study (N=1,007) is demographically diverse (49.5% female; 25.3% Black; 7.2% Hispanic) and includes youth beyond those enrolled in college. The influences of both early and later parenting factors such as support, monitoring and conflict on young adults’ criminal behavior are examined. Results show that early monitoring and ongoing parental support are associated with lower offending in young adulthood. These effects persist net of peer influence and adolescent delinquency. This suggests the importance of examining multiple ways in which parental resources and support influence early adult behavior and well-being. PMID:20865307

Predicting recidivism among adult male child pornography offenders: Development of the Child Pornography Offender Risk Tool (CPORT).

PubMed

Seto, Michael C; Eke, Angela W

2015-08-01

In this study, we developed a structured risk checklist, the Child Pornography Offender Risk Tool (CPORT), to predict any sexual recidivism among adult male offenders with a conviction for child pornography offenses. We identified predictors of sexual recidivism using a 5-year fixed follow-up analysis from a police case file sample of 266 adult male child pornography offenders in the community after their index offense. In our 5-year follow-up, 29% committed a new offense, and 11% committed a new sexual offense, with 3% committing a new contact sexual offense against a child and 9% committing a new child pornography offense. The CPORT items comprised younger offender age, any prior criminal history, any contact sexual offending, any failure on conditional release, indication of sexual interest in child pornography material or prepubescent or pubescent children, more boy than girl content in child pornography, and more boy than girl content in other child depictions. The CPORT was significantly associated with any sexual recidivism, with moderate predictive accuracy, and thus has promise in the risk assessment of adult male child pornography offenders with further cross-validation. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Dyadic violence and readiness to change among male intimate partner violence offenders.

PubMed

Crane, Cory A; Schlauch, Robert C; Eckhardt, Christopher I

2015-12-10

Although readiness to change is associated with mandated partner violence treatment compliance and subsequent violent behaviour among male offenders (e.g. Scott and Wolfe, 2003; Eckhardt et al., 2004), our understanding of the factors associated with pretreatment change remains limited. Offender research indicates that individual and dyadic violent behaviour are highly variable and that such variability may provide insight into levels of pretreatment change (Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart, 1994; Archer, 2002). We sought to examine the associations between indicators of change and individual as well as dyadic violence frequency in a sample of male partner violence offenders. To determine whether severity and perceived concordance in the use of violence among male offenders and their female partners influenced readiness to change at pretreatment, 82 recently adjudicated male perpetrators of intimate partner violence were recruited into the current study and administered measures of readiness to change violent behaviour (Revised Safe at Home Scale; Begun et al., 2008) as well as partner violence experiences (Revised Conflict Tactics Scale; Straus et al., 1996). Analyses revealed an interaction between offender-reported male and female violence in the prediction of pretreatment readiness to change such that greater male violence was associated with greater readiness to change among males who reported that their female partners perpetrated low, but not high, levels of violence. Consistently, greater female violence was associated with lower readiness to change only among the most violent male offenders. Results provide support for the assertion that the most violent offenders may be the most resistant to partner violence intervention efforts, particularly when they perceive themselves to be victims as well. Enhanced motivational and couples programming may facilitate treatment engagement among the high-risk group of male offenders who report concordant relationship

Dyadic Violence and Readiness to Change among Male Intimate Partner Violence Offenders

PubMed Central

Crane, Cory A.; Schlauch, Robert C.; Eckhardt, Christopher I.

2016-01-01

Background Although readiness to change is associated with mandated partner violence treatment compliance and subsequent violent behavior among male offenders (e.g., Eckhardt et al., 2004; Scott & Wolfe, 2003), our understanding of the factors associated with pretreatment change remains limited. Offender research indicates that individual and dyadic violent behavior are highly variable and that such variability may provide insight into levels of pretreatment change (Archer, 2002; Holtzworth-Monroe & Stuart, 1994). Aims/Hypotheses We sought to examine the associations between indicators of change and individual as well as dyadic violence frequency in a sample of male partner violence offenders. Method To determine whether severity and perceived concordance in the use of violence among male offenders and their female partners influenced readiness to change at pretreatment, 82 recently adjudicated male perpetrators of intimate partner violence were recruited into the current study and administered measures of readiness to change violent behavior (Revised Safe at Home Scale; Begun et al., 2008) as well as partner violence experiences (Revised Conflict Tactics Scale; Straus et al., 1996). Results Analyses revealed an interaction between offender-reported male and female violence in the prediction of pretreatment readiness to change such that greater male violence was associated with greater readiness to change among males who reported that their female partners perpetrated low, but not high, levels of violence. Consistently, greater female violence was associated with lower readiness to change only among the most violent male offenders. Conclusions and Implications for Clinical Practice Results provide support for the assertion that the most violent offenders may be the most resistant to partner violence intervention efforts, particularly when they perceive themselves to be victims as well. Enhanced motivational and couples programming may facilitate treatment

Individual, Family, Peer, and Academic Characteristics of Male Juvenile Sexual Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ronis, Scott T.; Borduin, Charles M.

2007-01-01

This study examined the individual functioning, interpersonal relations, and academic performance of 115 male juveniles who were divided into 5 demographically matched groups (sexual offenders with peer/adult victims, sexual offenders with child victims, violent nonsexual offenders, nonviolent nonsexual offenders, and nondelinquent youths).…

Treatment Effectiveness for Male Adolescent Sexual Offenders: A Meta-Analysis and Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Donald F.; McGovern, Shannon K.; Poey, Evelyn L.; Otis, Kathryn E.

2004-01-01

Research concerning the treatment of sexual offenders has generally focused on the treatment of adult offenders. The effectiveness of treatments for male adolescent sexual offenders (N = 644) was assessed in a meta-analysis of 10 studies. Overall, the results were surprisingly encouraging, suggesting that treatments for male adolescent sexual…

The Treatment of Male Sexual Offenders: Countertransference Reactions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Cynthia; Melikian, Karen

1995-01-01

Addresses the therapist's reactions to clinical work with sex offenders. Focuses on the particular experiences of one case, and discusses the female therapist's responses to the male client that may be the result of other experiences. Explores some reactions and difficulties that professionals may encounter in work with sex offenders. (JPS)

Treatment of Male Sexual Offenders in a Correctional Facility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitford, Robert W.

1987-01-01

Provides some background and treatment perspectives for counselors and psychologists who treat or contemplate treatment of adult male sexual offenders in prison settings. Discusses identification, assessment, amenability to treatment, assessment instruments, and treatment of sexual offenders. (ABL)

Parent--child relations and offending during young adulthood.

PubMed

Johnson, Wendi L; Giordano, Peggy C; Manning, Wendy D; Longmore, Monica A

2011-07-01

There is a long tradition of studying parent-child relationships and adolescent delinquency. However, the association between parent-child relationships and criminal offending during young adulthood is less well understood. Although the developmental tasks of young adulthood tend to focus on intimate relationships, employment, and family formation, the parent-child bond persists over the life course and likely continues to inform and shape behavior beyond adolescence. Using data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS), the influence of parental involvement on patterns of offending among respondents interviewed first as adolescents (mean age of 15 years), and later as young adults (mean age of 20 years), is examined. The TARS sample used for our study (N = 1,007) is demographically diverse (49.5% female; 25.3% Black; 7.2% Hispanic) and includes youth beyond those enrolled in college. The influences of both early and later parenting factors such as support, monitoring and conflict on young adults' criminal behavior are examined. Results show that early monitoring and ongoing parental support are associated with lower offending in young adulthood. These effects persist net of peer influence and adolescent delinquency. This suggests the importance of examining multiple ways in which parental resources and support influence early adult behavior and well-being.

"You Think You're Helping Them, But They're Helping You Too": Experiences of Scottish Male Young Offenders Participating in a Dog Training Program.

PubMed

Leonardi, Rebecca J; Buchanan-Smith, Hannah M; McIvor, Gill; Vick, Sarah-Jane

2017-08-22

Interaction with animals can be beneficial to humans and animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) are increasingly popular in a range of contexts. Dog training programs (DTPs) are the most popular form of AAI in custodial contexts; prisoners often have multiple needs and DTPs seem to facilitate a diverse range of positive outcomes, including improvements in well-being, behavior, and offending behavior. However, evidence on the efficacy of prison-based DTPs is still limited and these evaluations often lack detail or methodological rigor. We examined the experiences of male young offenders (N = 70) using thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted following completion of a DTP. The themes that emerged indicated a broad range of inter-related experiences and positive outcomes. The most prevalent theme related to their experiences with Dogs (including feelings and attitudes), and there were perceived improvements categorized as: Positive Effects (including mood and well-being), Motivation, Charitable Purpose, Self-Efficacy, Improved Skills, Impulsivity, and Emotional Management. These themes mapped well onto outcomes previously identified in research on DTPs, and to the program's core aims of improving behavior, educational engagement, employability, and well-being. The diversity and nature of these themes indicates that DTPs have considerable potential to engage and benefit those individuals with multiple needs, such as young offenders, and ultimately to achieve positive long-term outcomes with significant social, health, and economic impact.

Engaging Scottish Young Offenders in Education through Music and Art

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Kirstin; Overy, Katie

2010-01-01

This study examined music and art classes as a way to engage young offenders in education, and to see if such engagement had an effect on their further participation in education, self-esteem, self-control, behaviour and literacy skills. The arts are often discussed as being an inviting and safe method of entry for young offenders who may have had…

Road traffic offending, stress, age, and accident history among male and female drivers.

PubMed

Simon, F; Corbett, C

1996-05-01

This paper draws on data gathered during a larger study of driving behaviour to explore possible connections between stress, offending against the traffic laws, and accident rates, and gives particular attention to comparisons between male and female drivers. Data were gathered from 422 drivers by a postal questionnaire, and further measures of stress were obtained during semi-structured interviews with a specially selected subset of 66 of them. Analyses of variance investigated links between offending rates, accident history, and up to seven measures of stress, taking age and gender into account. In the results accident history, although positively related to offending, played little part in links involving stress variables. The principal findings were that (a) stress, both on and off the road, was positively associated with offending among both male and female drivers, and (b) although females overall offended less than males, females experienced more stress than males whatever their level of offending. One possible interpretation of these results is suggested by the feminist literature, which could account for both the higher levels of stress and lower levels of offending found among women drivers. However, there is unlikely to be a clear-cut gender divide in offending-stress relationships, and some small groups of female drivers in the study behaved like male ones. It is suggested that people's driving reflects their lifestyles, and that women drivers' patterns of offending and stress will resemble those of male drivers to the extent that their lives and concerns are similar to men's. It is concluded that this position warrants further research.

“You Think You’re Helping Them, But They’re Helping You Too”: Experiences of Scottish Male Young Offenders Participating in a Dog Training Program

PubMed Central

Leonardi, Rebecca J.

2017-01-01

Interaction with animals can be beneficial to humans and animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) are increasingly popular in a range of contexts. Dog training programs (DTPs) are the most popular form of AAI in custodial contexts; prisoners often have multiple needs and DTPs seem to facilitate a diverse range of positive outcomes, including improvements in well-being, behavior, and offending behavior. However, evidence on the efficacy of prison-based DTPs is still limited and these evaluations often lack detail or methodological rigor. We examined the experiences of male young offenders (N = 70) using thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted following completion of a DTP. The themes that emerged indicated a broad range of inter-related experiences and positive outcomes. The most prevalent theme related to their experiences with Dogs (including feelings and attitudes), and there were perceived improvements categorized as: Positive Effects (including mood and well-being), Motivation, Charitable Purpose, Self-Efficacy, Improved Skills, Impulsivity, and Emotional Management. These themes mapped well onto outcomes previously identified in research on DTPs, and to the program’s core aims of improving behavior, educational engagement, employability, and well-being. The diversity and nature of these themes indicates that DTPs have considerable potential to engage and benefit those individuals with multiple needs, such as young offenders, and ultimately to achieve positive long-term outcomes with significant social, health, and economic impact. PMID:28829389

Does Watching a Play about the Teenage Brain Affect Attitudes toward Young Offenders?

PubMed Central

Blakey, Robert

2017-01-01

Neuroscience is increasingly used to infer the cognitive capacities of offenders from the activity and volume of different brain regions, with the resultant findings receiving great interest in the public eye. This field experiment tested the effects of public engagement in neuroscience on attitudes toward offenders. Brainstorm is a play about teenage brain development. Either before or after watching this play, 728 participants responded to four questions about the age of criminal responsibility, and the moral responsibility and dangerousness of a hypothetical young or adult offender. After watching the play, participants perceived the young offender as less likely to reoffend than the adult offender and the young, but not adult, offender as less morally responsible for his actions, especially on the first offense. Therefore, public engagement in the newest arrival to the criminological scene – neuroscience – may shift support for different youth justice responses. PMID:28649215

Young Offenders' Perspectives on Their Literacy and Communication Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hopkins, Thomas; Clegg, Judy; Stackhouse, Joy

2016-01-01

Background: Research has revealed that the youth offending population has low language ability when assessed on standardized language measures. However, little is known about the perceptions young offenders (YOs) have of their own literacy ability and their communicative interactions with others. Such knowledge might further our understanding of…

The Mental Health of Young Offenders Serving Orders in the Community: Implications for Rehabilitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kenny, Dianna T.; Lennings, Christopher J.; Nelson, Paul K.

2007-01-01

Young offenders internationally have a higher incidence of mental health problems compared with adolescents in the general population. Mental health issues, particularly comorbid presentations, affect the response to and outcome of rehabilitation and hence recidivism of offending. Most information on the mental health of young offenders has…

Planning primary health-care services for South Australian young offenders: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Wilson, Anne

2007-10-01

Although many young offenders receive health care during periods of detention, addressing their health needs after release from secure care is a key strategy for successful rehabilitation and reintegration into the community. The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine current discharge planning practices for young offenders in Youth Training Centres in South Australia with a view to improving offenders' connection with primary health-care services on discharge. To determine the strengths and weaknesses of current discharge planning practices, this exploratory study involved in-depth review of literature and a semistructured focus group of stakeholders. Findings were discussed with an expert advisory group before final recommendations were made. This study identified a service model approach to discharge planning that recommended a nurse located within the Divisions of General Practice as the coordinator. The study found that trusted staff in detention centres, with an awareness of services available in the location of release, influence young offenders' decision-making in relation to health-care services. Awareness and recognition of young offenders' health beyond periods of juvenile detention and into their adult lives is valuable in that it has the potential to establish lifelong healthy behaviours. Bonding with young offenders and gaining their trust increases their likelihood of attending primary health-care services.

Female and Male Juvenile Offenders with Disabilities: Differences in the Barriers to Their Transition to the Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Unruh, Deanne; Bullis, Michael

2005-01-01

This article examined differences between young women and men who were incarcerated juvenile offenders with disabilities in Oregon in terms of the barriers they faced in their transition from the correctional system back into the community. Data were gathered on 72 females and 276 males, all of whom presented disabilities and who were…

Parent-Child Relations and Offending during Young Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Wendi L.; Giordano, Peggy C.; Manning, Wendy D.; Longmore, Monica A.

2011-01-01

There is a long tradition of studying parent-child relationships and adolescent delinquency. However, the association between parent-child relationships and criminal offending during young adulthood is less well understood. Although the developmental tasks of young adulthood tend to focus on intimate relationships, employment, and family…

Factors Affecting Sentence Severity for Young Adult Offenders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenwood, Peter W.; And Others

This document analyzes the sentencing of young adult defendants in comparison with older adult and younger juvenile offenders, and disputes prior research which held that young adults received more lenient sentencing, perhaps because of the restrictions on disclosing juvenile delinquency histories. The document presents data from samples of young…

The incidence of dyslexia among young offenders in Kuwait.

PubMed

Elbeheri, Gad; Everatt, John; Al Malki, Mohammad

2009-05-01

This paper investigates the incidence of dyslexia among young offenders in Kuwait. A total of 91 children/young adults from 8 juvenile delinquent welfare centres across Kuwait were interviewed and tested. A measure of non-verbal reasoning ability was used to exclude those with low general ability. The remaining 53 participants were tested on their ability to identify alliteration and rhyme, retain and manipulate sequences of digit and letter names, decode novel letter strings and identify words within letter chains. Participants' reading accuracy, rate of reading, reading comprehension and ability to spell correctly dictated text were also assessed. These measures were used to determine those with indicators of dyslexia. The results indicated that the percentage of individuals presenting evidence of dyslexia was much larger (greater than 20%) in this population of young offenders than would be expected based on the national average (around 6%) of dyslexics in Kuwait derived from a nationwide study (A survey study of dyslexia in Kuwait, Kuwait Dyslexia Association: Kuwait City; 2002). These findings replicate previous evidence for an increased frequency of dyslexia among young offenders. The implications of such findings are discussed in terms of dyslexia awareness, socio-cultural factors, education and intervention, particularly in Kuwait juvenile delinquent welfare centres.

Differences in social skills performance between institutionalized juvenile male offenders and a comparable group of boys without offence records.

PubMed

Spence, S H

1981-09-01

Eighteen institutionalized young male offenders and 18 boys without criminal records, comparable in terms of age, academic performance and social background, were videotaped during a five-minute standardized interview with a previously unknown adult. The videotapes were then subjected to a behavioural analysis of 13 responses which had previously been suggested to be important social skill components. The tapes were also shown to six independent judges who rated each tape in terms of social skills performance, social anxiety, friendliness, and employability. The offender group was found to differ significantly from the non-offender group in terms of the level of eye-contact, head movements, amount spoken, fiddling movements, and gross body movements. The offender group was also rated in significantly less favourably terms on the scales of social skills performance, social anxiety, and employability, compared to the non-offender groups. No significant difference was found in terms of friendliness ratings. Correlation analyses between the specific behavioural measures and the subjective rating scales revealed statistically significant associations between six of the 13 behavioural measures and one or more of the subjective rating scales. The provides some indication of the type of responses important in determining the impression made by adolescent male in an interview situation.

Mental health status, aggression, and poor driving distinguish traffic offenders from non-offenders but health status predicts driving behavior in both groups

PubMed Central

Abdoli, Nasrin; Farnia, Vahid; Delavar, Ali; Dortaj, Fariborz; Esmaeili, Alireza; Farrokhi, Noorali; Karami, Majid; Shakeri, Jalal; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith; Brand, Serge

2015-01-01

Background In Iran, traffic accidents and deaths from traffic accidents are among the highest in the world, and generally, driver behavior rather than technical failures or environmental conditions are responsible for traffic accidents. In a previous study, we showed that among young Iranian male traffic offenders, poor mental health status, along with aggression, predicted poor driving behavior. The aims of the present study were twofold, to determine whether this pattern could be replicated among non-traffic offenders, and to compare the mental health status, aggression, and driving behavior of male traffic offenders and non-offenders. Methods A total of 850 male drivers (mean age =34.25 years, standard deviation =10.44) from Kermanshah (Iran) took part in the study. Of these, 443 were offenders (52.1%) and 407 (47.9%) were non-offenders with lowest driving penalty scores applying for attaining an international driving license. Participants completed a questionnaire booklet covering socio-demographic variables, traits of aggression, health status, and driving behavior. Results Compared to non-offenders, offenders reported higher aggression, poorer mental health status, and worse driving behavior. Among non-offenders, multiple regression indicated that poor health status, but not aggression, independently predicted poor driving behavior. Conclusion Compared to non-offenders, offenders reported higher aggression, poorer health status and driving behavior. Further, the predictive power of poorer mental health status, but not aggression, for driving behavior was replicated for male non-offenders. PMID:26300646

Challenges of Conducting Research With Young Offenders With Traumatic Brain Injury.

PubMed

OʼRourke, Conall; Templeton, Michelle; Cohen, Miriam H; Linden, Mark A

2018-05-31

The purpose of this commentary is to highlight the challenges encountered when conducting research with young offenders. This is drawn from the first-hand experience of 3 researchers working on separate projects within this environment. Young offenders present as a complex clinical population with high levels of illiteracy, substance abuse, and mental health issues. Significant planning is therefore required before working with this group. Consideration must be given to the heterogeneity of prison populations alongside the potential limitations of datacollection methods, in particular, reliance on self-report. The capacity of young offenders to comprehend and effectively engage with research is also of concern, posing issues of both a practical and ethical nature. The absence of a consistent "research culture" within prison environments poses further practical challenges, potentially also placing significant burden on both researchers and prison resources. The challenges discussed in this article may help inform future studies in the area and emphasize the need for greater critical reflection among researchers conducting work of this type.

Educational Management within a Young Offender Institution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fryer, Winny; Fryer, Paul

1992-01-01

Examines educational theory and objectives within prisons and relates these to the real-time case study of the Young Offender Institution at Whatton, in Nottinghamshire, England. Measuring success and cost effectiveness is extremely difficult in the prison education field, and a significant gap exists between the theoretical model and everyday…

Young, Black, and Sentenced To Die: Black Males and the Death Penalty.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Janice

1996-01-01

Explores the death penalty as imposed on young black males in the United States and examines the disparity in death penalty rates for homicides with black offenders and white victims. States continue to impose the death penalty rather than viewing youth violence as a failure of the social system. (SLD)

Self-harm in young offenders.

PubMed

Borschmann, Rohan; Coffey, Carolyn; Moran, Paul; Hearps, Stephen; Degenhardt, Louisa; Kinner, Stuart A; Patton, George

2014-12-01

The prevalence and correlates of self-harm and suicidal behavior in 515 young offenders (mean age 17.3 years, SD = 1.7) serving community-based orders (CBOs; n = 242) or custodial sentences (n = 273) in Victoria, Australia, are described. Results from structured interviews showed that 83 (16.1%) participants reported self-harming in the previous 6 months, and this was more common among those serving custodial sentences than those serving CBOs (19.4% vs. 12.4%; OR 3.10, 95% CI: 1.74-5.55). Multiple incidents were more common in females and 24% (95% CI: 19-39) of participants who had self-harmed reported having done so with suicidal intent. Self-harm was associated with recent bullying victimization, expulsion from school, past year violent victimization, cannabis dependence, and risk-taking behavior in the preceding year. The epidemiological profile of self-harm in this population appears to be distinct from that seen in the general population. Young offenders who self-harm are a vulnerable group with high rates of psychiatric morbidity, substance misuse problems, and social risk factors. They may benefit from targeted psychological interventions designed specifically to address impulsivity, delivered both within-and during the transition from-the youth justice system. © 2014 The American Association of Suicidology.

The Incidence of Dyslexia among Young Offenders in Kuwait

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elbeheri, Gad; Everatt, John; Malki, Mohammad Al

2009-01-01

This paper investigates the incidence of dyslexia among young offenders in Kuwait. A total of 91 children/young adults from 8 juvenile delinquent welfare centres across Kuwait were interviewed and tested. A measure of non-verbal reasoning ability was used to exclude those with low general ability. The remaining 53 participants were tested on their…

The evaluation of violent thinking in adult offenders and non-offenders using the Maudsley Violence Questionnaire.

PubMed

Walker, Julian; Bowes, Nicola

2013-04-01

The Maudsley Violence Questionnaire (MVQ) was designed to measure explicit rules and beliefs associated with violence. Previous studies with young people and offenders with mental disorder found the MVQ to be a valid and reliable measure of violent thinking. This study explores the use of the MVQ with a 'normal' (non-offender) population and an offender population without mental illness in order to evaluate how the MVQ's subscales related to violence within these groups. The MVQ was given to 78 adult male participants along with a measure of self-reported violence; demographic information and criminal history were also recorded. Thirty-five of the participants were convicted adult male offenders resident of an adult male closed prison in South Wales; 43 were volunteers from the staff group in the same prison. The MVQ factors were compared with self-reported violence and with officially recorded violent convictions. Although both subscales of the MVQ related to self-reported violence, 'Machismo' showed a stronger relationship to both self-reported and officially recorded violence. Violent thinking, specifically beliefs measured by the Machismo subscale of the MVQ, was robustly associated with self-reported and officially recorded violence in this study with offender and non-offender adults. The MVQ is a valid and feasible measure for use with adult populations. Violent thinking (specifically Machismo thinking styles) should be included in the assessments of violent offenders. Work on violent thinking and reducing 'macho' thinking could be a useful adjunct to anger management work with violent offenders. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

What Is so Special about Male Adolescent Sexual Offending? A Review and Test of Explanations through Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seto, Michael C.; Lalumiere, Martin L.

2010-01-01

We tested special and general explanations of male adolescent sexual offending by conducting a meta-analysis of 59 independent studies comparing male adolescent sex offenders (n = 3,855) with male adolescent non-sex offenders (n = 13,393) on theoretically derived variables reflecting general delinquency risk factors (antisocial tendencies),…

Victimization and Violent Offending: An Assessment of the Victim-Offender Overlap Among Native American Adolescents and Young Adults

PubMed Central

Reingle, Jennifer M.; Maldonado-Molina, Mildred M.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the victim–offender overlap among a nationally representative sample of Native American adolescents and young adults. Data for this study were obtained from 338 Native American youth who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) Waves I-IV. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to estimate trajectories of violence and victimization separately. Bivariate tests were used to assess the overlap between victimization and violent trajectory groups. Multinomial regression procedures were used to assess the predictors of victimization, offending, and the overlap category of both victimization and offending. Three trajectory groups were found for violence (nonviolent, escalators, and desistors) and victimization (nonvictim, decreasing victimization, and increasing victimization). We found substantial evidence of an overlap between victimization and offending among Native Americans, as 27.5% of the sample reported both victimization and offending. Those in the overlap group had greater number of risk factors present at baseline. These results suggest that the victim–offender overlap is present in Native American adolescents. Explanations and implications are discussed. PMID:24078778

Sex differences in predictors of violent and non-violent juvenile offending.

PubMed

Stephenson, Zoe; Woodhams, Jessica; Cooke, Claire

2014-01-01

In response to concerns regarding the rise in female juvenile violent crime and the dearth of gender-specific research, this study aimed to identify predictors of violent offending in female offenders. Data were extracted from risk assessments of 586 male and female juvenile offenders (aged 11-17 years) conducted between 2005 and 2009 by the Youth Offending Service in Gloucestershire, an English county. Information regarding the young people's living arrangements, family and personal relationships, education, emotional/mental health, thinking and behavior, and attitudes to offending was recorded. Comparisons were made between the violent male offenders (N = 185), the violent female offenders (N = 113), the non-violent male offenders (N = 150), and the non-violent female offenders (N = 138) for these variables. These were followed by a multinomial logistic regression analysis. The findings indicated that engaging in self-harm was the best predictor of being a female violent offender, with the predictors of giving into pressure from others and attempted suicide nearing significance. Furthermore, non-violent females were significantly less likely to lose control of their temper and more likely to give in to pressure from others than their violent counterparts. Non-violent males were significantly less likely to lose control of their temper and more likely to self-harm and give in to pressure from others than violent males. Although many similarities existed between sexes for predictors of violent offending, the findings of this study indicate that more attention needs to be paid to the mental health of female offenders. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Restorative justice conferencing for reducing recidivism in young offenders (aged 7 to 21).

PubMed

Livingstone, Nuala; Macdonald, Geraldine; Carr, Nicola

2013-02-28

Restorative justice is "a process whereby parties with a stake in a specific offence resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future" (Marshall 2003). Despite the increasing use of restorative justice programmes as an alternative to court proceedings, no systematic review has been undertaken of the available evidence on the effectiveness of these programmes with young offenders. Recidivism in young offenders is a particularly worrying problem, as recent surveys have indicated the frequency of re-offences for young offenders has ranged from 40.2% in 2000 to 37.8% in 2007 (Ministry of Justice 2009) To evaluate the effects of restorative justice conferencing programmes for reducing recidivism in young offenders. We searched the following databases up to May 2012: CENTRAL, 2012 Issue 5, MEDLINE (1978 to current), Bibliography of Nordic Criminology (1999 to current), Index to Theses (1716 to current), PsycINFO (1887 to current), Social Sciences Citation Index (1970 to current), Sociological Abstracts (1952 to current), Social Care Online (1985 to current), Restorative Justice Online (1975 to current), Scopus (1823 to current), Science Direct (1823 to current), LILACS (1982 to current), ERIC (1966 to current), Restorative Justice Online (4 May 2012), WorldCat (9 May 2012), ClinicalTrials.gov (19 May 2012) and ICTRP (19 May 2012). ASSIA, National Criminal Justice Reference Service and Social Services Abstracts were searched up to May 2011. Relevant bibliographies, conference programmes and journals were also searched. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs of restorative justice conferencing versus management as usual, in young offenders. Two authors independently assessed the risk of bias of included trials and extracted the data. Where necessary, original investigators were contacted to obtain missing information. Four trials including a total of 1447 young offenders were included in the review. Results

Relationship between Parenting and Cognitive Schemas in a Group of Male Adult Offenders.

PubMed

Pellerone, Monica; Craparo, Giuseppe; Tornabuoni, Ylenia

2016-01-01

This work analyzes the correlation of retrospective ratings on parental binding with cognitive patterns in the inmates for property crimes. The participant group comprehended 248 adults men, including 130 marked out as offenders (the target group), aged between 19 and 70, currently serving sentences in the Cavadonna prison in Siracusa, and 118 marked out as non-offenders (the control group), aged between 20 and 70, living in Siracusa (Sicily). The instruments used were the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), and the Young Schema Questionnaire-3 (YSQ). The preliminary analysis showed a high percentage of offenders who experienced an affectionate constraint parenting. Offenders scored significantly higher than the non-offenders on the level of paternal control and the YSQ subscales. The study underlines the influence of maternal care on most of the cognitive schemas, and the role of father's control on the tendency to social isolation and defectiveness in the offenders.

Gender Comparison of Young People Charged With Murder in England and Wales.

PubMed

Gerard, F Jeane; Browne, Kevin D; Whitfield, Kate C

2017-03-01

This study investigated gender differences regarding young people charged with murder in England and Wales. A sample of 318 cases was collected from the Home Office's Homicide Index and analysed. Of these cases, 93% of the offenders were male and 7% female. The analyses explored gender differences in terms of the offender's race, offender's age, victim's age, victim's gender, weapon used, offender-victim relationship, and circumstances of the offence. The study found that a female offender was significantly more likely to murder a family member than a male offender, and a male offender was significantly more likely to murder a stranger than a female offender. In addition, a female offender was significantly more likely to murder a victim below the age of 5 than a male offender. Implications for interventions with young people who are charged with murder are discussed.

Building Bridges to the Economic Mainstream for African American Male Ex-Offenders: A Preliminary Assessment of an Inmate Education Re-Entry Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, James H., Jr.; Farrell, Walter C., Jr.; Braithwaite, Lawrence P.

This paper describes a state-funded inmate education and re-entry program that provides soft skills training for soon-to-be released offenders. The paper presents preliminary evidence regarding the impact of this training on 14 young male participants. Data came from information prepared by inmates throughout the training program and ethnographic…

Young Offending: Towards a Radical/Critical Social Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogowski, Steve

2010-01-01

Young offending is perceived as a serious social problem and always remains near the top of the political agenda. Over the post-war years, policy and practice moved from welfare/treatment towards punishment as the key for addressing the problem, culminating in New Labour's Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Thereafter there was increasing concern about…

Improving Negative Emotion Recognition in Young Offenders Reduces Subsequent Crime.

PubMed

Hubble, Kelly; Bowen, Katharine L; Moore, Simon C; van Goozen, Stephanie H M

2015-01-01

Children with antisocial behaviour show deficits in the perception of emotional expressions in others that may contribute to the development and persistence of antisocial and aggressive behaviour. Current treatments for antisocial youngsters are limited in effectiveness. It has been argued that more attention should be devoted to interventions that target neuropsychological correlates of antisocial behaviour. This study examined the effect of emotion recognition training on criminal behaviour. Emotion recognition and crime levels were studied in 50 juvenile offenders. Whilst all young offenders received their statutory interventions as the study was conducted, a subgroup of twenty-four offenders also took part in a facial affect training aimed at improving emotion recognition. Offenders in the training and control groups were matched for age, SES, IQ and lifetime crime level. All offenders were tested twice for emotion recognition performance, and recent crime data were collected after the testing had been completed. Before the training there were no differences between the groups in emotion recognition, with both groups displaying poor fear, sadness and anger recognition. After the training fear, sadness and anger recognition improved significantly in juvenile offenders in the training group. Although crime rates dropped in all offenders in the 6 months following emotion testing, only the group of offenders who had received the emotion training showed a significant reduction in the severity of the crimes they committed. The study indicates that emotion recognition can be relatively easily improved in youths who engage in serious antisocial and criminal behavior. The results suggest that improved emotion recognition has the potential to reduce the severity of reoffending.

Internalizing and externalizing problems, depression, and self-esteem in non-detained male juvenile offenders

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background High rates of mental disorders have been found in detained juvenile offenders, whereas the role of psychopathology in non-detained offenders is less clear. Therefore, the present study compared psychopathology in male non-detained delinquent juveniles and two matched samples from the community and an adolescent psychiatric clinic. Methods 125 male adolescents aged 11 to 19 years (m = 16.2 years, SD = 1.5 years) from an outpatient adolescent forensic clinic were compared to a community sample from the Zurich Adolescent Psychology and Psychopathology Study (ZAPPS) and a referred sample from a psychiatric clinic matched for age and nationality. All subjects responded to questionnaires measuring internalizing and externalizing problems, depressive symptoms and self-esteem. Results The sample of non-detained juvenile offenders showed similar rates of self-reported internalizing and externalizing problems when compared to the community sample, whereas the clinic sample displayed an increased rate of various disturbances. Similar results were found also for self-esteem. In agreement with these findings, non-detained juvenile offenders less frequently had a psychiatric diagnosis after full clinical assessment when compared to the clinical sample. However, a diagnosis of conduct disorders and a lower IQ range was found more frequently in non-detained juvenile offenders. Offenders with serious delinquent acts and involving weapons showed higher depression scores than the rest of the offenders. Conclusion In non-detained assessment situations before court examination, juvenile offenders present rather normal behaviour. Their lack of awareness of potential behavioural problems should be considered during assessment and treatment of this group of offenders. PMID:23445953

Psychopathic traits and offender characteristics - a nationwide consecutive sample of homicidal male adolescents.

PubMed

Lindberg, Nina; Laajasalo, Taina; Holi, Matti; Putkonen, Hanna; Weizmann-Henelius, Ghitta; Häkkänen-Nyholm, Helinä

2009-05-06

The aim of the study was to evaluate psychopathy-like personality traits in a nationwide consecutive sample of adolescent male homicide offenders and to compare the findings with those of a randomly sampled adult male homicide offender group. A further aim was to investigate associations between psychopathic traits and offender and offence characteristics in adolescent homicides. Forensic psychiatric examination reports and crime reports of all 15 to 19- year- old male Finnish offenders who had been subjected to a forensic psychiatric examination and convicted for a homicide during 1995-2004 were collected (n = 57). A random sample of 57 adult male homicide offenders was selected as a comparison group. Offence and offender characteristics were collected from the files and a file-based assessment of psychopathic traits was performed using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) by trained raters. No significant differences existed between the adolescents and adults in PCL-R total scores, factor 2 (social deviance) scores, or in facets 3 (lifestyle) and 4 (antisocial). Adults scored significantly higher on factor 1 (interpersonal/affective) and facets 1 (interpersonal) and 2 (affective). The adolescent group was divided into two subgroups according to PCL-R total scores. One in five homicidal male adolescents met criteria for psychopathic personality using a PCL-R total score of 26 or higher. These boys significantly more often had a crime history before the index homicide, more frequently used excessive violence during the index homicide, more rarely lived with both parents until 16 years of age, had more institutional or foster home placements in childhood, had more school difficulties, more often had received special education, and, more often had contact with mental health services prior to age 18 years than boys scoring low on the PCL-R. They also more often had parental criminal history as well as homicide history of parents or near relatives than the

Adolescents' Beliefs about Why Young People Commit Crime

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skrzypiec, Grace

2013-01-01

The aim of the study was to obtain adolescents' perspectives about why young people offend. Twenty-four Australian male and female offenders and non-offenders offered insights about what, according to them, motivates young people to become involved in crime. Without the use of sophisticated language, participants offered explanations that were…

The occurrence of female-to-male partner violence among male intimate partner violence offenders mandated to treatment: a brief research report.

PubMed

Crane, Cory A; Hawes, Samuel W; Mandel, Dolores L; Easton, Caroline J

2014-01-01

Little is known about the perceived perpetration of female-to-male intimate partner violence by victims of male offenders mandated to treatment. Sixty-eight male perpetrators of partner violence completed measures of dyadic violent and aggressive responding at intake and at a 12-week follow-up. Approximately 20% of male offenders reported partner violence perpetration and 30% reported victimization with bidirectional violence as the most common configuration of couple violence. Maladaptive responses to conflict were prevalent across partners. Significant and highly correlated reductions in aversive behaviors were detected across the assessment period for both males and their female partners. Results are interpreted within the context of motivational models of female-to-male partner violence and current treatment approaches.

Improving Negative Emotion Recognition in Young Offenders Reduces Subsequent Crime

PubMed Central

Hubble, Kelly; Bowen, Katharine L.; Moore, Simon C.; van Goozen, Stephanie H. M.

2015-01-01

Background Children with antisocial behaviour show deficits in the perception of emotional expressions in others that may contribute to the development and persistence of antisocial and aggressive behaviour. Current treatments for antisocial youngsters are limited in effectiveness. It has been argued that more attention should be devoted to interventions that target neuropsychological correlates of antisocial behaviour. This study examined the effect of emotion recognition training on criminal behaviour. Methods Emotion recognition and crime levels were studied in 50 juvenile offenders. Whilst all young offenders received their statutory interventions as the study was conducted, a subgroup of twenty-four offenders also took part in a facial affect training aimed at improving emotion recognition. Offenders in the training and control groups were matched for age, SES, IQ and lifetime crime level. All offenders were tested twice for emotion recognition performance, and recent crime data were collected after the testing had been completed. Results Before the training there were no differences between the groups in emotion recognition, with both groups displaying poor fear, sadness and anger recognition. After the training fear, sadness and anger recognition improved significantly in juvenile offenders in the training group. Although crime rates dropped in all offenders in the 6 months following emotion testing, only the group of offenders who had received the emotion training showed a significant reduction in the severity of the crimes they committed. Conclusions The study indicates that emotion recognition can be relatively easily improved in youths who engage in serious antisocial and criminal behavior. The results suggest that improved emotion recognition has the potential to reduce the severity of reoffending. PMID:26121148

The Remodeling Process: A Grounded Theory Study of Perceptions of Treatment among Adult Male Incest Offenders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scheela, Rochelle A.

1992-01-01

Conducted grounded theory study to explore incest offender perceptions of treatment to generate explanatory theory of sexual abuse treatment process. Findings from theoretical sampling of 20 adult male incest offenders revealed that offenders felt remodeling process occurred as they faced discovery of their abuse and went through treatment.…

Improving Communication Outcomes for Young Offenders: A Proposed Response to Intervention Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snow, Pamela C.; Sanger, Dixie D.; Caire, Laura M.; Eadie, Patricia A.; Dinslage, Teagan

2015-01-01

Background: Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are strongly overrepresented in young offender populations, and there is growing commitment internationally to ensuring access to speech-language therapy services for such young people. However there is currently no framework in which such interventions might be conceptualized, delivered…

Offending, Adjudication, and Outcome Patterns of Solo Male, Solo Female, and Partnered Mass Murderers.

PubMed

Gurian, Elizabeth A

2018-05-01

Research on mass murder is limited due to differences in definitions (particularly with respect to victim count), as well as categorizations based on motive. These limitations restrict our understanding of the offending, adjudication, and outcome patterns of these offenders and can obscure potential underlying similarities to comparable types of offenders (e.g., lone actors or terrorists). To address some of these limitations, this research study, which includes an international sample of 434 cases (455 total offenders), uses descriptive and empirical analyses of solo male, solo female, and partnered mass murderers (teams of two or more) to explore offending, adjudication, and outcome patterns among these different types offenders. While the results from this research study support much previous mass murder research, the findings also emphasize the importance of large international sample sizes, objective categorizations, and the use of empirically based analyses to further advance our understanding of these offenders.

Pathways to Early Violent Death: The Voices of Serious Violent Youth Offenders

PubMed Central

Richardson, Joseph B.; Brown, Jerry; Van Brakle, Michelle

2013-01-01

Quantitative studies have uncovered factors associated with early violent death among youth offenders detained in the juvenile justice system, but little is known about the contextual factors associated with pathways to early violent death among youths detained in adult jails. We interviewed young Black male serious violent youth offenders detained in an adult jail to understand their experience of violence. Their narratives reveal how the code of the street, informal rules that govern interpersonal violence among poor inner-city Black male youths, increases the likelihood of violent victimization. Youth offenders detained in adult jails have the lowest rate of service provision among all jail populations. We have addressed how services for youth offenders can be improved to reduce the pathways to early violent death. PMID:23678923

Pathways to early violent death: the voices of serious violent youth offenders.

PubMed

Richardson, Joseph B; Brown, Jerry; Van Brakle, Michelle

2013-07-01

Quantitative studies have uncovered factors associated with early violent death among youth offenders detained in the juvenile justice system, but little is known about the contextual factors associated with pathways to early violent death among youths detained in adult jails. We interviewed young Black male serious violent youth offenders detained in an adult jail to understand their experience of violence. Their narratives reveal how the code of the street, informal rules that govern interpersonal violence among poor inner-city Black male youths, increases the likelihood of violent victimization. Youth offenders detained in adult jails have the lowest rate of service provision among all jail populations. We have addressed how services for youth offenders can be improved to reduce the pathways to early violent death.

Psychosocial adversity, delinquent pathway and internalizing psychopathology in juvenile male offenders.

PubMed

Lemos, Ida; Faísca, Luis

2015-01-01

The main aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of a set of risk factors relating to childhood life events and other psychosocial factors that may be associated with criminal indicators and with the prevalence of internalizing psychopathology in a sample of adolescent offenders. Fifty male adolescents in the custody of the Portuguese Juvenile Justice System participated in the study (M=15.8 years of age). The Adolescent Psychopathology Scale - Short Form (APS-SF) was administered in a structured interview format, and the sociodemographic, family and criminal data questionnaire was filled in by the justice professional after consulting the adolescent's file. Forty-six percent of all subjects had previous delinquent behavior. About 32% of the boys had committed violent offenses and 88% acted with peers. Also, the persistence of the delinquent behavior (50% of the offenders), coupled with the increase in the severity of the crimes committed (38% of the sample), suggests that these adolescents were at risk for serious and chronic delinquency at the time of the intervention. About 32% of the participants reported posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, 20% had suicide ideation, and a lower percentage reported other internalizing problems. Institutionalization, maltreatment and conduct problems in childhood, and family risk factors (parental conflict, absence of a father figure, lack of parental control and family substance addiction) were related with the report of internalizing problems. Moreover, the increase in the severity of criminal offenses and living in a correctional facility were associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress, interpersonal problems, anxiety and depression. This study draws attention to the importance of assessing indicators of psychopathology and of psychosocial risk in intervention programs with young offenders, but also to the need of family focused interventions in order to help prevent recidivism. Copyright �

The Occurrence of Female-to-Male Partner Violence Among Male Intimate Partner Violence Offenders Mandated to Treatment: A Brief Research Report

PubMed Central

Crane, Cory A.; Hawes, Samuel W.; Mandel, Dolores; Easton, Caroline J.

2014-01-01

Little is known about the perceived perpetration of female-to-male intimate partner violence by victims of male offenders mandated to treatment. Sixty-eight male perpetrators of partner violence completed measures of dyadic violent and aggressive responding at intake and at a 12 week follow-up. Approximately 20% of male offenders reported partner violence perpetration and 30% reported victimization with bi-directional violence as the most common configuration of couple violence. Maladaptive responses to conflict were prevalent across partners. Significant and highly correlated reductions in aversive behaviors were detected across the assessment period for both males and their female partners. Results are interpreted within the context of motivational models of female-to-male partner violence and current treatment approaches. PMID:25750479

Abnormal interhemispheric connectivity in male psychopathic offenders.

PubMed

Hoppenbrouwers, Sylco S; De Jesus, Danilo R; Sun, Yinming; Stirpe, Tania; Hofman, Dennis; McMaster, Jeff; Hughes, Ginny; Daskalakis, Zafiris J; Schutter, Dennis J L G

2014-01-01

Psychopathic offenders inevitably violate interpersonal norms and frequently resort to aggressive and criminal behaviour. The affective and cognitive deficits underlying these behaviours have been linked to abnormalities in functional interhemispheric connectivity. However, direct neurophysiological evidence for dysfunctional connectivity in psychopathic offenders is lacking. We used transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalography to examine interhemispheric connectivity in the dorsolateral and motor cortex in a sample of psychopathic offenders and healthy controls. We also measured intracortical inhibition and facilitation over the left and right motor cortex to investigate the effects of local cortical processes on interhemispheric connectivity. We enrolled 17 psychopathic offenders and 14 controls in our study. Global abnormalities in right to left functional connectivity were observed in psychopathic offenders compared with controls. Furthermore, in contrast to controls, psychopathic offenders showed increased intracortical inhibition in the right, but not the left, hemisphere. The relatively small sample size limited the sensitivity to show that the abnormalities in interhemispheric connectivity were specifically related to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in psychopathic offenders. To our knowledge, this study provides the first neurophysiological evidence for abnormal interhemispheric connectivity in psychopathic offenders and may further our understanding of the disruptive antisocial behaviour of these offenders.

Validation of the Offending-Related Attitudes Questionnaire of CRIME-PICS II Scale (Chinese)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chui, Wing Hong; Wu, Joseph; Kwok, Yan Yuen; Liu, Liu

2017-01-01

This study examined the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the first part of the Chinese version of the CRIME-PICS II Scale, a self-administrated instrument assessing offending-related attitudes. Data were collected from three samples: male Hong Kong young offenders, female Mainland Chinese prisoners, and Hong Kong college students.…

Mapping a Process of Negotiated Identity among Incarcerated Male Juvenile Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrams, Laura S.; Hyun, Anna

2009-01-01

Building on theories of youth identity transitions, this study maps a process of negotiated identity among incarcerated young men. Data are drawn from ethnographic study of three juvenile correctional institutions and longitudinal semistructured interviews with facility residents. Cross-case analysis of 10 cases that finds youth offenders adapted…

Abnormal interhemispheric connectivity in male psychopathic offenders

PubMed Central

Hoppenbrouwers, Sylco S.; De Jesus, Danilo R.; Sun, Yinming; Stirpe, Tania; Hofman, Dennis; McMaster, Jeff; Hughes, Ginny; Daskalakis, Zafiris J.; Schutter, Dennis J.L.G.

2014-01-01

Background Psychopathic offenders inevitably violate interpersonal norms and frequently resort to aggressive and criminal behaviour. The affective and cognitive deficits underlying these behaviours have been linked to abnormalities in functional interhemispheric connectivity. However, direct neurophysiological evidence for dysfunctional connectivity in psychopathic offenders is lacking. Methods We used transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalography to examine interhemispheric connectivity in the dorsolateral and motor cortex in a sample of psychopathic offenders and healthy controls. We also measured intracortical inhibition and facilitation over the left and right motor cortex to investigate the effects of local cortical processes on interhemispheric connectivity. Results We enrolled 17 psychopathic offenders and 14 controls in our study. Global abnormalities in right to left functional connectivity were observed in psychopathic offenders compared with controls. Furthermore, in contrast to controls, psychopathic offenders showed increased intracortical inhibition in the right, but not the left, hemisphere. Limitations The relatively small sample size limited the sensitivity to show that the abnormalities in interhemispheric connectivity were specifically related to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in psychopathic offenders. Conclusion To our knowledge, this study provides the first neurophysiological evidence for abnormal interhemispheric connectivity in psychopathic offenders and may further our understanding of the disruptive antisocial behaviour of these offenders. PMID:23937798

Interventions with Young Female Offenders and Teenage Girls at Risk: Alternative Educational Services in a Singapore Girls' Home

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Kaili Chen; Choo, Andrew; Lim, Liping

2009-01-01

This article presents factors that place girls at risk of delinquency and offending as well as the patterns in juvenile delinquency trends for females in Singapore. The authors also describe Singapore's overall structure of services for young offenders and the current status of alternative education programmes for young women engaged in delinquent…

Male and Female Single-Victim Sexual Homicide Offenders: Distinguishing the Types of Weapons Used in Killing Their Victims.

PubMed

Chan, Heng Choon Oliver; Heide, Kathleen M; Beauregard, Eric

2017-08-01

Most studies have focused on male sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) without testing whether sex differences exist. Accordingly, little is known about the distinctions between male and female SHOs, particularly with respect to their use of weapons in killing their victims. This study used a sample of 3,160 single-victim sexual homicide cases (3,009 male and 151 female offenders) from the U.S. Supplementary Homicide Reports database to explore sex differences in the types of murder weapons used by offenders in killing victims over the 37-year period 1976 to 2012. Findings indicated that significantly more male SHOs used personal weapons (43%) and more female SHOs used firearms (63%) in their offense commission. In general, female offenders predominantly used weapons that were physically less demanding (e.g., firearms and edged and other weapons; 89%). Different trends in the murder weapons used by male and female SHOs from different age groups were observed. Interestingly, findings showed that the type of weapon used by SHOs was in part influenced by the victims and their characteristics.

Criminal offending among males and females between ages 15 and 30 in a population-based nationwide 1981 birth cohort: results from the FinnCrime Study.

PubMed

Elonheimo, Henrik; Gyllenberg, David; Huttunen, Jukka; Ristkari, Terja; Sillanmäki, Lauri; Sourander, André

2014-12-01

We describe the epidemiology of crime between ages 15 and 30 in a population-based sample. We received police register data for 5405 males and females, representing the children born in Finland in 1981. We classified crimes into drug, violent, property, traffic, drunk driving, and sexual crimes, excluding minor traffic offenses. Of males, 60% and of females, 25% were registered for offending. For males, prevalence peaked in late adolescence, while for females, there was no peak age. Offending frequency remained stable for male offenders but was lower among adolescent female offenders. All crime types overlapped each other. Crime accumulated: 1% committed 34% of male and 56% of female offenses. In conclusion, the adolescent peak in offending reflects peaking prevalence among males, not females, nor frequency of offending among offenders. The crime problem is focused on two key groups: late adolescent males and the few males and females in whom crime concentrates. Copyright © 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The predictive validity of criminogenic needs for male and female offenders: comparing the relative impact of needs in predicting recidivism.

PubMed

van der Knaap, Leontien M; Alberda, Daphne L; Oosterveld, Paul; Born, Marise Ph

2012-10-01

Most instruments used to assess offenders' risk of recidivism were developed and validated on male samples. Use of these instruments with female offenders is, however, common practice. This use with female offenders implies the assumption that the risk of recidivism can be predicted on the basis of the same risk factors for women as for men. Yet, this implied gender-neutrality of offender risk instruments has been the topic of much debate. This study compared criminogenic needs in male and female offenders and their relevance in predicting recidivism. A large sample of male and female offenders (N = 16,239) charged with a range of index offenses was studied. Results mainly support the gender neutrality of existing offender risk and needs assessment. However, results do suggest that some criminogenic needs may indeed have a different impact on recidivism for men and women. Problems with accommodation, education and work, and relationships with friends were more strongly correlated to general recidivism in men than in women. For women, difficulties with emotional well-being had a stronger correlation with recidivism than for men. In addition, relative to all other criminogenic needs, problems with emotional well-being were more important for women than for men in predicting general as well as violent recidivism. However, because the bivariate correlation for female offenders between emotional difficulties and recidivism is weak (as it is for male offenders), the question remains whether the relative importance of emotional difficulties in predicting recidivism in women actually has clinical relevance. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Psychopathic traits and offender characteristics – a nationwide consecutive sample of homicidal male adolescents

PubMed Central

Lindberg, Nina; Laajasalo, Taina; Holi, Matti; Putkonen, Hanna; Weizmann-Henelius, Ghitta; Häkkänen-Nyholm, Helinä

2009-01-01

Background The aim of the study was to evaluate psychopathy-like personality traits in a nationwide consecutive sample of adolescent male homicide offenders and to compare the findings with those of a randomly sampled adult male homicide offender group. A further aim was to investigate associations between psychopathic traits and offender and offence characteristics in adolescent homicides. Methods Forensic psychiatric examination reports and crime reports of all 15 to19- year- old male Finnish offenders who had been subjected to a forensic psychiatric examination and convicted for a homicide during 1995–2004 were collected (n = 57). A random sample of 57 adult male homicide offenders was selected as a comparison group. Offence and offender characteristics were collected from the files and a file-based assessment of psychopathic traits was performed using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) by trained raters. Results No significant differences existed between the adolescents and adults in PCL-R total scores, factor 2 (social deviance) scores, or in facets 3 (lifestyle) and 4 (antisocial). Adults scored significantly higher on factor 1 (interpersonal/affective) and facets 1 (interpersonal) and 2 (affective). The adolescent group was divided into two subgroups according to PCL-R total scores. One in five homicidal male adolescents met criteria for psychopathic personality using a PCL-R total score of 26 or higher. These boys significantly more often had a crime history before the index homicide, more frequently used excessive violence during the index homicide, more rarely lived with both parents until 16 years of age, had more institutional or foster home placements in childhood, had more school difficulties, more often had received special education, and, more often had contact with mental health services prior to age 18 years than boys scoring low on the PCL-R. They also more often had parental criminal history as well as homicide history of parents

Incarcerated Dutch Juvenile Sex Offenders Compared with Non-Sex Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Wijk, Anton Ph.; Vreugdenhil, Coby; van Horn, Joan; Vermeiren, Robert; Doreleijers, Theo A. H.

2007-01-01

There is some debate about whether or not sex offenders are similar to non-sex offenders with regard to family background (parental characteristics), personality, and psychopathology. The central aim of this study focused on the comparison of juvenile sex offenders and non-sex offenders. The sample consisted of incarcerated juvenile male sex (n =…

Taking Responsibility: Preparing Young Offenders to Handle Disclosure on the Job

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pham, Yen K.; Unruh, Deanne K.; Waintrup, Miriam; Sinclair, James; Johnson, Michael D.; Alverson, Charlotte Y.

2017-01-01

In facilitating prosocial identity formation and preventing recidivism among adjudicated youth upon reentry to school and community, one key issue to address is the confidentiality of juvenile records. Educators can support young offenders by teaching youth to problem-solve the disclosure of past juvenile involvements. This article discusses two…

Male adolescent sexual offenders: exhibitionism and obscene phone calls.

PubMed

Saunders, E B; Awad, G A

1991-01-01

Clinical assessment of 19 male adolescent sexual offenders who had committed exhibitionism or telephone scatologia showed that the majority were maladjusted, had committed numerous sexual offenses and came from multi-problem families. Several of them appeared to be sexually deviant, although they did not meet DSM-III-R criteria for a diagnosis of paraphilia. Anti-social traits, sexual deviance in the family, homosexual conflicts, repressed sexuality and sexual deviance were considered to be contributory factors.

[Does the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) identify a clinically relevant subgroup among young offenders?].

PubMed

Mingers, Daniel; Köhler, Denis; Huchzermeier, Christian; Hinrichs, Günter

2017-01-01

Does the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory identify one or more high-risk subgroups among young offenders? Which recommendations for possible courses of action can be derived for individual clinical or forensic cases? Method: Model-based cluster analysis (Raftery, 1995) was conducted on a sample of young offenders (N = 445, age 14–22 years, M = 18.5, SD = 1.65). The resulting model was then tested for differences between clusters with relevant context variables of psychopathy. The variables included measures of intelligence, social competence, drug use, and antisocial behavior. Results: Three clusters were found (Low Trait, Impulsive/Irresponsible, Psychopathy) that differ highly significantly concerning YPI scores and the variables mentioned above. The YPI Scores Δ Low = 4.28 (Low Trait – Impulsive/Irresponsible) and Δ High = 6.86 (Impulsive/Irresponsible – Psychopathy) were determined to be thresholds between the clusters. The allocation of a person to be assessed within the calculated clusters allows for an orientation of consequent tests beyond the diagnosis of psychopathy. We conclude that the YPI is a valuable instrument for the assessment of young offenders, as it yields clinically and forensically relevant information concerning the cause and expected development of psychopathological behavior.

Evaluating the psycholegal abilities of young offenders with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

PubMed

McLachlan, Kaitlyn; Roesch, Ronald; Viljoen, Jodi L; Douglas, Kevin S

2014-02-01

Individuals with a diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) experience a range of physical, cognitive, and behavioral deficits thought to interfere with their ability to competently navigate the arrest, interrogation, and trial process. This study examined the psycholegal abilities of young offenders with FASD, including their understanding and appreciation of Miranda rights, and adjudication capacities (factual knowledge of criminal procedure, appreciation of the nature and object of the proceedings, ability to participate in a defense and communicate with counsel). Two groups of young offenders (50 with FASD and 50 without prenatal alcohol exposure) completed Grisso's Instruments for Assessing Understanding and Appreciation of Miranda rights and the Fitness Interview Test-Revised to assess overall rates of impairment in youth with FASD, as well as differences between the groups. Potentially important predictors of psycholegal abilities were also evaluated. Results indicated the majority of young offenders with FASD (90%) showed impairment in at least one psycholegal ability, and rates of impairment were significantly higher than the comparison group. However, considerable within-group variability was observed. IQ and reading comprehension emerged as robust predictors of participants' psycholegal abilities, while the FASD diagnosis differentiated participants' scores on the FIT-R. These findings underscore the importance of individualized and comprehensive forensic assessments of psycholegal abilities in this population when warranted. Additional system level strains for this population are discussed, including problems in approaching competency remediation, and the potentially growing need for accommodation and forensic assessments in the face of limited financial and professional resources in legal settings.

Female versus Male Perpetrated Femicide: An Exploratory Analysis of Whether Offender Gender Matters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muftic, Lisa R.; Baumann, Miranda L.

2012-01-01

Femicide, the murder of females (most often at the hands of males), is an understudied area in homicide research. Furthermore, femicide perpetrated by females has been all but ignored. One reason this may be is because of the rarity of homicide victimization perpetrated by females. Rather, most homicide incidents consist of a male offender and a…

Original research: online social networking patterns among adolescents, young adults, and sexual offenders.

PubMed

Dowdell, Elizabeth B; Burgess, Ann W; Flores, J Robert

2011-07-01

The use of online social networks like Facebook continues to increase rapidly among all age groups and segments of our society, presenting new opportunities for the exchange of sexual information as well as for potentially unsafe encounters between predators and the vulnerable or young. This study surveyed middle school, high school, and college-age students, as well as sexual offenders, regarding their use of social networking sites in order to provide information to better focus education and prevention efforts from nurses and other health care providers. Written questionnaires asking about various characteristics of participants' use of social networking sites were distributed to each group and filled out by 404 middle school students, 2,077 high school students, 1,284 students drawn from five traditional four-year colleges, and 466 adults who had committed either an Internet sexual offense or a hands-on sexual offense (in some cases both). Notable findings emerging from our analysis of the questionnaire responses included the following: offenders and students both frequent social networking sites, although at the time of the study offenders reported that they preferred Myspace and students that they preferred Facebook; nearly two-thirds of the Internet offenders said they'd initiated the topic of sex in their first chat session; more than half of the Internet offenders disguised their identity when online; most Internet offenders we surveyed said they preferred communicating with teenage girls rather than teenage boys; high school students' experience with "sexting" (sharing nude photos of themselves or others on cell phones or online) differed significantly according to their sex; a small number of students are being threatened and assaulted by people they meet online; avatar sites such as Second Life were used both by students and offenders, with both child molesters and Internet offenders expressing interest in Second Life. The use of the Internet presents

Traumatic brain injury, mental health, substance use, and offending among incarcerated young people.

PubMed

Moore, Elizabeth; Indig, Devon; Haysom, Leigh

2014-01-01

Despite being at high risk, little is known about traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) among incarcerated young people. This study aims to describe the prevalence of TBI among incarcerated young people and assess the association with mental health, substance use, and offending behaviors. The 2009 NSW Young People in Custody Health Survey was conducted in 9 juvenile detention centers. A total of 361 young people agreed to participate, representing 80% of all incarcerated young people. Young people were asked if they ever had a head injury where they became unconscious or "blacked-out." The survey used the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders for Children to assess for psychiatric disorders, the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, and the Severity of Dependence Scale to measure problematic substance use. The sample comprised 88% man, 48% Aboriginal, with an average age of 17 years. One-third (32%) of young people reported ever experiencing a TBI, and 13% reported multiple TBIs. The majority (92%) of "most serious" TBIs were defined as mild, and the most common cause was an assault (62% woman, 34% man). Young people who reported a history of TBI (compared with those reporting no TBI) were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder, psychological distress, a history of bullying, problematic substance use, participation in fights, and offending behaviors. Reporting multiple (>2) TBIs conferred a higher risk of psychological disorders and problematic substance use. Incarcerated young people have high rates of TBI. Enhanced detection of TBI among incarcerated young people will assist clinicians in addressing the associated psychosocial sequelae.

Body size and violent offending among males in the Northern Finland 1966 birth cohort.

PubMed

Ikäheimo, Pauliina; Räsänen, Pirkko; Hakko, Helinä; Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa; Laitinen, Jaana; Hodgins, Sheilagh; Tiihonen, Jari

2007-10-01

Childhood onset aggressive behavior is one of the most stable human characteristics. Previous literature indicates that this behavioral trait may be associated with body size. The present study investigated the association between body sizes at different ages and committing violent crimes in adulthood. The Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort includes 5636 males followed up to age 31 years prospectively. Information on criminality was extracted from official records. Body sizes were measured at birth, 12 months and 14 years of age, and compared the violent and the non-violent offenders with the non-offenders. Optimal cut-off points for each of the body size measures for the differentiation of the three groups were identified. Odds ratios were adjusted taking account of maternal age, socioeconomic status of the family of origin, mother's marital status, parity, smoking during pregnancy, gestational age and unwanted pregnancy. Both high body mass index (BMI) and small head circumference at 12 months were associated with increased risk of violent offending (adjusted ORs 1.6-1.8). High BMI at 12 months combined with small head circumference was associated with substantially increased risk of violent offending (OR 4.2, 95% CI 2.6-6.8). In males, small head circumference and large body size at 12 months of age were strongly associated with an increased risk of violent, but not non-violent offending in adulthood. The measures at 12 months were the strongest predictors, suggesting that this association may be explained by genetic or early environmental factors, rather than social learning later in childhood and adolescence.

Young offenders' perspectives on their literacy and communication skills.

PubMed

Hopkins, Thomas; Clegg, Judy; Stackhouse, Joy

2016-01-01

Research has revealed that the youth offending population has low language ability when assessed on standardized language measures. However, little is known about the perceptions young offenders (YOs) have of their own literacy ability and their communicative interactions with others. Such knowledge might further our understanding of the possible association between language, literacy and offending behaviour. This study investigates the perceptions and experiences YOs have of using literacy and communicating with others. It addresses the following questions. How satisfied are YOs with their own literacy and communication skills and how important do YOs perceive these to be? How much do YOs believe they understand others in their communicative interactions? How satisfied are YOs with their communicative interactions with others and how does this influence conflict at home, school, and in the youth justice system? An opportunity sample of 31 YOs on court orders were recruited from a local youth offending service, excluding any who did not have English as a first language or were in receipt of current speech and language therapy provision. Twenty-six qualitative individual semi-structured interviews and two focus group interviews were carried out and analysed using a framework analysis method. Themes revealed participants were dissatisfied with their communication and literacy ability. Other themes identified were difficulty in understanding others, a perceived lack of support and respect gained from others, and a negative impact of communication on self-esteem. The findings suggest that YOs often found themselves in disputes with authority figures, but that they avoided using positive communication to solve such conflicts and also avoided confiding in others. The findings support the results found from quantitative research on the language abilities of YOs. This emphasizes the value in adopting qualitative methodology to understand the relationship between literacy

Sexual assault as a crime against young people.

PubMed

Felson, Richard B; Cundiff, Patrick R

2014-02-01

Evidence based on almost 300,000 sexual assaults from the National Incident-Based Reporting System showed that the modal age of victims was 15 years, regardless of the age of the offender, the gender of the offender, or the gender of the victim. We suggest that adolescents have the highest risk of victimization because of their sexual attractiveness, vulnerability, and exposure to motivated offenders. As a result of these factors, sexual assault is as much an offense against young people as it is against women. The sexual attractiveness of young people also has implications for the age of offenders. Older men have much higher rates of offending than one would expect, given the age-desistance relationship. Thus, we found that older men have much higher rates of sexual assault than physical assault. Finally, evidence suggested that homosexual men were at least as likely as heterosexual men to commit sexual assault. The pattern suggests that the tendency for sexual assaults to involve male offenders and female victims reflects male sexuality rather than attitudes toward women.

Female versus male perpetrated femicide: an exploratory analysis of whether offender gender matters.

PubMed

Muftić, Lisa R; Baumann, Miranda L

2012-09-01

Femicide, the murder of females (most often at the hands of males), is an understudied area in homicide research. Furthermore, femicide perpetrated by females has been all but ignored. One reason this may be is because of the rarity of homicide victimization perpetrated by females. Rather, most homicide incidents consist of a male offender and a male victim. When a homicide does involve a female, either as a victim or as an offender, the other party implicated is generally a male. The primary goal of the proposed study is to provide an in-depth, albeit exploratory, examination of female-perpetrated femicide. Using homicide data taken from the Dallas Homicide Unit, 403 cases of femicide will be analyzed, with special attention devoted to comparing female-perpetrated femicide incidents (n = 39) against male-perpetrated femicide incidents (n = 364). Specifically, the current study will explore the similarities and differences in sociodemographic characteristics of victims and suspects, offense characteristics, and offense circumstances. Contrary to what was expected, results, at first glance, seem to suggest an overwhelming similarity between femicide suspects and victims, irrespective of gender. However, when the relationship between victim and suspect is considered, distinct differences appear. Implications from these findings as well as limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Parental and perinatal risk factors for sexual offending in men: a nationwide case-control study.

PubMed

Babchishin, K M; Seto, M C; Sariaslan, A; Lichtenstein, P; Fazel, S; Långström, N

2017-01-01

Prior studies suggest parental and perinatal risk factors are associated with later offending. It remains uncertain, however, if such risk factors are similarly related to sexual offending. We linked socio-demographic, family relations, and perinatal (obtained at birth) data from the nationwide Swedish registers from 1973 to 2009 with information on criminal convictions of cases and control subjects. Male sex offenders (n = 13 773) were matched 1:5 on birth year and county of birth in Sweden to male controls without sexual or non-sexual violent convictions. To examine risk-factor specificity for sexual offending, we also compared male violent, non-sexual offenders (n = 135 953) to controls without sexual or non-sexual violent convictions. Predictors included parental (young maternal or paternal age at son's birth, educational attainment, violent crime, psychiatric disorder, substance misuse, suicide attempt) and perinatal (number of older brothers, low Apgar score, low birth weight, being small for gestational age, congenital malformations, small head size) variables. Conditional logistic regression models found consistent patterns of statistically significant, small to moderate independent associations of parental risk factors with sons' sexual offending and non-sexual violent offending. For perinatal risk factors, patterns varied more; small for gestational age and small head size exhibited similar risk effects for both offence types whereas a higher number of older biological brothers and any congenital malformation were small, independent risk factors only for non-sexual violence. This nationwide study suggests substantial commonalities in parental and perinatal risk factors for the onset of sexual and non-sexual violent offending.

Abuse Experiences of Family Members, Child Maltreatment, and the Development of Sex Offending Among Incarcerated Adolescent Males.

PubMed

McCuish, Evan C; Cale, Jesse; Corrado, Raymond R

2017-02-01

Child sexual abuse is considered a risk factor for the development of sexual offending in adolescence. Beyond this, comparisons of the risk factor profiles between adolescent sex offenders (ASOs) and adolescent non-sex offenders (ANSOs) have uncovered minimal differences. However, differences between ASOs and ANSOs in terms of patterns in the abuse histories of their family members have rarely been studied. The aim in the current study was to retrospectively examine histories of abuse among family members of ASOs compared with ANSOs to determine whether and how these were related to youth abuse experiences and sexual offending in adolescence. The current study is based on a sample of 482 incarcerated male adolescents (ASOs = 67, ANSOs = 415). Latent class analysis was conducted to determine multidimensional familial abuse profiles, and a series of logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between family abuse profiles, youth abuse experiences, and adolescent sexual offending. Overall, familial abuse profiles were related to subsequent youth abuse experiences and sexual offending, and these abuse profiles differentiated ASOs and ANSOs.

A TYPOLOGY OF DRUG-RELATED OFFENDING AMONG YOUNG HOMELESS INJECTION DRUG USERS

PubMed Central

Sanders, Bill; Lankenau, Stephen E.; Jackson Bloom, Jennifer; Hathaz, Dodi S.

2011-01-01

Research indicates a link between drug use and offending, particularly amongst high-risk individuals, such as homeless youth. The extent to which such youth interpret their offending as being related to their drug use, though, is understudied. This manuscript investigates the interpretations of drug-related offenses offered by 151 primarily white, male, homeless IDUs aged 16–29 years. Youth were asked specific questions about their drug-related offenses during in-depth interviews as part of a larger study investigating health risks surrounding drug injection between 2004 and 2006. The first section of the manuscript outlines offenses youth revealed committing either in pursuit of or after using a variety of substances. The second part of the manuscript examines the overall context (motivation, environment), and provides a seven-tiered typology of drug-related offending based on youth's interpretations, linking certain drugs to specific offenses within particular contexts. From here, some theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. PMID:21423855

Male Adolescent Sex Offenders against Children: Similarities and Differences between Those Offenders with and Those without a History of Sexual Abuse.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hummel, Peter; Thomke, Volker; Oldenburger, Hartmut A.; Specht, Friedrich

2000-01-01

Compares sample of male adolescents (n=36) in relation to their personal development, family characteristics, and types of offense they committed, including those (n=16) with a history of sexual abuse who had offended against children. The most important difference between the two groups was the more frequent absence of the parents of adolescents…

The Effectiveness of Challenging Skills in Work With Young Offenders.

PubMed

Trotter, Chris; Evans, Phillipa; Baidawi, Susan

2017-03-01

Probation officers and others who work with young offenders often challenge or confront their clients in relation to pro-criminal comments and criminal behaviour. There is, however, very little research that can inform practitioners about which forms of challenging most effectively engage young people. This study examines the use of challenging by youth justice workers in New South Wales, Australia. Researchers observed and audiotaped 116 interviews between youth justice workers and their clients with a view to examining the nature of challenging used by workers and the response of young people to different forms of challenging. Qualitative and quantitative findings indicate that the clients were more positively engaged by, and responsive to, challenging that was exploratory, non-blaming, and accompanied by positive reinforcement of their strengths. Excerpts taken from the interviews provide examples of high- and low-level use of the skill of challenging.

A comparison of offending trajectories in violent youth according to violence type.

PubMed

Ching, Hannah; Daffern, Michael; Thomas, Stuart

2017-02-01

Widespread public concern about youth violence persists, particularly the so-called acts of appetitive violence characterised by positive affect and exemplified in modern trends such as 'happy slapping'. Empirical research into this phenomenon is scant. The aim of this study was to determine whether perpetration of appetitive violence signals a specific offending trajectory. We reviewed reports and related material from 105 violent young offenders referred to court mental health services in the state of Victoria, Australia. Index violent offences were categorised as appetitive or not. Official police records were used to determine rearrest during the 12 months following mental health assessment. The nine young people whose offence was classified as appetitive were male and did not reoffend, generally or violently, at different rates than the other youths. The offending trajectories of young people with appetitively violent index offences were indistinguishable from other violent youths. There is thus insufficient information here to recommend distinctive intervention for this subgroup, but their high reoffending rate (7/9) suggests that they are worthy of more research attention. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Distinguishing among weapons offenders, drug offenders, and weapons and drug offenders based on childhood predictors and adolescent correlates.

PubMed

Stephens, Skye; Day, David M

2013-07-01

Weapons and drug offences incur a large cost to society and tend to be strongly associated. Improved understanding of their antecedents could inform targeted early intervention and prevention programmes. This study aimed to examine differences in criminal careers, childhood predictors and adolescent correlates among weapons-only offenders, drugs-only offenders and a versatile group of weapons + drugs offenders. We conducted a longitudinal records study of 455 young Canadians charged with drug and/or weapons offences who started their offending in late childhood/early adolescence. Consistent with expectation, differences emerged in their criminal careers as the versatile group had a longer criminal career and desisted from offending at a later age than weapons-only offenders. Against prediction, weapons-only offenders experienced the greatest number of childhood predictors and adolescent correlates. The three offending groups could be differentiated on offending trajectories and developmental factors.In making links between past events and later behaviour, life-course criminology may inform development of effective early intervention and prevention strategies.As weapons-only offenders experience the greatest level of adversity in childhood and adolescence, they may benefit most (of these three groups) from early intervention and prevention programmes.A reduction in weapon carrying and use might be achieved by early identification of children risk factors (e.g. family adversity) and appropriate intervention. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Identifying gender specific risk/need areas for male and female juvenile offenders: Factor analyses with the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY).

PubMed

Hilterman, Ed L B; Bongers, Ilja; Nicholls, Tonia L; van Nieuwenhuizen, Chijs

2016-02-01

By constructing risk assessment tools in which the individual items are organized in the same way for male and female juvenile offenders it is assumed that these items and subscales have similar relevance across males and females. The identification of criminogenic needs that vary in relevance for 1 of the genders, could contribute to more meaningful risk assessments, especially for female juvenile offenders. In this study, exploratory factor analyses (EFA) on a construction sample of male (n = 3,130) and female (n = 466) juvenile offenders were used to aggregate the 30 items of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) into empirically based risk/need factors and explore differences between genders. The factor models were cross-validated through confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) on a validation sample of male (n = 2,076) and female (n = 357) juvenile offenders. In both the construction sample and the validation sample, 5 factors were identified: (a) Antisocial behavior; (b) Family functioning; (c) Personality traits; (d) Social support; and (e) Treatability. The male and female models were significantly different and the internal consistency of the factors was good, both in the construction sample and the validation sample. Clustering risk/need items for male and female juvenile offenders into meaningful factors may guide clinicians in the identification of gender-specific treatment interventions. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved.

Implementing Adlerian Sand Tray Therapy with Adult Male Substance Abuse Offenders: A Phenomenological Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monakes, Sarah; Garza, Yvonne; Wiesner, Van, III; Watts, Richard E.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions of adult male substance offenders who experienced sand tray therapy as an adjunct to their cognitive behavioral rehabilitative treatment. Results indicate a positive experience for participants. Implications for counselors are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

Why Doesn't He Leave? Relationship Continuity and Satisfaction among Male Domestic Violence Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henning, Kris; Connor-Smith, Jennifer

2011-01-01

In contrast to the extensive literature on women's decisions to leave violent relationships, there is little research examining relationship continuity from the offending male's perspective. Similarly, research exploring relationship satisfaction in men arrested for intimate partner violence (IPV) is lacking, despite the fact that dissatisfaction…

Self-perceptions and their Prediction of Aggression in Male Juvenile Offenders.

PubMed

Smith, Stephanie D; Lynch, Rebecca J; Stephens, Haley F; Kistner, Janet A

2015-08-01

This study evaluated multiple facets of self-perceptions that have been theorized and shown to play a contributory role in the development of aggression for less clinically severe populations in a sample of youths from the juvenile justice system. Independent and unique associations of low self-esteem and inflated self-perceptions with aggression were examined in a sample of male juvenile offenders (N = 119; Mean age = 16.74 years) using a longitudinal study design. Latent growth curve modeling analyses revealed that self-esteem, adaptive and maladaptive narcissism independently predicted juvenile offenders' initial levels of aggression. It was also found that perceptual bias independently predicted changes in aggression over time. With the inclusion of all variables in the same model, self-esteem was no longer associated with aggression; however, all other relationships remained significant. The implications of these findings as well as the importance of interventions targeting self-perceptions to decrease aggression among high-risk youths are discussed.

Homicide offenders 32 years later - a Swedish population-based study on recidivism.

PubMed

Sturup, Joakim; Lindqvist, Per

2014-02-01

The literature on recidivism by homicide offenders is scarce despite its importance for individuals and for society. To establish the rate of seriously violent re-offending among homicide offenders and identify risk factors for such recidivism. A 1970s incident cohort of all homicide offenders, sane and insane, from two regions of Sweden (N = 153) was followed up until 2007 using data from the national crime register. Ten per cent of the cohort (n = 15) re-offended. The mean time from index offence to recidivism was 9.4 years. Five people (3%) committed a further homicide, and it was established that another five (3%) offenders had killed before the index offence. Prospective risk factors for violent recidivism were young age, psychotic disorder, male victim, acquainted victim and intoxicated victim. The prevalence of repeated homicide is higher than previously reported. Victim variables and mental disorder in conjunction with substance abuse appear to be two domains of particular significance for recidivism. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stimuli eliciting sexual arousal in males who offend adult women: an experimental study.

PubMed

Kolárský, A; Madlafousek, J; Novotná, V

1978-03-01

The sexually arousing effects of short film scenes showing a naked actress's seductive behavior were phalloplethysmographically measured in 14 sexual deviates. These were males who had offended adult women, predominantly exhibitionists. Controls were 14 normal men. Deviates responded positively to the scenes and differentiated strong and weak seduction scenes similarly to normals. Consequently, the question arises of why deviates avoid their victim's erotic cooperation and why they do not offend their regular sexual partners. Post hoc analysis of five scenes which elicited a strikingly higher response in deviates than in normals suggested that these scenes contained reduced seductive behavior but unrestrained presentation of the genitals. This finding further encourages the laboratory study of stimulus conditions for abnormal sexual arousal which occurs during the sexual offense.

Sexual Offending in Adolescence: A Comparison of Sibling Offenders and Nonsibling Offenders across Domains of Risk and Treatment Need

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latzman, Natasha E.; Viljoen, Jodi L.; Scalora, Mario J.; Ullman, Daniel

2011-01-01

Sibling sexual offending has received limited empirical attention, despite estimates that approximately half of all adolescent-perpetrated sexual offenses involve a sibling victim. The present study addresses this gap by examining male adolescent sibling (n = 100) and nonsibling offenders (n = 66) with regard to maltreatment histories and scores…

Female Sex Offenders: Is There a Difference Between Solo and Co-Offenders?

PubMed

Ten Bensel, Tusty; Gibbs, Benjamin; Burkey, Chris Rush

2016-10-01

Studies on female sex offending have been limited for a number of reasons, such as societal perceptions that females are incapable of engaging in such behaviors because of their role as caretakers and nurturers in society. However, over the past few decades, studies examining female sex offenders have increased, revealing that females do commit sexual offenses and differ from their male counterparts. We examined offender, victim, and offense characteristics of female sex offenders who were convicted from 1995 to 2013 ( N = 223) in Arkansas and were sentenced to serve time in prison or placed on probation. We focused on the similarities and differences of solo and co-female sex offenders because we know from previous studies that the pathway of offending can differ between solo and co-female offenders, yet few studies have exclusively compared the similarities and differences among female sex offenders. Our data were collected from offender files that included basic personal offender information, offender survey and social history, criminal history, incident reports while incarcerated, court records, police investigation reports, initial offender and victim statements (prior to offender incarceration), and probation/parole reports. We believe the results of this study will provide further insight into the types of female sex offenders as well as the possible differences between co- and solo-offenders in relation to their victim preferences, risk levels, rehabilitation amenability, and recidivism propensities.

Ethnic Identity and Offending Trajectories among Mexican American Juvenile Offenders: Gang Membership and Psychosocial Maturity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knight, George P.; Losoya, Sandra H.; Cho, Young Il; Chassin, Laurie; Williams, Joanna Lee; Cota-Robles, Sonia

2012-01-01

We examined the association of joint trajectories of ethnic identity and criminal offending to psychosocial maturity, gang membership, and Mexican American affiliation among 300 Mexican American male juvenile offenders from ages 14 to 22. There were two low-offending groups: one was the highest in ethnic identity and changing slightly with age and…

Career Salience of Institutionalized Adolescent Offenders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munson, Wayne W.; Strauss, Christine F.

1993-01-01

Investigated self-esteem and career salience of institutionalized male adolescent offenders (n=185) in context of Super's lifespan career development theory. Results indicated that participation, commitment, and values expectations in home-family roles contributed significantly to self-esteem in adolescent offenders. Adolescent offenders differed…

Towards a neurobiological model of offending.

PubMed

Mitchell, Ian J; Beech, Anthony R

2011-07-01

In this paper we consider how disturbances in the neurobiological/neurochemical processes at a young age lead to problematic attachment styles in later life, and which can potentiate probability of offending behavior. In particular, we will contrast attachment and offending patterns of the more generalist type of offender (i.e., those who have a varied criminal career, committing both violent and non-violent offenses, in extremis the psychopathic type of offender), with the more specialist sexual offender (prototypically, the fixated pedophile), in the light of a preliminary neurobiological model. Here, we will argue that these two extremes of offenders show, or are predicted to show, differential patterns of neurochemical/neurobiological functioning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How Effective Are Severe Disciplinary Policies? School Policies and Offending from Adolescence into Young Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matjasko, Jennifer L.

2011-01-01

Based on the stage environment and the person environment fit perspectives, the current study examined the relation between school disciplinary policies and offending from adolescence into young adulthood. Using Waves I and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (a.k.a., Add Health), hierarchical multinomial logistic…

Learning and Thinking: A Behavioral Treatise on Abuse and Antisocial Behavior in Young Criminal Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prather, Walter; Golden, Jeannie A.

2009-01-01

Social learning theory provides a useful conceptual framework for understanding abuse and the teaching and learning of antisocial or criminal behavior in young offenders. This article examines social learning theory and the quality of parent-child relationships from the perspective of behavioral analysis, and provides a rationale for a…

Gender constructions of male sex offenders in Germany: narrative analysis from group psychotherapy.

PubMed

Moertl, Kathrin; Buchholz, Michael B; Lamott, Franziska

2010-02-01

This study was conducted to analyze how male sexual offenders construct mental images of masculinity and femininity to provide insight into therapeutic treatment for such patients. Thematerial examined in this studywas comprised of 21 videotaped prison group therapy sessions in which the participating sexual offenders talked about their crimes and biographies. Aqualitative data analysis softwarewas usedto apply a modified grounded theorymethodology to the transcribed sessions. The resulting categories can be understood as descriptions of how the imprisoned men constructed gender images, and were based on three narrative levels: the structure of narration, the narrative positions in the story, and the interaction between the narrator and the other participants. According to the categories describedin the narrative positions (the narrated self and the narrated significant male others), we constructed masculinity categorizations which corresponded to specific images of femininity (derived from the narrated significant female others).The constructionsprovided insight into the selfimage of the narrator, as well as the accountability and positioning of himself and the other in regard to perpetrator-victim constructions. The study further revealed whether the participants either accepted or rejected responsibility and guilt for their crimes; this is essential for psychotherapeutic process and treatment.

Offending outcomes of a mental health youth diversion pilot scheme in England.

PubMed

Haines, Alina; Lane, Steven; McGuire, James; Perkins, Elizabeth; Whittington, Richard

2015-04-01

A youth justice diversion scheme designed to enhance health provision for young people with mental health and developmental problems as soon as they enter the youth justice system has been piloted in six areas of England. As part of a wider evaluation of the first youth justice diversion scheme outside the USA, our aim here was to examine re-offending. We sought to test the hypothesis that a specialised service for young people with mental health difficulties would be associated with reductions in re-offending. In addition, we examined factors associated with the re-offending that occurred. Two hundred and eight young offenders with access to the diversion scheme and 200 without were compared in four geographical area pairings to allow for socio-demographic contextual differences. Officially recorded re-offending was ascertained for 15-30 months after study entry. We also tested characteristics associated with re-offending among everyone entering the diversion scheme (n = 870). There was no statistically significant difference in re-offending rates between the diversion and comparison samples, but those with access to diversion had significantly longer periods of desistance from offending than those who did not. In multivariate analysis, the only significant characteristic associated with re-offending was history of previous offending. Prevention of re-offending is only one of the potentially beneficial outcomes of diversion of young people who are vulnerable because of mental health problems, but it is an important one. The advantage of longer survival without prevention of re-offending suggests that future research should explore critical timings for these young people. The equivocal nature of the findings suggests that a randomised controlled trial would be justified. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evaluating the "Reasoning and Rehabilitation" Program for Young Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Jonathan; Palmer, Emma J.

2004-01-01

The effectiveness of the Reasoning and Rehabilitation (R and R) program with juvenile offenders in an English prison was evaluated using reconviction and reimprisonment at eighteen months post-release as outcomes. A group of offenders who completed the program (n = 31) were compared with a group of offenders who did not receive the program (n =…

Modulatory effects of psychopathy on Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance in male offenders with Antisocial Personality Disorder.

PubMed

Pera-Guardiola, Vanessa; Batalla, Iolanda; Bosque, Javier; Kosson, David; Pifarré, Josep; Hernández-Ribas, Rosa; Goldberg, Ximena; Contreras-Rodríguez, Oren; Menchón, José M; Soriano-Mas, Carles; Cardoner, Narcís

2016-01-30

Neuropsychological deficits in executive functions (EF) have been linked to antisocial behavior and considered to be cardinal to the onset and persistence of severe antisocial and aggressive behavior. However, when psychopathy is present, prior evidence suggests that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is unaffected leading to intact EF. Ninety-one male offenders with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and 24 controls completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). ASPD individuals were grouped in three categories according to Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) scores (low, medium and high). We hypothesized that ASPD offenders with high PCL-R scores will not differ from healthy controls in EF and will show better EF performance in comparison with subjects with low PCL-R scores. Results showed that ASPD offenders with low PCL-R scores committed more perseverative errors and responses than controls and offenders with high PCL-R scores, which did not differ from healthy controls. Moreover, scores on Factor 1 and the interpersonal facet of the PCL-R were predictors of better WCST performance. Our results suggest a modulatory role of psychopathy in the cognitive performance of ASPD offenders, and provide further evidence supporting that offenders with ASPD and psychopathy are characterized by a cognitive profile different from those with ASPD without psychopathy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Underage female DUI offenders: personality characteristics, psychosocial stressors, alcohol and other drug use, and driving-risk.

PubMed

Moore, R H

1994-04-01

164 underage female DUI offenders were evaluated on measures of personality, driving-risk, psychosocial stressors, alcohol and other drug use, alcohol abuse, and symptoms of depression. Empirical classification of 10 groups represented five distinct types. 31 youth who were classified as Antisocial exhibited highest rates of alcohol misuse, other drug use, deviant driving behavior, traffic offenses and accidents, and psychosocial stressors. About 56% or 92 appeared to experience impaired functioning serious enough to warrant interventions more intense than educational classes. A measure of driving-risk developed and used in studies of male adults, the Donovan Research Questionnaire, did not appear to differentiate driving-risk among the young women. In contrast to male drivers, who often expressed anger or aggression through driving, most subjects appeared to react to emotion-eliciting stimuli with feelings of low self-worth or dysphoric affect rather than anger. Specialized screening suitable for young female DUI offenders should be considered.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Interventions Relevant for Young Offenders with Mood Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, or Self-Harm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Townsend, Ellen; Walker, Dawn-Marie; Sargeant, Sally; Vostanis, Panos; Hawton, Keith; Stocker, Olivia; Sithole, Jabulani

2010-01-01

Background: Mood and anxiety disorders, and problems with self-harm are significant and serious issues that are common in young people in the Criminal Justice System. Aims: To examine whether interventions relevant to young offenders with mood or anxiety disorders, or problems with self-harm are effective. Method: Systematic review and…

Substance use and risk of death in young offenders: a prospective data linkage study.

PubMed

Kinner, Stuart A; Degenhardt, Louisa; Coffey, Carolyn; Hearps, Stephen; Spittal, Matthew; Sawyer, Susan M; Patton, George C

2015-01-01

Young offenders are at increased risk of preventable death after release from custody, but risk factors for death in this population are poorly understood. Despite their poor health profiles, no studies have examined mortality outcomes in young people who have served community-based orders. The aims of this study were to describe the causes and identify risk factors for death in a cohort of young offenders in Victoria, Australia. We interviewed young people serving a custodial (n = 273) or community-based order (n = 242) in Victoria, Australia in 2002-2003. Measures included demographics and family history, offence history, experience of victimisation, mental illness, self-harm and substance use. Deaths up to 31 December 2011 were identified through a probabilistic linkage with the National Death Index. The all-cause crude mortality rate was 4.2 (95% confidence interval 2.7-6.8) per 1000 person years and was not significantly different for those who had served custodial and community-based orders. Most deaths were due to drug overdose, traffic accidents or suicide. Adjusting for age, sex and order type, risk factors for death from the baseline interview included weekly use of opioids, sleeping pills or painkillers, polydrug use and injecting drug use. Young people who have served community-based and custodial orders are at an increased risk of preventable death. Those engaging in risky substance use, particularly injecting drug use and use of multiple central nervous system depressants, are at greatest risk. There is an urgent need to develop and rigorously evaluate preventive interventions. © 2014 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Criminal Careers of Intimate Partner Violence Offender Subtypes: Results From a Prospective Survey of Males.

PubMed

Theobald, Delphine; Farrington, David P; Coid, Jeremy W; Piquero, Alex R

2016-12-01

Using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, a prospective longitudinal survey of more than 400 males in the United Kingdom followed from age 8 years to age 48 years, we investigated the role of Cluster B personality traits and the association with violent offending groups based on a typology theory of male intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators: those who committed family-only violence and the generally violent offender. We also considered whether offending/violent groups could be predicted using risk factors measured in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Our findings suggest that those men who are violent both within and outside the home (the generally violent men) are distinguished from those who are involved in IPV within the home only. The differences appear to be more in degree than in kind. We discuss these findings in relation to the idea of specific interventions and policy.

Sexual offending in adolescence: a comparison of sibling offenders and nonsibling offenders across domains of risk and treatment need.

PubMed

Latzman, Natasha E; Viljoen, Jodi L; Scalora, Mario J; Ullman, Daniel

2011-05-01

Sibling sexual offending has received limited empirical attention, despite estimates that approximately half of all adolescent-perpetrated sexual offenses involve a sibling victim. The present study addresses this gap by examining male adolescent sibling (n = 100) and nonsibling offenders (n = 66) with regard to maltreatment histories and scores on two adolescent risk/need assessment instruments, the ERASOR and YLS/CMI. Adolescents who sexually abused a sibling, versus a nonsibling, were more likely to have histories of sexual abuse and been exposed to domestic violence and pornography. There were no group differences on ERASOR and YLS/CMI scales. This study adds to the limited discourse on sibling sexual offending and the larger literature on the heterogeneity of adolescents who have sexually offended.

Contagion and Repeat Offending among Urban Juvenile Delinquents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mennis, Jeremy; Harris, Philip

2011-01-01

This research investigates the role of repeat offending and spatial contagion in juvenile delinquency recidivism using a database of 7166 male juvenile offenders sent to community-based programs by the Family Court of Philadelphia. Results indicate evidence of repeat offending among juvenile delinquents, particularly for drug offenders. The…

Rap, Recidivism and the Creative Self: A Popular Music Programme for Young Offenders in Detention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Sarah; Homan, Shane

2007-01-01

Popular music is increasingly being viewed by local, state and national governments as a useful form of creative activity for at-risk youth both within and outside young offender institutions. This paper examines a music programme operating for a group of predominantly black youth within one North American detention centre, and considers the range…

The Quality of Perceived Parenting Experienced by a Group of Scottish Incarcerated Young Offenders and Its Relation to Psychological Distress.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biggam, Fiona H.; Power, Kevin G.

1998-01-01

Utilizes the Parental Bonding Instrument with a group of 125 incarcerated Scottish young offenders 16-21 years old. Examines the response profiles of young participants and compares the results to normative data and demographics relating to family and penal experiences. Also investigates relationships between parenting style and levels of…

Moral Development of Solo Juvenile Sex Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Vugt, Eveline; Stams, Geert Jan; Dekovic, Maja; Brugman, Daan; Rutten, Esther; Hendriks, Jan

2008-01-01

This study compared the moral development of solo juvenile male sex offenders (n = 20) and juvenile male non-offenders (n = 76), aged 13-19 years, from lower socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. The Moral Orientation Measure (MOM) was used to assess punishment- and victim-based moral orientation in sexual and non-sexual situations. Moral…

Developing an attitude towards bullying scale for prisoners: structural analyses across adult men, young adults and women prisoners.

PubMed

Ireland, Jane L; Power, Christina L; Bramhall, Sarah; Flowers, Catherine

2009-01-01

Few studies have attempted to explore attitudes towards bullying among prisoners, despite acknowledgement that attitudes may play an important role. To evaluate the structure of a new attitudinal scale, the Prison Bullying Scale (PBS), with adult men and women in prison and with young male prisoners. That attitudes would be represented as a multidimensional construct and that the PBS structure would be replicated across confirmatory samples. The PBS was developed and confirmed across four independent studies using item parceling and confirmatory factor analysis: Study I comprised 412 adult male prisoners; Study II, 306 adult male prisoners; Study III, 171 male young offenders; and Study IV, 148 adult women prisoners. Attitudes were represented as a multidimensional construct comprising seven core factors. The exploratory analysis was confirmed in adult male samples, with some confirmation among young offenders and adult women. The fit for young offenders was adequate and improved by factor covariance. The fit for women was the poorest overall. The study notes the importance of developing ecologically valid measures and statistically testing these measures prior to their clinical or research use. The development of the PBS holds value both as an assessment and as a research measure and remains the only ecologically validated measure in existence to assess prisoner attitudes towards bullying.

Healing the victim, the young offender, and the community via restorative justice: an international perspective.

PubMed

Goren, S

2001-03-01

The 1990s saw the enactment of much "get tough with young offenders" legislation in the United States. At the same, problems with our present punishment and treatment model, in which many youngsters cycle repeatedly through the justice and mental health systems, raised interest in restorative justice, a community-based alternative model emphasizing a balanced, negotiated approach to the needs of victims, offenders, and the community. After summarizing the philosophical bases underlying both models, this article describes the practice of restorative justice in New Zealand, where it was pioneered. Restorative justice has special relevance for Maori community in New Zealand and minority communities in the United States, where youth are consistently overrepresented in the courts, detention centers, and jails, and in which the juvenile justice system is seen as hostile and biased. Outcome data from New Zealand and early outcome research from the United States suggest that the restorative model, in which offenses are understood as a breakdown in social bonds, offers a hopeful alternative for offending youngsters, their families, and their communities.

Sex differences in empathy and its relation to juvenile offending.

PubMed

Broidy, Lisa; Cauffman, Elizabeth; Espelage, Dorothy L; Mazerolle, Paul; Piquero, Alex

2003-10-01

Implicit in most theoretical accounts of sex differences in offending is the assumption that females are less likely than males to engage in crime--especially serious, violent crime--in part because of their comparatively higher levels of concern for others and stronger affiliative ties. Much research suggests that significant sex differences in both empathy and serious offending emerge in adolescence, with females displaying notably higher levels of empathy and males engaging in notably higher levels of serious offending. However, there has been little empirical work assessing the degree to which sex differences in empathy among adolescents can account for sex differences in offending. This research uses data from a sample of adolescents attending public high schools in Philadelphia (n = 425) and a sample of adolescents incarcerated in the California Youth Authority (CYA) (n = 232) to examine the relation between empathy and serious offending. Results suggest that empathy acts as a protective factor for both males and females but that there are subtle differences among males and females in the relation between empathy and offending.

Mortality of young offenders: a national register-based follow-up study of 15- to 19-year-old Finnish delinquents referred for forensic psychiatric examination between 1980 and 2010.

PubMed

Lindberg, Nina; Miettunen, Jouko; Heiskala, Anni; Kaltiala-Heino, Riittakerttu

2017-01-01

The mortality rate of young offenders is high. Furthermore, mortality in young offenders is associated with psychiatric and substance use disorders. The primary aim of this national register-based follow-up study was to investigate the mortality rate of Finnish delinquents who underwent a forensic psychiatric examination between 1980 and 2010. As delinquency is not a solid entity, we further aimed to compare the risk of premature death among different subgroups of the delinquents; violent versus non-violent offenders, offenders with alcohol use disorders versus those with no such diagnoses, offenders with schizophrenia spectrum disorders versus conduct- and personality-disordered offenders, under-aged versus young adult offenders, and, finally, boys versus girls. We collected the forensic psychiatric examination reports of all 15- to 19-year-old offenders who were born in Finland and had undergone the examination between 1.1.1980 and 31.12.2010 (n = 606) from the archives of the National Institute of Health and Welfare and retrospectively reviewed them. For each delinquent, four age-, gender- and place of birth-matched controls were randomly selected from the Central Population Register (n = 2424). The delinquents and their controls were followed until the end of 2015. The median follow-up time was 23.9 years (interquartile range 15.3-29.5). We obtained the mortality data from the causes of death register. Deaths attributable to a disease or an occupational disease were considered natural, and those attributable to an accident, suicide or homicide were considered unnatural. By the end of the follow-up period, 22.1% (n = 134) of the delinquents and 3.4% (n = 82) of their controls had died (OR 8.11, 95% CI 6.05-10.86, p < 0.001). Among boys, 22.0% (n = 121) of the delinquents and 3.7% (n = 81) of the controls had died (OR 7.38, 95% CI 5.46-9.95, p < 0.001). Male delinquents' risk of unnatural death was almost 11-fold, of natural death more than

The Predictive Validity of Savry Ratings for Assessing Youth Offenders in Singapore

PubMed Central

Chu, Chi Meng; Goh, Mui Leng; Chong, Dominic

2015-01-01

Empirical support for the usage of the SAVRY has been reported in studies conducted in many Western contexts, but not in a Singaporean context. This study compared the predictive validity of the SAVRY ratings for violent and general recidivism against the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) ratings within the Singaporean context. Using a sample of 165 male young offenders (Mfollow-up = 4.54 years), results showed that the SAVRY Total Score and Summary Risk Rating, as well as YLS/CMI Total Score and Overall Risk Rating, predicted violent and general recidivism. SAVRY Protective Total Score was only significantly predictive of desistance from general recidivism, and did not show incremental predictive validity for violent and general recidivism over the SAVRY Total Score. Overall, the results suggest that the SAVRY is suited (to varying degrees) for assessing the risk of violent and general recidivism in young offenders within the Singaporean context, but might not be better than the YLS/CMI. PMID:27231403

Birth order in sex-offending and aggressive-offending men.

PubMed

MacCulloch, Sophie I; Gray, Nicola S; Phillips, Helen K; Taylor, John; MacCulloch, Malcolm J

2004-10-01

The relation between birth order and number of sexual and violent convictions was investigated retrospectively in a sample of 113 men, to determine whether the established fraternal birth order effect in male homosexual preference and deviant sexual preference (e.g., for rape and pedophilia) may be extended to sexual behavior. Participants were mentally disordered offenders detained in a medium secure psychiatric unit in the United Kingdom and comprised 64 men with sexual convictions and 49 men with nonsexual violent convictions. Sibling data from psychiatric notes were used to calculate Berglin's birth order index for each participant and conviction data were obtained from the Home Office Offenders' Index. Fraternal birth order was significantly correlated with number of sexual convictions (p < or = .05). No association was found between fraternal or sororal birth order and violent convictions in either the sex offender or violent offender group. Results suggest that the fraternal birth order effect previously found for deviant sexual preference in sex offenders (K. Côté, C. M. Earls, & M. L. Lalumière, 2002; M. L. Lalumière, G. T. Harris, V. L. Quinsey, & M. E. Rice, 1998) also applies to sexually deviant behavior and is specific to sexual rather than general offending. Results are discussed in terms of the maternal immunosensitization hypothesis. Copyright 2004 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.

Sentencing Male Sex Offenders Under the Age of 14: A Law Reform Advocacy Journey in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Ng, Wai-Ching Irene; Cheung, Monit; Ma, Anny Kit-Ying

2015-01-01

The common law presumption that a boy under the age of 14 is incapable of sexual intercourse has provoked controversial debates in Hong Kong. This article describes a 6-step advocacy journey to examine how community efforts have helped modify this law so that juvenile male sexual offenders under the age of 14 who have committed the crime of having sexual intercourse with underage females can be sentenced to receive appropriate treatment. Seven court cases provided by the magistrates' courts in Hong Kong were used in this advocacy effort for the removal of the presumption in July 2012. Although this effort has yet to reveal signs of effectiveness, it represents greater public awareness about providing rehabilitation appropriate for juvenile sex offenders through a formal sentence. Restorative justice, as opposed to retributive or punitive justice, places an emphasis on rehabilitation of the offender and restoration of victims to a place of wholeness.

Emotional Intelligence in Incarcerated Female Offenders With Psychopathic Traits.

PubMed

Edwards, Bethany G; Ermer, Elsa; Salovey, Peter; Kiehl, Kent A

2018-03-05

Emotional impairment is a core feature of psychopathy, and the disorder has been linked to an inability to recognize and regulate emotion, leading to deficiencies in empathy and difficulties in social functioning. This study investigated associations among psychopathic traits and ability-based emotional intelligence (EI) in female offenders and integrated data with previously published male offender data (Ermer, Kahn, Salovey, & Kiehl, 2012) to examine gender differences in relationships. Results showed that female offenders were impaired in the understanding and management of emotion relative to the general population, and that female offenders scored higher than male offenders in EI. Affective psychopathic traits (e.g., callousness) yielded a small relationship with difficulties in managing emotion in female offenders, and few gender differences in relationships between psychopathy and EI were found. Findings contribute to literature on emotional functioning in females with psychopathic traits and further understanding of gender differences in emotional abilities among offenders.

Affective traits of psychopathy are linked to white-matter abnormalities in impulsive male offenders.

PubMed

Vermeij, Anouk; Kempes, Maaike M; Cima, Maaike J; Mars, Rogier B; Brazil, Inti A

2018-04-26

Psychopathy is a personality disorder typified by lack of empathy and impulsive antisocial behavior. Psychopathic traits may partly relate to disrupted connections between brain regions. The aim of the present study was to link abnormalities in microstructural integrity of white-matter tracts to the severity of different psychopathic traits in 15 male offenders with impulse control problems and 10 without impulse control problems. Psychopathic traits were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-revised (PCL-R). Diffusion-weighted MRI was used to examine white-matter tracts. Fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of white-matter integrity, was calculated for each voxel. Clusters of voxels showing a significant relationship with psychopathy severity were submitted to probabilistic tractography. No significant correlations between psychopathy severity and FA were present in the whole group of impulsive and nonimpulsive offenders. In impulsive offenders, interpersonal-affective traits (PCL-R Factor 1) were negatively correlated with FA in the anterior and posterior temporal lobe and orbitofrontal area. Further analyses indicated that elevated affective traits (PCL-R Facet 2) were specifically related to reduced FA in the right temporal lobe. Our findings suggest that white-matter abnormalities in temporal and frontotemporal tracts may be linked to the interpersonal-affective deficits of psychopathy in offenders with relatively severe impulse control problems. Our study offers novel insights into the relationships between the four facets of psychopathy and disrupted structural connectivity, and may provide new leads for further characterization of different subtypes of antisocial populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Does adolescent alcohol and marijuana use predict suppressed growth in psychosocial maturity among male juvenile offenders?

PubMed

Chassin, Laurie; Dmitrieva, Julia; Modecki, Kathryn; Steinberg, Laurence; Cauffman, Elizabeth; Piquero, Alex R; Knight, George P; Losoya, Sandra H

2010-03-01

Multiple theories suggest mechanisms by which the use of alcohol and drugs during adolescence could dampen growth in psychosocial maturity. However, scant empirical evidence exists to support this proposition. The current study tested whether alcohol and marijuana use predicted suppressed growth in psychosocial maturity among a sample of male serious juvenile offenders (n = 1,170) who were followed from ages 15 to 21 years. Alcohol and marijuana use prospectively predicted lower maturity 6 months later. Moreover, boys with the greatest increases in marijuana use showed the smallest increases in psychosocial maturity. Finally, heterogeneity in the form of age-related alcohol and marijuana trajectories was related to growth in maturity, such that only boys who decreased their alcohol and marijuana use significantly increased in psychosocial maturity. Taken together, these findings suggest that patterns of elevated alcohol and marijuana use in adolescence may suppress age-typical growth in psychosocial maturity from adolescence to young adulthood, but that effects are not necessarily permanent, because decreasing use is associated with increases in maturity.

Brief Report: The Sexual and Physical Abuse Histories of Offenders with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindsay, W.; Steptoe, L.; Haut, F.

2012-01-01

Background: Some studies have found higher rates of childhood sexual abuse in sex offenders while others have failed to find such relationships. Method: This study reviews the sexual and physical abuse histories of 156 male sex offenders with intellectual disability (ID), 126 non-sexual male offenders with ID and 27 female offenders with ID.…

Bipolar disorder and criminal offending: a data linkage study.

PubMed

Daff, Elizabeth; Thomas, Stuart D M

2014-12-01

The current study explored criminal offending among people diagnosed with bipolar disorder with and without comorbid substance use and compared this with a community sample with no history of bipolar disorder. A case-linkage design was used to compare patterns of officially recorded criminal offending between 1,076 people with bipolar disorder drawn from a state-wide psychiatric case register with a community comparison group. Those with bipolar disorder were significantly more likely than community members to be charged with, convicted of, and be found guilty of, violent, non-violent and intermediate level criminal offences. Those with a comorbid substance use disorder were two times more likely than those without a substance use disorder to offend; both groups had a significantly higher chance of offending than the community sample. Females with bipolar disorder were significantly more likely to have been convicted of violent offences, irrespective of substance use. Significant interactions were found between bipolar disorder and substance use for males and females with respect to violent offending and for males with respect to non-violent offending. There is a statistically significant association between bipolar disorder and the likelihood of having a criminal history. Co-occurring substance use differentially impacts on the likelihood of criminal offending for males and females.

The Effect of Offenders' Sex on Reporting Crimes to the Police

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Thessa M. L.; Van de Schoot, Rens

2012-01-01

This article examines the difference in victims' reporting behavior regarding crimes committed by males and by females. The authors expect that victims of female offenders are less likely to report to the police than victims of male offenders because of differences in the victim-offender relationship as well as in the victim's sex. With recent…

Poor mental health status and aggression are associated with poor driving behavior among male traffic offenders

PubMed Central

Abdoli, Nasrin; Farnia, Vahid; Delavar, Ali; Esmaeili, Alirez; Dortaj, Fariborz; Farrokhi, Noorali; Karami, Majid; Shakeri, Jalal; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith; Brand, Serge

2015-01-01

Background In Iran, traffic accidents and deaths from traffic accidents are among the highest in the world, and generally driver behavior rather than either technical failures or environmental conditions are responsible for traffic accidents. In the present study, we explored the extent to which aggressive traits, health status, and sociodemographic variables explain driving behavior among Iranian male traffic offenders. Method A total of 443 male driving offenders (mean age: M =31.40 years, standard deviation =9.56) from Kermanshah (Iran) took part in the study. Participants completed a questionnaire booklet covering sociodemographic variables, traits of aggression, health status, and driving behavior. Results Poor health status, such as symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and social dysfunction, and also higher levels of trait aggression explained poor driving behavior. Multiple regressions indicated that poor health status, but not aggression, independently predicted poor driving behavior. Conclusion Results suggest that health status concerns are associated with poor driving behavior. Prevention and intervention might therefore focus on drivers reporting poor mental health status. PMID:26316753

Brief Prescriptive Psychotherapy for Depression with an Incarcerated Young Offender: An Application of Barkham's 2+1 Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Andrew

1993-01-01

Developed and evaluated psychological intervention for depression in Young Offenders. Recognizing pressure on clinical teams to be both cost and time effective, it was decided to pilot Barkham's 2+1 format in prison setting. Results suggest that depression in prisons can be treated with cognitive-behavioral techniques and that 2+1 format may be…

[Drug abuse in adolescent offenders: analysis of the psychosocial variables involved].

PubMed

Contreras Martínez, Lourdes; Molina Banqueri, Virginia; Cano Lozano, Ma Carmen

2012-01-01

Research shows that drugs and delinquency are frequently linked, the abuse of various types of substance being a widespread practice among young offenders. At the same time, some psychosocial characteristics are associated with both drug abuse and criminal/antisocial behavior. To help us explore the relationship between young offenders' drug abuse and certain psychosocial variables, we examined closed judicial files on young offenders from the Juvenile Justice Service in Jaen (Spain) corresponding to the period 2001 to 2010. From the contents of these judicial files we analyzed demographic variables such as gender and age, as well as psychosocial variables such as drug abuse, peer group, violent behavior, self-control, tolerance to frustration and attributional style. The results show that most of the young offenders use some type of drug, as well as revealing differential patterns of use according to gender. Also observed is a link between drug abuse and deviant peer group, violent behavior and the above-mentioned psychological variables. Finally, we found some differences in these psychological variables depending on the type of drug used.

Risk Assessment with Adolescent Sex Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christodoulides, T. E.; Richardson, G.; Graham, F.; Kennedy, P. J.; Kelly, T. P.

2005-01-01

The paper describes an evaluation of a risk assessment tool's effectiveness in distinguishing adolescent sexual offenders who had committed further sexual offences from those who had not. The sample consisted of 50 male adolescent sexual offenders referred to a forensic outpatient service within a healthcare setting. The adolescents within the…

An Investigation into the Effect of Respondent Gender, Victim Age, and Perpetrator Treatment on Public Attitudes towards Sex Offenders, Sex Offender Treatment, and Sex Offender Rehabilitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Paul; Hirst, Lindsay; Davies, Michelle

2011-01-01

In this study the authors examine the effect respondent gender, victim age, and offender treatment programs have upon public attitudes towards sex offenders. A community sample of 235 participants were asked to read a hypothetical vignette involving the sexual assault of a 10-, 15-, or 20-year-old female by a 35-year-old male who subsequently…

Sexual Murderers: Sex Offender, Murderer, or Both?

PubMed

Beauregard, Eric; DeLisi, Matt; Hewitt, Ashley

2017-06-01

Sexual murderers perpetrate homicide and rape/sexual abuse, but it is unclear whether they should primarily be considered homicide offenders, sexual offenders, or both. Most studies have merged together different types of non-homicidal sex offenders (NHSOs), neglecting to consider the potential differences between the nonviolent and violent sex offenders. Here, we suggest it is important to isolate those violent sex offenders who inflict severe physical injuries that could potentially lead to a lethal outcome. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to compare different measures of the criminal career on three groups of sex offenders: NHSOs, violent NHSOs, and sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) using data from 616 incarcerated male sex offenders in a Federal penitentiary in Canada. Interestingly, the group of sex offenders with the worst criminal career profile was not the SHOs, but the violent NHSOs. Violent NHSOs had the greatest number of prior convictions and the most varied and versatile criminal career. Therefore, we suggest that based on their criminal career, SHOs should be considered more as murderers than sex offenders. However, to fully answer this question, future studies should include a group of non-sexual homicide offenders.

Using Video Stimuli to Examine Judgments of Nonoffending and Offending Pedophiles: A Brief Communication.

PubMed

Boardman, Katie A; Bartels, Ross M

2018-05-19

In this experimental study, 89 participants were allocated to an offending pedophile, nonoffending pedophile, or control video condition. They then watched two short help-seeking video clips of an older male and a younger male (counterbalanced). Judgments about each male were assessed, as were general attitudes toward pedophiles and sexual offenders. Offending pedophiles were judged as more deserving of punishment than the nonoffending pedophiles and controls. Age of the male was found to have an effect on judgments of dangerousness. Existing attitudes toward pedophiles and sexual offenders did not statistically differ. Limitations and future research ideas are discussed.

Moral Disengagement among Serious Juvenile Offenders: A Longitudinal Study of the Relations between Morally Disengaged Attitudes and Offending

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shulman, Elizabeth P.; Cauffman, Elizabeth; Piquero, Alex R.; Fagan, Jeffrey

2011-01-01

The present study investigates the relation between moral disengagement--one's willingness to conditionally endorse transgressive behavior--and ongoing offending in a sample of adolescent male felony offenders (N = 1,169). In addition, the study attempts to rule out callous-unemotional traits as a third variable responsible for observed…

Implicit Theories and Offender Representativeness in Judgments About Sexual Crime.

PubMed

Harper, Craig A; Bartels, Ross M

2018-04-01

Implicit theories structure the way people understand and respond to various human actions. Typically, people believe attributes are either fixed (entitists) or malleable (incrementalists). The present study aimed to examine (a) whether attitudes toward sexual offenders differ depending upon one's implicit theory about human nature and sexual offenders, and (b) whether implicit theories are associated with judgments made about different types of child abusers. A sample of 252 community participants was recruited. Their attitudes, implicit theories, and political orientation were assessed via self-report. One of three vignettes describing an incidence of child sexual abuse was then presented. The cases were identical except the perpetrator was either an adult male, an adult female, or a male juvenile. Participants then made judgments about the offender's deserved sentence and moral character. Entitists (across both domains) held more negative attitudes than incrementalists, although the magnitude of the difference was greatest when examining implicit theories about sexual offenders. Compared with those with an incremental theory of sexual offenders, entity theorists judged sexual offending to be more (a) indicative of the perpetrator's moral character and (b) deserving of punishment. However, scores were greater toward the adult male relative to the adult female and juvenile. The findings suggest that implicit theories about sexual offenders are domain specific. They also indicate that judgments made by those with an entity theory (about sexual offenders) are affected by whether a case is representative of a stereotypical sexual offender. Implications of the findings are discussed, along with limitations and future research.

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

PubMed

Chui, Wing Hong; Chan, Heng Choon Oliver

2013-02-01

Little research has been conducted with Hong Kong juvenile probationers. 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. 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. 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. 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. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Female Sex Offenders: Public Awareness and Attributions.

PubMed

Cain, Calli M; Anderson, Amy L

2016-12-01

Traditional gender roles, sex scripts, and the way female sex offenders are portrayed in the media may lead to misconceptions about who can commit sexual offenses. Sexual crimes by women may go unnoticed or unreported if there is a general lack of awareness that females commit these crimes. Data from the 2012 Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey were used to determine whether the public perceives women as capable sex offenders and the perceived causes of female sex offending. The traditional focus on male sex offenders by researchers, media, and politicians, in addition to gender stereotypes, introduces the possibility of group differences (e.g., between men and women) in perceptions of female sex offenders. Consequently, two secondary analyses were conducted that tested for group differences in both the public's perception of whether females can commit sex offenses and the explanations selected for why females sexually offend. The findings suggest that the public does perceive women as capable sex offenders, although there were group differences in the causal attributions for female sex offending.

Intelligence Score Profiles of Female Juvenile Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werner, Shelby Spare; Hart, Kathleen J.; Ficke, Susan L.

2016-01-01

Previous studies have found that male juvenile offenders typically obtain low scores on measures of intelligence, often with a pattern of higher scores on measures of nonverbal relative to verbal tasks. The research on the intelligence performance of female juvenile offenders is limited. This study explored the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for…

Cognitive schemas and sexual offending: differences between rapists, pedophilic and nonpedophilic child molesters, and nonsexual offenders.

PubMed

Sigre-Leirós, Vera; Carvalho, Joana; Nobre, Pedro

2015-02-01

Empirical research has primarily focused on the differences between rapists and child molesters. Nonetheless, a greater understanding of specific needs of specific subtypes of sex offenders is necessary. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the early maladaptive schemas and different types of sexual offending behavior. Fifty rapists, 59 child molesters (19 pedophilic and 40 nonpedophilic), and 51 nonsexual offenders answered the Young Schema Questionnaire, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Socially Desirable Response Set Measure. Data were analyzed using sets of multinomial logistic regression, controlling for sociodemographic variables, psychological distress, and social desirability. Results showed that pedophilic offenders were more likely to hold the defectiveness and subjugation schemas compared to the other three groups. Likewise, nonpedophilic child molesters were more likely to hold the social isolation, enmeshment, and unrelenting standards schemas compared to rapists. Additionally, rapists were more likely to hold the vulnerability to harm, approval-seeking, and punitiveness schemas compared to nonpedophiles and/or nonsex offenders. Overall, our findings suggest that cognitive schemas may play a role in the vulnerability for sexual offending and corroborate the need to distinguish between the two subtypes of child molesters. Despite the need for further investigation, findings may have important implications for the treatment of sex offenders and for the prevention of sexual crimes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection in males in a juvenile detention facility in Switzerland.

PubMed

Haller, Dagmar M; Steiner, Anne-Sylvie S; Sebo, Paul; Gaspoz, Jean-Michel; Wolff, Hans

2011-07-18

Young offenders represent a group for which Chlamydia trachomatis infection screening is recommended in the US. In the absence of local epidemiological data it is difficult to assess whether such recommendations apply to the Swiss context. Our aim was to obtain local prevalence data for Chlamydia trachomatis infection among young male offenders as a basis for screening strategies in Swiss juvenile detention centres. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a juvenile detention facility in Geneva, Switzerland. Adolescent males aged 15-18 years admitted to the detention facility were invited to participate during a consultation with a nurse conducted within 48 hours of admission. Participants were asked to provide a first void urine sample for PCR detection of Chlamydia trachomatis infection and to complete a questionnaire on reproductive health behaviours. 72 males were considered for participation in the study. 13 were excluded (mainly due to the language barrier or a shorter than 3 days' stay in the facility) and 9 (15%) declined participation. Not being sexually active was the most common reason for declining participation. Most participants originated from Switzerland or the European Union and 68% reported having ≥2 sexual partners in the past year. Only one participant (18 years, asymptomatic) had Chlamydia trachomatis infection (2%; 95%CI: 0-6%). This study does not support screening for Chlamydia trachomatis among young offenders admitted to detention centres in Switzerland. Studies in other European detention centres should document the extent to which our findings are generalisable to the European context.

Hearing, Auditory Processing, and Language Skills of Male Youth Offenders and Remandees in Youth Justice Residences in New Zealand.

PubMed

Lount, Sarah A; Purdy, Suzanne C; Hand, Linda

2017-01-01

International evidence suggests youth offenders have greater difficulties with oral language than their nonoffending peers. This study examined the hearing, auditory processing, and language skills of male youth offenders and remandees (YORs) in New Zealand. Thirty-three male YORs, aged 14-17 years, were recruited from 2 youth justice residences, plus 39 similarly aged male students from local schools for comparison. Testing comprised tympanometry, self-reported hearing, pure-tone audiometry, 4 auditory processing tests, 2 standardized language tests, and a nonverbal intelligence test. Twenty-one (64%) of the YORs were identified as language impaired (LI), compared with 4 (10%) of the controls. Performance on all language measures was significantly worse in the YOR group, as were their hearing thresholds. Nine (27%) of the YOR group versus 7 (18%) of the control group fulfilled criteria for auditory processing disorder. Only 1 YOR versus 5 controls had an auditory processing disorder without LI. Language was an area of significant difficulty for YORs. Difficulties with auditory processing were more likely to be accompanied by LI in this group, compared with the controls. Provision of speech-language therapy services and awareness of auditory and language difficulties should be addressed in youth justice systems.

The Brief Peer Conflict Scale: Psychometric Properties Among a Sample of Incarcerated Male Juvenile Offenders.

PubMed

Pechorro, Pedro; Russell, Justin D; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Gonçalves, Rui Abrunhosa; Nunes, Cristina

2018-06-01

Aggression can be considered a multidimensional construct that influences various forms of antisocial behavior, including juvenile delinquency and conduct problems. The aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Brief Peer Conflict Scale-20 item version (PCS-20) among a Portuguese forensic sample (N = 192) of incarcerated male juvenile offenders ( M = 16.62 years; SD = 1.52 years; age range = 13-18 years). The PCS-20 demonstrated good psychometric properties in terms of its four-factor structure, internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity that generally justify its use among incarcerated male youth. The findings provide additional support for the extension of the PCS-20 across different cultures, ethnic groups, and samples.

The Voices of Young Black Males

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sparrow, Tracey; Sparrow, Abby

2012-01-01

What do young black males say about what stands in the way of their academic success? Rather than rely on scholarly researchers to answer this question, the authors talked with a number of black males between ages 13 and 22 in Washington D.C., and Milwaukee, Wis., to learn what they had to say. These young men rarely talked about schools or…

How Incest Offenders Overcome Internal Inhibitions through the Use of Cognitions and Cognitive Distortions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartley, Carolyn Copps

1998-01-01

Explores cognitions incest offenders use to overcome their initial inhibitions against offending and to maintain their offending behavior once begun. Involves in-person interviews with caucasian male incest offenders in treatment. Discusses cognitions identified within the context of new theory on the role of cognitions in sexual offending. (MKA)

Profile and programming needs of federal offenders with histories of intimate partner violence.

PubMed

Stewart, Lynn A; Power, Jenelle

2014-10-01

This study presents data on male perpetrators of domestic violence (DV) in the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) using two samples: (a) a snapshot of all male offenders in CSC who had been assessed for DV (n = 15,166) and (b) a cumulative sample of male offenders in CSC from 2002-2010 who had been assessed as moderate or high risk for further DV (n = 4,261) DV offenders were compared to a cohort sample of non-DV offenders (n = 4,261). Analyses were disaggregated for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders. Results indicated that 40% of the federal male population had a suspected history of DV and were therefore screened in for in-depth DV risk assessment. Of these, 45% were assessed as moderate or high risk for future DV. DV offenders had higher risk and criminogenic need ratings, more learning disabilities, more mental health problems, and more extensive criminal histories than those without DV histories. Aboriginal DV offenders had high levels of alcohol dependence, suggesting a need for substance abuse treatment as part of DV programming. Most federal offenders with DV histories would be described as belonging to the Antisocial/Generalized Aggressive typology and, therefore, adhering to the Risk-Need-Responsivity principles of the effective correctional literature, cognitive-behavioral treatment that focuses on teaching skills of self-management, and changing attitudes supporting relationship violence would be recommended. © The Author(s) 2014.

Mural art therapy for young offenders hospitalised with a mental illness.

PubMed

George, Oleen; Kasinathan, John

2015-02-01

To describe a mural art therapy project completed within an adolescent unit of a secure forensic psychiatric hospital. The planning, implementation and consecutive stages of the mural art therapy project are described. Pertinent themes are identified. A cohort of adolescent forensic inpatients was engaged in a group therapeutic process involving collaboration, design and the completion of an art mural. The participants generally approved of the project and identified themes of gaining a sense of achievement, empowerment, teamwork, involvement and ownership. The art mural transformed and improved the visual and spatial environment of the Adolescent unit courtyard. Mural art therapy was acceptable to young offenders hospitalised with mental illness, which has relevance for adolescent psychiatric units and youth detention centres. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2014.

Public health system and psychiatry in the treatment of 'dangerous' young offenders in Brazil.

PubMed

Ribeiro, Rafael Bernardon; Cordeiro, Quirino; Taborda, José G V

2015-01-01

We describe the Experimental Health Unit, a special forensic mental health facility in Brazil, created by court order and administered by the São Paulo Department of Health. It was designed for young offenders receiving compulsory inpatient treatment for severe personality disorders. All nine patients admitted to date came from Foundation CASA (a socio-educational centre of assistance for adolescents, the juvenile correctional centres managed by the São Paulo state Department of Justice). The court decision is questionable, relying on a new interpretation of the Child and Adolescent Statute and the law that regulates psychiatric treatment in Brazil. The public health system and psychiatry have been supporting the isolation of some individuals from society, based on the seriousness of their crimes and possession of particular personality characteristics. The decision to commit and send a small group of personality disordered individuals to this unit as inpatients is an unfair decision, since jails and correctional centres hold a high number of psychopathic who have also committed barbaric crimes. The central mental health issue is the role that the public health system should play in the custody of dangerous people; the cost-effectiveness of this model, the accuracy of risk assessment and tractability of people with severe personality disorders are also debatable. From a legal perspective, the operation of this facility raises questions about age of legal majority, the maximum period of incarceration of young offenders and use of whole-life sentences for certain types of crimes and criminals in Brazil. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Temporality, trauma and care of repeat adolescent offenders.

PubMed

Kermarrec, Solenn; Mougli, Khaddouj

2013-09-01

In recent years the matter of repeat young offenders has raised questions for and bewildered the institutions caring for them. The temporality of these youngsters is ingrained in the current and urgent moment, and in the repetition of acts of delinquency, which preclude them from having a linear perception of time. This study reflects on the different temporalities with which institutions need to work and on how the judicial, educational, and psychological times can, by building bridges between the present and the past, help piece together the story of adolescents' lives. The personal history of each young offender contributes to explain his/her misbehavior. Acting out can symbolize childhood abuse. Thus, repetitive acts of delinquency should not be considered and treated as isolated acts of violence, which each time cause a rupture, but should be seen and as a whole. Repetition of acts of delinquency should prompt questioning about the past of young offenders-a past which is buried and which distorts their perception of present time, preventing them from projecting themselves into and making plans for the future. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Detained Male Adolescent Offender's Emotional, Physical and Sexual Maltreatment Profiles and Their Associations to Psychiatric Disorders and Criminal Behaviors.

PubMed

Aebi, Marcel; Linhart, Susanne; Thun-Hohenstein, Leonhard; Bessler, Cornelia; Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph; Plattner, Belinda

2015-07-01

The objective of the present study was to analyse patterns of emotional, physical and sexual maltreatment in detained male juvenile offenders using latent class analysis (LCA). The association of maltreatment related LCA profiles with psychopathology and criminal behaviors was also studied. LCA based on the items of the Child Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) assessing childhood emotional, physical, and sexual abuse was performed in a sample of 260 male adolescent offenders (mean age = 16.5 years, SD = 1.29 years). Chi square tests and general linear models were performed to assess the associations of CTQ profiles with categorical interview-based psychiatric disorders, dimensional Youth Self-Report problem scales, and officially registered offenses. LCA suggested a three class solution: (1) a no/mild trauma (NM; 76 %) (2) emotional and physical trauma (EP; 18 %) and (3) emotional, physical, and sexual trauma (EPS; 8 %). The classes EP and EPS were related to a variety of psychiatric disorders and self-reported mental health problems. Furthermore, EPS showed higher presence of a subsequent re-incarceration compared to NM. A majority of sexually abused juveniles also experienced emotional and physical abuse reflecting gravely disturbed family systems. Multiple abuse in childhood was associated with a broad variety of disorders including externalizing disorders and repeated criminal offending. Such findings indicate that trauma assessment is also relevant in externalizing youth. A comprehensive treatment approach for detained boys with multiple abuse experiences is required targeting both mental health needs and the reduction of criminal behaviors.

Mortality of Youth Offenders Along a Continuum of Justice System Involvement.

PubMed

Aalsma, Matthew C; Lau, Katherine S L; Perkins, Anthony J; Schwartz, Katherine; Tu, Wanzhu; Wiehe, Sarah E; Monahan, Patrick; Rosenman, Marc B

2016-03-01

Black male youth are at high risk of homicide and criminal justice involvement. This study aimed to determine how early mortality among youth offenders varies based on race; gender; and the continuum of justice system involvement: arrest, detention, incarceration, and transfer to adult courts. Criminal and death records of 49,479 youth offenders (ages 10-18 years at first arrest) in Marion County, Indiana, from January 1, 1999, to December 31, 2011, were examined. Statistical analyses were completed in November 2014. From 1999 to 2011 (aggregate exposure, 386,709 person-years), 518 youth offender deaths occurred. The most common cause of death was homicide (48.2%). The mortality rate of youth offenders was nearly 1.5 times greater than that among community youth (standardized mortality ratio, 1.48). The youth offender mortality rate varied depending on the severity of justice system involvement. Arrested youth had the lowest rate of mortality (90/100,000), followed by detained youth (165/100,000); incarcerated youth (216/100,000); and youth transferred to adult court (313/100,000). A proportional hazards model demonstrated that older age, male gender, and more severe justice system involvement 5 years post-arrest predicted shorter time to mortality. Youth offenders face greater risk for early death than community youth. Among these, black male youth face higher risk of early mortality than their white male counterparts. However, regardless of race/ethnicity, mortality rates for youth offenders increase as youth involvement in the justice system becomes more protracted and severe. Thus, justice system involvement is a significant factor to target for intervention. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Witnessing domestic violence during childhood is associated with psychopathic traits in adult male criminal offenders

PubMed Central

Dargis, Monika; Koenigs, Michael

2017-01-01

While there is growing evidence that suffering physical abuse during childhood is subsequently associated with psychopathic traits in both juvenile and adult offenders, there is considerably less research on whether exposure to domestic violence as a witness, rather than as a direct victim, influences the subsequent presentation of psychopathic traits in adulthood. Accordingly, the current study examined the relationship between witnessing domestic violence during childhood (i.e., witnessing, hearing, or intervening in abuse against a parent/sibling) and psychopathic traits in adulthood in a sample of n = 127 incarcerated male offenders. As predicted, witnessing domestic violence was significantly associated with overall level of psychopathy, with a particularly strong relationship to the interpersonal/affective features of psychopathy. Importantly, this relationship held when controlling for the experience of domestic violence as a direct victim. These results add to the growing body of literature linking adverse and traumatic events during childhood with psychopathic traits later in life, and suggest that domestic violence exposure may be one factor contributing to the manipulative, interpersonal style exhibited by individuals high in psychopathy. PMID:28150975

Exploring links between juvenile offenders and social disorganization at a large map scale: a Bayesian spatial modeling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Law, Jane; Quick, Matthew

2013-01-01

This paper adopts a Bayesian spatial modeling approach to investigate the distribution of young offender residences in York Region, Southern Ontario, Canada, at the census dissemination area level. Few geographic researches have analyzed offender (as opposed to offense) data at a large map scale (i.e., using a relatively small areal unit of analysis) to minimize aggregation effects. Providing context is the social disorganization theory, which hypothesizes that areas with economic deprivation, high population turnover, and high ethnic heterogeneity exhibit social disorganization and are expected to facilitate higher instances of young offenders. Non-spatial and spatial Poisson models indicate that spatial methods are superior to non-spatial models with respect to model fit and that index of ethnic heterogeneity, residential mobility (1 year moving rate), and percentage of residents receiving government transfer payments are, respectively, the most significant explanatory variables related to young offender location. These findings provide overwhelming support for social disorganization theory as it applies to offender location in York Region, Ontario. Targeting areas where prevalence of young offenders could or could not be explained by social disorganization through decomposing the estimated risk map are helpful for dealing with juvenile offenders in the region. Results prompt discussion into geographically targeted police services and young offender placement pertaining to risk of recidivism. We discuss possible reasons for differences and similarities between the previous findings (that analyzed offense data and/or were conducted at a smaller map scale) and our findings, limitations of our study, and practical outcomes of this research from a law enforcement perspective.

Prevalence of Raynaud's phenomenon in young Greek males.

PubMed

Tzilalis, Vassilios; Panagiotopoulos, Nikolaos; Papatheodorou, George; Rallis, Efstathios; Kassimos, Dimitrios

2011-01-01

The aim of this paper is to study the prevalence of Raynaud's phenomenon in young males. Young males were examined prospectively in a district hospital, and laboratory tests were performed on the basis of the clinical history. Young males (3.912), age 18-28 years old, were examined. Raynaud's phenomenon was present in seven men (1,79 per 1.000, 95% CI 0.72-3.68). Three of them had at least one member in their family diagnosed with Raynaud's phenomenon. Three were smokers. All had negative immunological test. Five patients reported having severe attacks and two had only mild ischemic attacks. The treatment was conservative for all patients, two of them necessitated vasodilators. Very low prevalence of Raynaud's phenomenon was observed in this young male group compared with the previous studies.

Early risk factors for criminal offending in schizophrenia: a 35-year longitudinal cohort study.

PubMed

Eriksson, Asa; Romelsjö, Anders; Stenbacka, Marlene; Tengström, Anders

2011-09-01

Recent evidence suggests that factors predicting offending among individuals with no mental disorder may also predict offending among individuals with schizophrenia. The aims of the study were (1) to explore the prevalence of risk factors for criminal offending reported at age 18 among males later diagnosed with schizophrenia, (2) to explore the associations between risk factors reported at age 18 and lifetime criminal offending, (3) to predict lifetime serious violent offending based on risk factors reported at age 18, and (4) to compare the findings with those in males with no later diagnosis of schizophrenia. The study was a prospective, longitudinal study of a birth cohort followed up through registers after 35 years. The cohort consisted of 49,398 males conscripted into the Swedish Army in 1969-1970, of whom 377 were later diagnosed with schizophrenia. Among the subjects later diagnosed with schizophrenia, strong associations were found between four of the items reported at age 18 and lifetime criminal offending: (1) low marks for conduct in school, (2) contact with the police or child care authorities, (3) crowded living conditions, and (4) arrest for public drinking. Three of these four risk factors were found to double the risk of offending among males with no later diagnosis of schizophrenia. Criminality in individuals with schizophrenia may at least partly be understood as a phenomenon similar to criminality in individuals in the general population.

Psychopathy in Adolescence and Criminal Recidivism in Young Adulthood. Longitudinal Results from a Multiethnic Sample of Youthful Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edens, John F.; Cahill, Melissa A.

2007-01-01

Very few studies to date have examined the long-term predictive validity of psychopathy among juveniles. The current study reports general and violent recidivism data for an ethnically heterogeneous sample of male offenders (n = 75) who had been administered the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) in 1996 when they were on average 16…

Is the Sexual Murderer a Unique Type of Offender? A Typology of Violent Sexual Offenders Using Crime Scene Behaviors.

PubMed

Healey, Jay; Beauregard, Eric; Beech, Anthony; Vettor, Shannon

2016-09-01

The empirical literature on sexual homicide has posited the sexual murderer as a unique type of offender who is qualitatively different from other types of offenders. However, recent research has suggested that sexual homicide is a dynamic crime and that sexual assaults can escalate to homicide when specific situational factors are present. This study simultaneously explored the utility of the sexual murderer as a unique type of offender hypothesis and sexual homicide as a differential outcome of sexual assaults hypothesis. This study is based on a sample of 342 males who were convicted of committing a violent sexual offense, which resulted in either physical injury or death of the victim. A series of latent class analyses were performed using crime scene indicators in an attempt to identify discrete groups of sexual offenders. In addition, the effects of modus operandi, situational factors, and offender characteristics on each group were investigated. Results suggest that both hypotheses are supported. A group of offenders was identified who almost exclusively killed their victims and demonstrated a lethal intent by the choice of their offending behavior. Moreover, three other groups of sex offenders were identified with a diverse lethality level, suggesting that these cases could end up as homicide when certain situational factors were present. © The Author(s) 2014.

A description of sexual offending committed by Canadian teachers.

PubMed

Moulden, Heather M; Firestone, Philip; Kingston, Drew A; Wexler, Audrey F

2010-07-01

The aim of this investigation was to describe teachers who sexually offend against youth and the circumstances related to these offenses. Archival Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System reports were obtained from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and demographic and criminal characteristics for the offender, as well as information about the victim and offense, were selected for analyses. A descriptive approach was used to analyze the qualitative reports for a group of 113 Canadian sexual offenders between 1995 and 2002. The results provide a description of adult male teachers who offended within their position of trust as well as offense and victim characteristics.

Predictors of treatment attrition as indicators for program improvement not offender shortcomings: a study of sex offender treatment attrition.

PubMed

Beyko, Michelle J; Wong, Stephen C P

2005-10-01

This study classified potential attrition predictors under the domains of risk, need and responsivity (D. Andrews & J. Bonta, 2003). Non-sexual criminogenic needs (e.g. aggression, rule violating behaviors) and responsivity factors (e.g. lack of motivation and denial) were the two main clusters of predictors that correctly classified 95.3% of program completers and non-completers using discriminant function analysis in a sample of high-risk male sexual offenders treated in an accredited inpatient sex offender treatment program. Rapists were more aggressive than other types of sex offenders and were more likely to drop out of treatment. Some studies of predictors of treatment attrition have used offender problem behaviors or psychopathologies to predict attrition and then use the information to exclude offenders from treatment. Others have argued, and we concur, that results of attrition research should not be used to develop an "attrition profile" to exclude offenders from treatment. Predictors of attrition should be seen as markers for program improvement, rather than shortcomings of the offender. Suggestions for program improvements to reduce the rate of attrition, based on results of research, are presented.

The Love of a Good Man? Romantic Relationships as a Source of Support or Hindrance for Female Ex-Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leverentz, Andrea M.

2006-01-01

This article explores the impact of romantic relationships on the reentry experiences of female ex-offenders. Although attachment to a prosocial spouse is an important social bond in the desistance of male offenders, male and female offenders have different offending and life experiences and are likely to draw romantic partners from very different…

Association of Normative Beliefs and Anger with Aggression and Antisocial Behavior in Russian Male Juvenile Offenders and High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sukhodolsky, Denis G.; Ruchkin, Vladislav V.

2004-01-01

Examined the association of anger experience and two types of normative beliefs with physical aggression and nonaggressive antisocial behavior in 361 juvenile offenders and 206 high school students in Russia. All participants were male and ranged in age from 14 to 18 years. Higher frequency of aggressive acts was significantly associated with…

Trust and Confidence in the Courts: Does the Quality of Treatment Young Offenders Receive Affect Their Views of the Courts?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sprott, Jane B.; Greene, Carolyn

2010-01-01

It is assumed that legitimacy of the legal system is important, yet almost nothing is known about how young offenders view this institution. A sample of youths were interviewed at their first appearance in court and asked about their feelings regarding how they have been treated (procedural justice) by their lawyer, by the crown attorney, and by…

Online solicitation offenders are different from child pornography offenders and lower risk contact sexual offenders.

PubMed

Seto, Michael C; Wood, J Michael; Babchishin, Kelly M; Flynn, Sheri

2012-08-01

The current study compared 38 lower risk (based on actuarial risk assessments) men convicted of contact sexual offenses against children, 38 child pornography offenders, and 70 solicitation offenders (also known as luring or traveler offenders). Solicitation and child pornography offenders were better educated than contact offenders but did not differ on other sociodemographic variables. In comparison to child pornography offenders, solicitation offenders had lower capacity for relationship stability and lower levels of sex drive/preoccupation and deviant sexual preference. Solicitation offenders were also more problematic than lower risk contact offenders on sex drive/preoccupation and capacity for relationship stability and had greater self-reported use of child pornography. Differences between groups on two actuarial risk measures, the Static-99 and the VASOR, were inconsistent. This study suggests that solicitation offenders differ in meaningful ways from lower risk contact offenders and child pornography offenders and, consequently, in risk, treatment, and supervision needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Adult interpersonal features of subtypes of sexual offenders.

PubMed

Sigre-Leirós, Vera; Carvalho, Joana; Nobre, Pedro J

2015-08-01

Although the role of interpersonal factors on sexual offending is already recognized, there is a need for further investigation on the psychosocial correlates of pedophilic behavior. This study aimed to examine the relationship between adult interpersonal features and subtypes of sexual offending. The study involved the participation of a total of 164 male convicted offenders namely 50 rapists, 63 child molesters (20 pedophilic and 43 nonpedophilic), and 51 nonsexual offenders. All participants were assessed using the Adult Attachment Scale, the Interpersonal Behavior Survey, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Socially Desirable Response Set Measure. Results from sets of multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that pedophilic offenders were more likely to present anxiety in adult relationships compared to nonsex offenders. Likewise, nonpedophilic child molesters were less likely to be generally aggressive compared to rapists and nonsex offenders, as well as less generally assertive than rapists. Overall, findings indicated that certain interpersonal features characterized subtypes of offenders, thus providing some insight on their particular therapeutic needs. Further replications with larger samples particularly of pedophilic child molesters are required. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Female Sexual Homicide Offenders: A Descriptive and Comparative Study.

PubMed

Skott, Sara; Beauregard, Eric; Darjee, Rajan

2018-04-23

Research on female sexual homicide has been very scarce. In Europe, it has rarely been examined, and in Scotland, it has never previously been studied. This exploratory study aims to examine the characteristics of sexual homicides involving female offenders between 1990 and 2015 in Scotland. Using data from the Scottish Homicide Database between 1990 and 2015, female sexual homicides (n = 7) were compared to nonsexual homicides committed by females (n = 106) and to sexual homicides committed by men (n = 89) using Fisher's exact tests. The findings show that although female sexual homicide offenders are similar to both female nonsexual homicide offenders and male sexual homicide offenders in certain aspects, there are important differences that distinguish sexual homicides involving female offenders from both groups. Female sexual homicide offenders can arguably be seen as a distinct group of offenders, with specific characteristics and specific needs. © 2018 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

The differences between sex offenders who victimise older women and sex offenders who offend against children.

PubMed

Browne, K D; Hines, Morag; Tully, Ruth J

2018-01-01

Within the literature on sex offending, much attention is paid to the distinction between those sex offenders who offend against adults and those who offend against children. In contrast, there is a paucity of research into sex offenders who offend specifically against elderly or older victims. A detailed interview and psychometric tests were conducted with a sample of 28 sex offenders who had been convicted of a sexually motivated offence against an older female. These data were compared to a sample of 23 child sex offenders. Results indicate that amongst other significant differences between these sub-groups, men who offend against older women are generally younger, are more violent, and are more likely to use a weapon and cause injury and death compared to child sex offenders. The men who offended against children were more likely to think about and plan their offending, spend more time with the victim pre and post offence, admit sexual arousal during the offence, and admit to a sexual motivation for the offence. This study suggests that men who sexually offend against older women and men who sexually offend against children are distinct groups. Treatment and risk management strategies should take this into account. Further exploration of this sub-group of offenders is recommended to help inform treatment and risk management strategies for sex offenders who offend against older people.

Adolescent Sex Offenders' Rankings of Therapeutic Factors Using the Yalom Card Sort

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sribney, Christine L.; Reddon, John R.

2008-01-01

Following 11-98 weeks of inpatient residential treatment, 69 male adolescent sex offenders completed the 60-item, 12-factor Yalom Card Sort. The rank orders were compared to adult sex offenders and a psychiatric adult outpatient group. Relative to adult psychiatric outpatients, the adolescent sex offenders had rated Instillation of Hope three…

Witnessing domestic violence during childhood is associated with psychopathic traits in adult male criminal offenders.

PubMed

Dargis, Monika; Koenigs, Michael

2017-04-01

While there is growing evidence that suffering physical abuse during childhood is subsequently associated with psychopathic traits in both juvenile and adult offenders, there is considerably less research on whether exposure to domestic violence as a witness, rather than as a direct victim, influences the subsequent presentation of psychopathic traits in adulthood. Accordingly, the current study examined the relationship between witnessing domestic violence during childhood (i.e., witnessing, hearing, or intervening in abuse against a parent/sibling) and psychopathic traits in adulthood in a sample of n = 127 incarcerated male offenders. As predicted, witnessing domestic violence was significantly associated with overall level of psychopathy, with a particularly strong relationship to the interpersonal/affective features of psychopathy. Importantly, this relationship held when controlling for the experience of domestic violence as a direct victim. These results add to the growing body of literature linking adverse and traumatic events during childhood with psychopathic traits later in life, and suggest that domestic violence exposure may be one factor contributing to the manipulative, interpersonal style exhibited by individuals high in psychopathy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Prospective Prediction of Juvenile Homicide/Attempted Homicide among Early-Onset Juvenile Offenders

PubMed Central

Baglivio, Michael T.; Wolff, Kevin T.

2017-01-01

While homicide perpetrated by juveniles is a relatively rare occurrence, between 2010 and 2014, approximately 7%–8% of all murders involved a juvenile offender. Unfortunately, few studies have prospectively examined the predictors of homicide offending, with none examining first-time murder among a sample of adjudicated male and female youth. The current study employed data on 5908 juvenile offenders (70% male, 45% Black) first arrested at the age of 12 or younger to prospectively examine predictors of an arrest for homicide/attempted homicide by the age of 18. Among these early-onset offenders, males, Black youth, those living in households with family members with a history of mental illness, those engaging in self-mutilation, and those with elevated levels of anger/aggression (all measured by age 13) were more likely to be arrested for homicide/attempted homicide by age 18. These findings add to the scant scientific literature on the predictors of homicide, and illustrate potential avenues for intervention. PMID:28212340

Prospective Prediction of Juvenile Homicide/Attempted Homicide among Early-Onset Juvenile Offenders.

PubMed

Baglivio, Michael T; Wolff, Kevin T

2017-02-16

While homicide perpetrated by juveniles is a relatively rare occurrence, between 2010 and 2014, approximately 7%-8% of all murders involved a juvenile offender. Unfortunately, few studies have prospectively examined the predictors of homicide offending, with none examining first-time murder among a sample of adjudicated male and female youth. The current study employed data on 5908 juvenile offenders (70% male, 45% Black) first arrested at the age of 12 or younger to prospectively examine predictors of an arrest for homicide/attempted homicide by the age of 18. Among these early-onset offenders, males, Black youth, those living in households with family members with a history of mental illness, those engaging in self-mutilation, and those with elevated levels of anger/aggression (all measured by age 13) were more likely to be arrested for homicide/attempted homicide by age 18. These findings add to the scant scientific literature on the predictors of homicide, and illustrate potential avenues for intervention.

Sexual and general offending trajectories of men referred for civil commitment.

PubMed

Francis, Brian; Harris, Danielle Arlanda; Wallace, Stephanie; Knight, Raymond A; Soothill, Keith

2014-08-01

Policies aimed at managing high-risk offenders, which include sex offenders, often assume they are a homogeneous population. These policies also tend to assume the pattern of offending is the same for all sex offenders, and is stable. This study challenges these assumptions by examining the life course offending trajectories of 780 convicted adult male sexual offenders. The men were referred to the Massachusetts Treatment Center for civil commitment between 1959 and 1984. The changing number of both sexual and any offenses were examined by age using Group-Based Trajectory Modeling. We identified a four-trajectory model for all offending and a four-trajectory model for sexual offending. The identified groups varied in several offending patterns including criminal onset, length of criminal careers, age of peak offending, and time of entry into the treatment center. Late adult onset of sex offending was found to be associated with child molestation, whereas early-onset trajectories were associated with rape. Implications for future research and policy are discussed. © The Author(s) 2013.

Police-registered offenses and psychiatric disorders among young males : the Finnish "From a boy to a man" birth cohort study.

PubMed

Elonheimo, Henrik; Niemelä, Solja; Parkkola, Kai; Multimäki, Petteri; Helenius, Hans; Nuutila, Ari-Matti; Sourander, Andre

2007-06-01

To study associations between crime and psychiatric disorders among adolescent males in a representative population-based cohort study. The sample includes 2,712 Finnish boys born in 1981. Information on criminality consists of offenses registered in the Finnish National Police Register 1998-2001. Crime was classified according to frequency and type (drug, violent, property, traffic, and drunk driving offenses). Information on psychiatric diagnoses between 1999 and 2004 was collected from the Finnish National Military Register. Of the 2,712 boys, 22% had a crime registration during the 4-year period, and 10% had at least one psychiatric disorder according to the Military Register. Those with psychiatric disorders accounted for 49% of all crimes. Of those with more than five crimes (n = 98), 59% had psychiatric diagnoses. After adjusting for other crime types and childhood socio-economic status, property crime was independently associated with several diagnoses: antisocial personality (APD), substance use (SUD), psychotic, anxiety, and adjustment disorders. Drug offending was independently associated with APD, SUD, and psychotic disorder, and traffic offenses with APD. Youth crime is predominantly associated with antisocial personality and substance use disorders. Crime prevention efforts should focus on boys showing a risk for antisocial and substance use problems. In particular, property, drug, and repeat offenders need mental health and substance use assessment. There is a need to develop integrated mental health and substance use treatment services for young offenders within or alongside the criminal justice system.

Child Sexual Abusers' Views on Treatment: A Study of Convicted and Imprisoned Adult Male Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colton, Matthew; Roberts, Susan; Vanstone, Maurice

2009-01-01

In spite of an increasing focus on the assessment and treatment of sexual offenders over the past two decades, much debate persists as to the effectiveness of treatment in reducing recidivism. Given the dearth of research on offenders' perspectives in this area and the potential for offenders' views to inform the development of effective…

Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents: Profiles of Juvenile Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mowder, Melissa H.; Cummings, Jack A.; McKinney, Robert

2010-01-01

An exploratory study of resiliency profiles of male and female juvenile offenders committed to a juvenile correctional facility was conducted. The goal of the present study was to examine juvenile offenders' positive characteristics (e.g., adaptability, optimism, self-efficacy, tolerance of differences). To assess positive characteristics and…

Emotional expression recognition and attribution bias among sexual and violent offenders: a signal detection analysis

PubMed Central

Gillespie, Steven M.; Rotshtein, Pia; Satherley, Rose-Marie; Beech, Anthony R.; Mitchell, Ian J.

2015-01-01

Research with violent offenders has consistently shown impaired recognition of other’s facial expressions of emotion. However, the extent to which similar problems can be observed among sexual offenders remains unknown. Using a computerized task, we presented sexual and violent offenders, and non-offenders, with male and female expressions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise, morphed with neutral expressions at varying levels of intensity (10, 55, and 90% expressive). Based on signal detection theory, we used hit rates and false alarms to calculate the sensitivity index d-prime (d′) and criterion (c) for each emotional expression. Overall, sexual offenders showed reduced sensitivity to emotional expressions across intensity, sex, and type of expression, compared with non-offenders, while both sexual and violent offenders showed particular reduced sensitivity to fearful expressions. We also observed specific effects for high (90%) intensity female faces, with sexual offenders showing reduced sensitivity to anger compared with non-offenders and violent offenders, and reduced sensitivity to disgust compared with non-offenders. Furthermore, both sexual and violent offenders showed impaired sensitivity to high intensity female fearful expressions compared with non-offenders. Violent offenders also showed a higher criterion for classifying moderate and high intensity male expressions as fearful, indicative of a more conservative response style, compared with angry, happy, or sad. These results suggest that both types of offender show problems in emotion recognition, and may have implications for understanding the inhibition of violent and sexually violent behaviors. PMID:26029137

Emotional expression recognition and attribution bias among sexual and violent offenders: a signal detection analysis.

PubMed

Gillespie, Steven M; Rotshtein, Pia; Satherley, Rose-Marie; Beech, Anthony R; Mitchell, Ian J

2015-01-01

Research with violent offenders has consistently shown impaired recognition of other's facial expressions of emotion. However, the extent to which similar problems can be observed among sexual offenders remains unknown. Using a computerized task, we presented sexual and violent offenders, and non-offenders, with male and female expressions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise, morphed with neutral expressions at varying levels of intensity (10, 55, and 90% expressive). Based on signal detection theory, we used hit rates and false alarms to calculate the sensitivity index d-prime (d') and criterion (c) for each emotional expression. Overall, sexual offenders showed reduced sensitivity to emotional expressions across intensity, sex, and type of expression, compared with non-offenders, while both sexual and violent offenders showed particular reduced sensitivity to fearful expressions. We also observed specific effects for high (90%) intensity female faces, with sexual offenders showing reduced sensitivity to anger compared with non-offenders and violent offenders, and reduced sensitivity to disgust compared with non-offenders. Furthermore, both sexual and violent offenders showed impaired sensitivity to high intensity female fearful expressions compared with non-offenders. Violent offenders also showed a higher criterion for classifying moderate and high intensity male expressions as fearful, indicative of a more conservative response style, compared with angry, happy, or sad. These results suggest that both types of offender show problems in emotion recognition, and may have implications for understanding the inhibition of violent and sexually violent behaviors.

Drugs and Disparity: The Racial Impact of Illinois' Practice of Transferring Young Drug Offenders to Adult Court. Building Blocks for Youth.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ziedenberg, Jason

This report describes the racial impact of Illinois' practice of transferring young drug offenders to adult court. The state's Safe School Zone Act of 1986 and subsequent bills enacted by the legislature provide that youth age 15-16 years charged with drug sales within 1,000 feet of a school or public housing development are automatically…

Invited address: Street killings: prediction of homicide offenders and their victims.

PubMed

Loeber, Rolf; Ahonen, Lia

2013-11-01

The article reports on childhood predictors (explanatory, behavioral and offenses) to predict homicide offenders in the longitudinal Pittsburgh Youth Study, and compares these predictors with predictors of homicide victims in the same study. This forms the basis for formulating antecedents that are shared between homicide offenders and homicide victims at a young age (ages 7–11) and antecedents that are not shared or are unique for each. Implications of the research are highlighted for early intervention and for interventions with high-risk offenders.

Invited Address: Street Killings: Prediction of Homicide Offenders and Their Victims

PubMed Central

Loeber, Rolf; Ahonen, Lia

2016-01-01

The article reports on childhood predictors (explanatory, behavioral and offenses) to predict homicide offenders in the longitudinal Pittsburgh Youth Study, and compares these predictors with predictors of homicide victims in the same study. This forms the basis for formulating antecedents that are shared between homicide offenders and homicide victims at a young age (ages 7–11) and antecedents that are not shared or are unique for each. Implications of the research are highlighted for early intervention and for interventions with high-risk offenders. PMID:24122366

Prediction of Recidivism in Juvenile Offenders Based on Discriminant Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proefrock, David W.

The recent development of strong statistical techniques has made accurate predictions of recidivism possible. To investigate the utility of discriminant analysis methodology in making predictions of recidivism in juvenile offenders, the court records of 271 male and female juvenile offenders, aged 12-16, were reviewed. A cross validation group…

The proportions of heterosexual and homosexual pedophiles among sex offenders against children: an exploratory study.

PubMed

Freund, K; Watson, R J

1992-01-01

Previous investigations have indicated that the ratio of sex offenders against female children vs. offenders against male children is approximately 2:1, while the ratio of gynephiles to androphiles among the general population is approximately 20:1. The present study investigated whether the etiology of preferred partner sex among pedophiles is related to the etiology of preferred partner sex among males preferring adult partners. Using phallometric test sensitivities to calculate the proportion of true pedophiles among various groups of sex offenders against children, and taking into consideration previously reported mean numbers of victims per offender group, the ratio of heterosexual to homosexual pedophiles was calculated to be approximately 11:1. This suggests that the resulting proportion of true pedophiles among persons with a homosexual erotic development is greater than that in persons who develop heterosexually. This, of course, would not indicate that androphilic males have a greater propensity to offend against children.

The Relation of Facial Affect Recognition and Empathy to Delinquency in Youth Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, Mary B.; Lutjemeier, John A.

2005-01-01

Associations among facial affect recognition, empathy, and self-reported delinquency were studied in a sample of 29 male youth offenders at a probation placement facility. Youth offenders were asked to recognize facial expressions of emotions from adult faces, child faces, and cartoon faces. Youth offenders also responded to a series of statements…

Examining the Reasons Black Male Youths Give for Committing Crime with Reference to Inner City Areas of London

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achinewhu-Nworgu, Elizabeth; Nworgu, Chioma; Azaiki, Steve; Nworgu, Helen

2013-01-01

This paper presents a mini research carried out by the Focus Learning Support (FLS) team on reasons why young black males in the community commit crime. Knife and gun crime is seen as a serious problem in the black community involving black males in the inner London city areas--many of whom are both victims and offenders of knife and gun crime.…

Public attitudes toward sexual offenders and sex offender registration.

PubMed

Kernsmith, Poco D; Craun, Sarah W; Foster, Jonathan

2009-01-01

This study explores the relationship between fear of various types of sexual offenders and a belief that those sexual offenders should be subject to sex offender registration. We hypothesized that those who offend against children would elicit the most fear; consequently, the most feared offenders would be rated as most requiring registration. As part of a telephone survey, 733 participants answered questions about fear of sex offenders and agreement with requirements about registration for offenders convicted of incest, statutory rape, marital rape, pedophilia, date rape, and an offense committed more than 10 years prior. Results indicated that all types of sexual offenders elicited some fear from respondents, and fear was related to support of registration requirements.

Bem Sex Role Inventory Undifferentiated Score: A Comparison of Sexual Dysfunction Patients with Sexual Offenders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dwyer, Margretta; And Others

1988-01-01

Examined Bem Sex Role undifferentiated scores on 93 male sex offenders as compared with 50 male sexually dysfunctional patients. Chi-square analyses revealed significant difference: offenders obtained undifferentiated scores more often than did sexual dysfunctional population. Concluded that Bem Sex Role Inventory is useful in identifying sexual…

Public Attitudes toward Sexual Offenders and Sex Offender Registration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kernsmith, Poco D.; Craun, Sarah W.; Foster, Jonathan

2009-01-01

This study explores the relationship between fear of various types of sexual offenders and a belief that those sexual offenders should be subject to sex offender registration. We hypothesized that those who offend against children would elicit the most fear; consequently, the most feared offenders would be rated as most requiring registration. As…

From Family Violence Exposure to Violent Offending: Examining Effects of Race and Mental Health in a Moderated Mediation Model Among Confined Male Juveniles.

PubMed

Fix, Rebecca L; Alexander, Apryl A; Burkhart, Barry R

2017-09-01

Depression, substance use, and impulsivity have been linked to family violence exposure and to the development of violent offending during adolescence. Additionally, the indirect effects associated with these factors may not generalize across different racial/ethnic adolescent populations. The present study tested whether race/ethnicity moderated the mediated relationship between family violence exposure and violent offending, with depression, substance use, and impulsivity as mediators. A sample of 1,359 male adolescents was obtained from a juvenile correctional program. Between-racial/ethnic group comparisons were generally consistent with previous findings. The overall moderated mediation model was significant in predicting violence for both racial/ethnic groups. Different factors influenced violent offending among African Americans and European Americans in the tested model. Furthermore, race/ethnicity moderated the relationship between family violence exposure and impulsivity and substance use. Implications and future directions resolving issues are discussed concerning whether race/ethnicity should be included as a moderator in models of violence.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Criminal Propensity Among Intimate Partner Violence Offenders.

PubMed

Hilton, N Zoe; Ham, Elke; Green, Michelle M

2016-10-01

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), defined as exposure to abuse and adverse household events, are prevalent among certain offenders including those who commit intimate partner violence (IPV). However, it is not clear how ACEs relate to criminal propensity among IPV offenders, who have been shown to exhibit less antisociality and institutional violence than other offenders. We compared 99 male offenders with a current or previous offense of IPV with 233 non-IPV violent offenders and 103 nonviolent offenders undergoing institutional forensic assessment. This convenience sample allowed for use of extensive psychosocial records as well as study of institutional violence. IPV offenders had the highest mean ACE score and more extensive criminal propensity on some measures (violent and nonviolent criminal history and psychopathy) than both other groups. ACEs were associated with most measures of criminal propensity in the whole sample but with only one (actuarial risk of violent recidivism) in the subsample of IPV offenders. Finding that ACEs are prevalent among IPV offenders even in this sample with extensive mental illness demonstrates the robustness of this phenomenon. IPV offenders, though, are similar to other violent offenders in this respect, and there is insufficient evidence that ACEs represent a criminogenic need among IPV offenders specifically. Further research could draw from the batterer typology literature and attend to IPV offenders' broader criminal careers.

Sex Education for Male Adolescent Sex Offenders in a Group Setting Led by General Psychiatry Residents: A Literature Review and Example in Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dwyer, R. Gregg; Boyd, Mary S.

2009-01-01

Male adolescents have been credited with a significant percentage of sex crimes in recent years. They are a heterogeneous population with offenses spanning the same range found among adult offenders. A lack of interpersonal social skills relevant to intimate relationships and inaccurate knowledge regarding appropriate sexual behaviors contribute…

Women with Intellectual Disability Who Have Offended: Characteristics and Outcome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindsay, W. R.; Smith, A. H. W.; Quinn, K.; Anderson, A.; Smith, A.; Allan, R.; Law, J.

2004-01-01

There have been a few reports describing the characteristics and outcomes of male offenders with intellectual disability (ID). Therefore, while we are building up a reasonable picture of this client group, there are almost no reports of female offenders with ID. This paper is a preliminary attempt to present information on a small cohort of female…

Male and female child murderers: an empirical analysis of U.S. arrest data.

PubMed

Sellers, Brian G; Heide, Kathleen M

2012-08-01

Recent U.S. cases of murders by children below age 11 have captured national headlines. A review of the literature reveals that little is known about this population of juvenile homicide offenders (JHOs). Most studies on juvenile murderers have used small clinical samples, focused on adolescents, and concentrated on male offenders. Studies that have used Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) data have found significant gender differences among juveniles below 18 years arrested for murder. This study investigated gender differences among 226 juvenile murderers ages 6 through 10 involved in single-victim incidents using bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Consistent with previous research, bivariate analyses revealed gender differences with respect to the type of weapon used, age of the victim, relationship to the victim, and circumstances of the crime. Logistic regression analysis identified female JHOs as more likely to use a knife, kill a family member, and kill a victim below age 5, when compared with male JHOs. From these findings, profiles of young male and female JHOs can be drawn. The article concludes with a discussion of the study's implications for prevention and treatment. The authors recommend that future research in gender differences among young children focus on examining psychological, neurological, and sociological variables not included in the SHR data set.

Is the effect of justice system attitudes on recidivism stable after youths' first arrest? Race and legal socialization among first-time youth offenders.

PubMed

Fine, Adam; Cavanagh, Caitlin; Donley, Sachiko; Frick, Paul J; Steinberg, Laurence; Cauffman, Elizabeth

2017-04-01

Youth who hold negative attitudes toward the justice system are more likely to engage in crime. It is particularly important to study attitudes early in someone's criminal career when they may still be open to change. To date, however, there has been no empirical test assessing whether the relation between attitudes and behavior changes after a first arrest. Using a sample of 1,216 first-time, male, juvenile offenders from the Crossroads Study, the present study explored: (a) racial/ethnic differences in the longitudinal patterns of youths' attitudes; and (b) reciprocal associations between youths' attitudes and both their offending behavior and rearrests in the 2.5 years after their first arrest. The results indicated that White youths' attitudes remained largely stable, Black youths' attitudes became more negative, and Latino youths' attitudes became more negative but only among Latino youth who reoffended. Although the results indicated that youths' attitudes were related to both offending and rearrest, the bidirectional relation between attitudes and offending weakened across time. After 2.5 years after their first arrest, attitudes no longer predicted offending or rearrests. These novel findings suggest that a youth's first contact is likely the most impactful. When it comes to young offenders' interactions with the justice system, first impressions matter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

A Preliminary Examination of Specific Risk Assessment for Sexual Offenders against Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proeve, Michael

2009-01-01

Specific risk questions concerning sexual offending, such as risk of offending against male victims given identified female victims, have seldom been discussed in the child sexual abuse literature. Two approaches to specific risk questions are described: (a) conditional probability calculations, and (b) the development of risk assessment…

Questioning fairness: the relationship of mental health and psychopathic characteristics with young offenders' perceptions of procedural justice and legitimacy.

PubMed

Penner, Erika K; Shaffer, Catherine S; Viljoen, Jodi L

2017-10-01

Theories of procedural justice suggest that individuals who experience the criminal justice system as fair are more likely to perceive it as legitimate and, in turn, are less likely to reoffend. However, when individuals come into contact with the legal system, they are not blank slates - they have beliefs and personality characteristics that may systematically influence such perceptions. Our aim was to establish the extent to which demographic characteristics, legal history and clinical features, including personality characteristics, systematically influenced the degree to which young people experience the justice system as fair and legitimate. Self-report, file and interview data were collected from ninety-two 12 to 17-year-olds on probation in Western Canada. Substance use and traumatic experiences were inversely correlated with perceptions of procedural justice and legal legitimacy. Young people with higher scores on interpersonal, lifestyle and antisocial facets of the psychopathy checklist: youth version believed less strongly in the legitimacy of the law, but regression analyses confirmed that only history of trauma was independently associated with perceived procedural justice and legitimacy. Those in the youngest age group were more likely to have positive perceptions of justice than older youths, but demographics and legal history otherwise did not relate to outcomes. Our findings suggest that examining the relationship between procedural justice, legitimacy and offending without taking intra-individual variables into account may neglect important influences on those relationships. Other research has begun to show that young people who do not accept the law as legitimate or the criminal justice system as fair are more likely to offend. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evaluating shame transformation in group treatment of domestic violence offenders.

PubMed

Loeffler, Christopher H; Prelog, Andrew J; Unnithan, N Prabha; Pogrebin, Mark R

2010-08-01

Offender rehabilitation, pitting the rational ability of criminal justice against the seeming irrationality of criminal behavior, remains controversial. Psychology highlights the importance of emotions in mediating individual behavior. Borrowing from restorative justice as a more emotionally intelligent form of justice, this article examines the role of shame and guilt in a domestic violence offender treatment program. The emotions are differentiated and then activated, similar to the use of reintegrative shaming in restorative justice, to promote greater offender accountability and empathy. Using a two-group comparison of male domestic violence offenders, measurements were taken on three sets of scales in assessing the outcome of the shame transformation process. Statistically significant effects were found for self-esteem and empathetic concern. Findings and future research are discussed.

Empowering Young Black Males--III: A Systematic Modular Training Program for Black Male Children & Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Courtland C.

This series of five interrelated modules is an update and revision of "Saving the Native Son: Empowerment Strategies for Young Black Males (1996)." It offers specific strategies for empowering young African American males to help them achieve optimal educational and social success. Empowerment is a developmental process by which people who are…

The prevalence of middle eastern extremist ideologies among some canadian offenders.

PubMed

Loza, Wagdy

2010-05-01

The Belief Diversity Scale (BDS) was administered to 89 male Canadian offenders of different religious backgrounds. The BDS is a 33-item, sixsubscale instrument designed to quantitatively measure the religious attitudes, beliefs, and ideologies of Middle Eastern extremists on risk areas described in the literature. Results indicated that the Muslim offenders scored much higher than and significantly different from both the Christian and atheist groups on the BDS. Results also suggested the prevalence of Middle Eastern extremist ideologies among the Muslim offenders involved in this study.

Predicting recidivism with the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) in community-supervised male and female federal offenders.

PubMed

Walters, Glenn D; Lowenkamp, Christopher T

2016-06-01

Higher order scores derived from the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS; Walters, 1995) have been found to predict recidivism in released prison inmates with effect sizes in the low-moderate to medium range. The current study sought to determine whether the PICTS is capable of predicting general recidivism in a sample of 81,881 male and 14,519 female offenders on federal probation or supervised release. Results indicated that the PICTS General Criminal Thinking, Proactive, and Reactive scores and 6 of the 7 thinking style scales predicted recidivism in follow-ups of 6 or more months, 12 or more months, and 24 or more months with effect sizes in the low-moderate to medium range. The effect sizes were reduced to small and low-moderate, respectively, when age and prior arrests were controlled for in a series of partial correlations. It was also noted that the PICTS General Criminal Thinking score contributed significant diagnostic information to recidivism prediction in both males and females above and beyond the information provided by a comprehensive risk assessment procedure. These results indicate that the PICTS may be a useful adjunct to other risk assessment procedures in providing comprehensive risk prediction and management services to offenders under community supervision. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Gender differences in homicide offenders' criminal career, substance abuse and mental health care. A nationwide register-based study of Finnish homicide offenders 1995-2004.

PubMed

Putkonen, Hanna; Weizmann-Henelius, Ghitta; Lindberg, Nina; Rovamo, Tuija; Häkkänen-nyholm, Helinä

2011-02-01

It is generally considered that women who kill are more likely to have a psychiatric disorder than their male counterparts, but as a relatively small group, women are much less often studied than men in this context. To explore gender differences in the psychosocial history of homicide offenders. In this nationwide register-based study, data were extracted from the forensic psychiatric examination and crime reports of all 91 women prosecuted for homicide in Finland between 1995 and 2004 and from those of the next adjacent man convicted of a separate homicide (n = 91). Both female and male homicide offenders had a troubled childhood, but more women had witnessed or experienced family violence; more women had failed to complete their primary education. Men, however, were more likely to have had an offending history. Although there were no differences between the men and women in the frequencies of psychiatric diagnoses or of substance abuse, the women had more often received prior mental health treatment. The women were also more likely to have had a history of suicidal behaviour. Both female and male homicide offenders are a troubled group of people, with slightly different criminal careers. Many use mental health services and therefore prevention could be improved. The suggestion of a special sub-group of women characterised by early educational and behavioural difficulties needs replication, as it may have implications for service development. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Predictors of Sexual Coercion and Alcohol Use among Female Juvenile Offenders

PubMed Central

Yeater, Elizabeth A.; Montanaro, Erika A.; Bryan, Angela D.

2014-01-01

Female juvenile offenders report high rates of sexual coercion and substance use, yet the temporal relationship between the two remains unclear. The focus of this study was to conduct a prospective examination of predictors of sexual coercion and substance use for a group of high-risk young women. Two hundred and forty five adolescent females (34% of a sample including males and females), between the ages of 14-17, and from a larger study of juvenile offenders, were recruited from juvenile probation offices to participate in a longitudinal study on substance use and sexual risk. At baseline, participants completed measures associated with increased risk for sexual coercion, including substance use, perceived relationship control, and externalizing behavior. At 6- and 24-month follow-up, participants also completed a measure assessing sexually coercive experiences. Path analysis revealed that less relationship control at baseline predicted sexual coercion at 6-months. Additionally, 6-month sexual coercion predicted alcohol use and sexual coercion at 24-month follow-up. Logistic regression analysis revealed also that alcohol use at 6-months predicted sexual revictimization at 24-months. Sexual coercion appears to be associated with subsequent increases in alcohol use, suggesting that female juvenile offenders may be using alcohol to cope with the psychological and emotional consequences of victimization. Alcohol use is linked to increased risk for repeat sexual coercion, suggesting that exposure to risky environments also may be important in understanding these girls' risk. Difficulties responding assertively in sexual relationships (i.e., low relationship control) also seem to increase female juvenile offenders' risk for sexual coercion. Finally, previous sexual coercion appears to increase risk for future victimization, highlighting the importance of early intervention for this at-risk group. PMID:25107488

Appraising the risk matrix 2000 static sex offender risk assessment tool.

PubMed

Tully, Ruth J; Browne, Kevin D

2015-02-01

This critical appraisal explores the reliability and validity of the Risk Matrix 2000 static sex offender risk assessment tool that is widely used in the United Kingdom. The Risk Matrix 2000 has to some extent been empirically validated for use with adult male sex offenders; however, this review highlights that further research into the validity of this static tool with sex offender subgroups or types is necessary in order to improve practical utility. The Risk Matrix 2000 relies on static risk predictors, thus it is limited in scope. This article argues that the addition of dynamic items that have been shown to be predictive of sexual recidivism would further enhance the tool. The paper argues that adding dynamic risk items would fit better with a rehabilitative approach to sex offender risk management and assessment. This would also provide a means by which to effectively plan sex offender treatment and evaluate individual offenders' progress in treatment; however, difficulties remain in identifying and assessing dynamic risk factors of sexual offending and so further research is required. © The Author(s) 2013.

Ex-Offenders Reentering the Workforce

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shivy, Victoria A.; Wu, J. Juana; Moon, Anya E.; Mann, Shay C.; Holland, Jo G.; Eacho, Christine

2007-01-01

Approximately 650,000 individuals will be released from incarceration in state and federal prisons this year. However, little is known about the challenges ex-offenders face when they endeavor to reenter the workforce. The authors used consensual qualitative research methods to analyze data from 2 focus groups: one for male (n=6) and another for…

Female sexual homicide offenders: an analysis of the offender racial profiles in offending process.

PubMed

Chan, Heng Choon Oliver; Frei, Autumn M; Myers, Wade C

2013-12-10

Despite the recent effort by Chan and Frei in studying female sexual homicide offenders (SHOs), much is still unknown about this underresearched offender population. One largely unexplored area is how female SHOs of different races commit their killings. Using FBI Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR) data (1976-2007), 105 White and 94 Black female SHOs (N=204) were examined for their differential offending patterns. Most female SHOs, regardless of race, killed victims of the opposite gender (i.e., heterosexual offenses). Most frequently targeted by female SHOs of both races (44% of Whites and 57% of Blacks) were known victims (e.g., friends, acquaintances) who were not intimate partners or family members. Firearms were the most common weapons used by female SHOs (60% of Whites and 48% of Blacks). The second most common weapon type used by Black offenders was an edged weapon (32%), whereas for White offenders it was a personal weapon (17%). Black female SHOs normally perpetrated their offense in large cities (69%), while White female SHOs most often committed their crime in suburban areas (40%). This study underscores importance of considering the offender racial group in female sexual murder investigations. Hence, several implications for offender profiling are offered. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The overlap between offending trajectories, criminal violence, and intimate partner violence.

PubMed

Piquero, Alex R; Theobald, Delphine; Farrington, David P

2014-03-01

This article investigates the overlap between offending trajectories, criminal violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV) and the factors associated with these behaviors. Knowledge on these questions is relevant to theory and policy. For the former, this article considers the extent to which specific theories are needed for understanding crime, criminal violence, and/or IPV, whereas for the latter, it may suggest specific offense- and offender-based policies. We use data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development that traces the offending, criminal violence, and IPV of males to age 50. Findings show that there is significant overlap between criminal violence and IPV, high-rate offending trajectories have increased odds of criminal violence and IPV, and early childhood risk factors have no additional effect on criminal violence and IPV in adulthood over and above the offending trajectories.

The latent structure of alcohol misuse in young adults: Do taxometric results differ as a function of prior criminal history?

PubMed

Walters, Glenn D

2015-12-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the latent structure of alcohol misuse is categorical or continuous in male and female adults with and without a history of prior criminal offending. Data from 3452 (1530 male, 1922 female) 27-to-32 year old members of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were subjected to taxometric analysis using three nonredundant taxometric procedures--mean above minus below a cut (MAMBAC), maximum covariance (MAXCOV), and latent mode factor analysis (L-Mode). Analyses produced results consistent with categorical latent structure in males with a previous history of criminal offending but not in males without a previous history of criminal offending or females with or without a history of criminal offending. The findings from the other groups were indeterminate for the most part (i.e., neither categorical nor continuous). The presumptive taxon was validated by testing differences in age of onset and frequency of criminal arrest and drunkenness between the putative taxon and the upper portion of the complement. As predicted, all four validation outcomes were significantly worse in the taxon group. On the basis of these results it is concluded that alcohol misuse in young adults may have features of both categorical and continuous latent structure and that the categorical aspects are more prominent in males with a history of offending behavior. Additional research is required to determine which aspects and features of alcohol misuse are categorical and which aspects and features are continuous. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Utility of Male Domestic Violence Offender Typologies: New Directions for Research, Policy, and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavanaugh, Mary M.; Gelles, Richard J.

2005-01-01

The development of empirically based behavioral and psychological typologies provides clear evidence that offenders vary across types. A review and synthesis of the literature reveals three types of batterers common across current typology research - a low, moderate, and high-risk offender. Examination of these types demonstrates that most male…

Gender differences in comorbid disorders among offenders in prison substance abuse treatment programs.

PubMed

Zlotnick, Caron; Clarke, Jennifer G; Friedmann, Peter D; Roberts, Mary B; Sacks, Stanley; Melnick, Gerald

2008-01-01

This study examined gender differences in a range of lifetime psychiatric disorders in a sample of 272 offenders newly admitted to a prison substance abuse program. Although these men and women did not differ in severity of substance use in the six months prior to incarceration, women were significantly more likely than men to report a lifetime psychiatric disorder and a lifetime severe disorder. Furthermore, gender differences emerged in the pattern of lifetime psychiatric comorbidity. Women reported greater lifetime major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, eating disorder, and borderline personality disorder; men were more likely than women to meet criteria for antisocial personality disorder. Additionally, female offenders were found to have a higher degree of internalizing disorders than male offenders, but there were no gender differences in degree of externalizing disorders. The study concluded that women offenders newly admitted to a prison substance abuse program present with a greater psychiatric vulnerability and a different pattern of psychiatric comorbidity than their male counterparts.

The interrelation between victimization and bullying inside young offender institutions.

PubMed

Häufle, Jenny; Wolter, Daniel

2015-01-01

Bullying and victimization are serious problems within prisons. Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), in particular, suffer from high rates of inmate-on-inmate violence. More recent theories about the development of bullying in closed custody institutions imply a relationship between the experience of victimization and the usage of bullying. In our study, we test this linkage using longitudinal survey data taken at two time-points from 473 inmates (aged 15-24) inside three YOIs in Germany. We first analyze the extent of bullying and victimization, and then used a longitudinal structural equation model to predict inmate bullying behavior at time 2 based on victimization that occurred at time 1. Age is used as a predictor variable to account for differences in the amount of victimization and bullying. Results suggest that bullying and victimization are high in the YOIs, which were subject to research. Most inmates reported being a bully and a victim at the same time. Younger inmates use more direct physical bullying but not psychological bullying. An increase in psychological bullying over time can significantly be explained by victimization at an earlier measurement time point. Our study therefore supports recent theoretical assumptions about the development of bullying behavior. Possible implications for prevention and intervention are discussed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Differences in executive functioning between violent and non-violent offenders.

PubMed

Meijers, J; Harte, J M; Meynen, G; Cuijpers, P

2017-07-01

A growing body of neuropsychological and neurobiological research shows a relationship between functioning of the prefrontal cortex and criminal and violent behaviour. The prefrontal cortex is crucial for executive functions such as inhibition, attention, working memory, set-shifting and planning. A deficit in these functions - a prefrontal deficit - may result in antisocial, impulsive or even aggressive behaviour. While several meta-analyses show large effect sizes for the relationship between a prefrontal deficit, executive dysfunction and criminality, there are few studies investigating differences in executive functions between violent and non-violent offenders. Considering the relevance of identifying risk factors for violent offending, the current study explores whether a distinction between violent and non-violent offenders can be made using an extensive neuropsychological test battery. Male remand prisoners (N = 130) in Penitentiary Institution Amsterdam Over-Amstel were administered an extensive neuropsychological test battery (Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Test Battery; CANTAB) measuring response inhibition, planning, attention, set-shifting, working memory and impulsivity/reward sensitivity. Violent offenders performed significantly worse on the stop-signal task (partial correlation r = 0.205, p = 0.024), a task measuring response inhibition. No further differences were found between violent and non-violent offenders. Explorative analyses revealed a significant relationship between recidivism and planning (partial correlation r = -0.209, p = 0.016). Violent offenders show worse response inhibition compared to non-violent offenders, suggesting a more pronounced prefrontal deficit in violent offenders than in non-violent offenders.

Parenting Styles, Prosocial, and Aggressive Behavior: The Role of Emotions in Offender and Non-offender Adolescents.

PubMed

Llorca, Anna; Richaud, María Cristina; Malonda, Elisabeth

2017-01-01

The aim is to analyse the parenting styles effects (acceptance, negative control and negligence) on prosociality and aggressive behavior in adolescents through the mediator variables empathy and emotional instability, and also, if this model fits to the same extent when we study adolescents institutionalized due to problems with the law and adolescents from the general population, and at the same time, if the values of the different analyzed variables are similar in both groups of adolescents. We carried out a cross-sectional study. 220 participants from schools in the metropolitan area of Valencia took part in the study. Also, 220 young offenders took part recruited from four Youth Detention Centres of Valencia, in which they were carrying out court sentences. The age of the subjects range from 15-18 years. The results indicate that the emotional variables act as mediators in general, in the non-offender adolescents, but it has been observed, in the offender adolescents, a direct effect of support on aggressive behavior in a negative way and on prosociality in a positive way; and of negligence on aggressive behavior and of permissiveness on prosociality in a negative way.

Parenting Styles, Prosocial, and Aggressive Behavior: The Role of Emotions in Offender and Non-offender Adolescents

PubMed Central

Llorca, Anna; Richaud, María Cristina; Malonda, Elisabeth

2017-01-01

The aim is to analyse the parenting styles effects (acceptance, negative control and negligence) on prosociality and aggressive behavior in adolescents through the mediator variables empathy and emotional instability, and also, if this model fits to the same extent when we study adolescents institutionalized due to problems with the law and adolescents from the general population, and at the same time, if the values of the different analyzed variables are similar in both groups of adolescents. We carried out a cross-sectional study. 220 participants from schools in the metropolitan area of Valencia took part in the study. Also, 220 young offenders took part recruited from four Youth Detention Centres of Valencia, in which they were carrying out court sentences. The age of the subjects range from 15-18 years. The results indicate that the emotional variables act as mediators in general, in the non-offender adolescents, but it has been observed, in the offender adolescents, a direct effect of support on aggressive behavior in a negative way and on prosociality in a positive way; and of negligence on aggressive behavior and of permissiveness on prosociality in a negative way. PMID:28848459

Sex Offender Registration: Balancing the Rights of the Individual with the Public Good--A Commentary on Comartin, Kernsmith, and Miles (2010)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berkowitz, Carol D.

2010-01-01

This article presents the author's comments on the article "Family Experiences of Young Adult Sex Offender Registration" by E. B. Comartin, P. D. Kernsmith, & P. W. Miles (2010). In the article "Family Experiences of Young Adult Sex Offender Registration", Comartin, Kernsmith, and Miles (2010) put forth a telling argument about the impact of the…

The Marginally Employed Offender: A Unique Phenomenon among Released Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nally, John; Lockwood, Susan; Knutson, Katie; Ho, Taiping

2013-01-01

The primary focus of this study was to explore the characteristics of marginally employed (earnings less than $5,000 per year) ex-offenders. Findings from this study include the following: (1) The number of employed offenders varied from 47.7 percent of recently released offenders in 2006 to 49.8 percent of recently released offenders in 2009; (2)…

Male imprisoned firesetters have different characteristics than other imprisoned offenders and require specialist treatment.

PubMed

Gannon, Theresa A; Ciardha, Caoilte Ó; Barnoux, Magali F L; Tyler, Nichola; Mozova, Katarina; Alleyne, Emma K A

2013-01-01

This study investigated whether a group of firesetters (n = 68) could be distinguished, psychologically, from a matched group of non-firesetting offenders (n = 68). Participants completed measures examining psychological variables relating to fire, emotional/self-regulation, social competency, self-concept, boredom proneness, and impression management. Official prison records were also examined to record offending history and other offense-related variables. A series of MANOVAs were conducted with conceptually related measures identified as the dependent variables. Follow-up discriminant function and clinical cut-off score analyses were also conducted to examine the best discriminating variables for firesetters. Firesetters were clearly distinguishable, statistically, from non-firesetters on three groups of conceptually related measures relating to: fire, emotional/self-regulation, and self-concept. The most successful variables for the discrimination of firesetters determined via statistical and clinical significance testing were higher levels of anger-related cognition, interest in serious fires, and identification with fire and lower levels of perceived fire safety awareness, general self-esteem, and external locus of control. Firesetters appear to be a specialist group of offenders who hold unique psychological characteristics. Firesetters are likely to require specialist treatment to target these psychological needs as opposed to generic offending behavior programs.

Effects of emotional stimuli on working memory processes in male criminal offenders with borderline and antisocial personality disorder.

PubMed

Prehn, Kristin; Schulze, Lars; Rossmann, Sabine; Berger, Christoph; Vohs, Knut; Fleischer, Monika; Hauenstein, Karlheinz; Keiper, Peter; Domes, Gregor; Herpertz, Sabine C

2013-02-01

OBJECTIVE. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the influence of concurrently presented emotional stimuli on cognitive task processing in violent criminal offenders primarily characterized by affective instability. METHODS. Fifteen male criminal offenders with antisocial and borderline personality disorder (ASPD and BPD) and 17 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing a working memory task with low and high working memory load. In a second experimental run, to investigate the interaction of emotion and cognition, we presented emotionally neutral, low, or high salient social scenes in the background of the task. RESULTS. During the memory task without pictures, both groups did not differ in general task performance and neural representation of working memory processes. During the memory task with emotional background pictures, however, ASPD-BPD subjects compared to healthy controls showed delayed responses and enhanced activation of the left amygdala in the presence of emotionally high salient pictures independent of working memory load. CONCLUSIONS. These results illustrate an interaction of emotion and cognition in affective instable individuals with enhanced reactivity to emotionally salient stimuli which might be an important factor regarding the understanding of aggressive and violent behaviour in these individuals.

The Cycle of Abuse: When Victims Become Offenders.

PubMed

Plummer, Malory; Cossins, Annie

2016-07-19

Various psychological theories exist in the literature to explain the behavior of men who commit child sex offences, including the belief that child sexual abuse (CSA) is a predisposing factor for the transition from victim to offender. These theories are, however, unable to explain the fact that while most victims of CSA are female, most perpetrators of CSA are male. The sex specificity of CSA in terms of victims and offenders suggests that the experience of CSA and its psychosocial effects may be different for boys, compared to girls. We hypothesize that CSA experiences may involve risk factors that affect the development of sexually abusive behavior for boys, rather than girls. Our aim was to determine whether the literature provides evidence of a cycle of abuse from victim to offender, and, if so, to document its characteristics. We undertook a comprehensive literature review of studies on both victims and offenders, including studies which revealed the following: age of onset of CSA, duration of abuse, gender of the abuser, the relationship between victim and abuser, grooming behaviors, the types and severity of abuse, and disclosure of abuse. While we found no evidence for the existence of a cycle of abuse for female CSA victims, we discovered evidence to support the existence of a cycle of abuse for male CSA victims who had experienced particular abuse characteristics. As an original contribution to the literature, we identified four factors that may be associated with a boy's transition from victim to offender as well as the methodological issues to be addressed in future research. Based on criminological theories, we argue that these four factors share a common theme, that is, that they represent experiences of power (for the abuser) and powerlessness (for the victim). © The Author(s) 2016.

The neuropsychology of prefrontal function in antisocial personality disordered offenders with varying degrees of psychopathy.

PubMed

Dolan, M

2012-08-01

Despite methodological differences between studies, it has been suggested that psychopathy may be associated with a ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) deficit and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), as classified in the DSM-IV, with a broader range of deficits in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and VMPFC function. Ninety-six male offenders with ASPD who were assessed using the psychopathy checklist: screening version (PCL:SV) and 49 male right-handed healthy controls (HCs), matched for age and IQ, completed a neuropsychological test battery. Offenders with ASPD displayed subtle impairments on executive function tasks of planning ability and set shifting and behavioural inhibition compared to HCs. However, among the offenders with ASPD there was no significant association between executive function impairment and scores on the measure of psychopathy. Psychopathic traits in offenders with ASPD are not associated with greater executive function impairment.

Easy access to firearms: juveniles' risks for violent offending and violent victimization.

PubMed

Ruback, R Barry; Shaffer, Jennifer N; Clark, Valerie A

2011-07-01

Keeping firearms at home may increase personal safety but it may also increase the risk of injury. This study uses data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to assess the extent to which adolescents' easy access to firearms at home increases the risk of violent offending and violent victimization. Access to firearms was higher for males, Whites, and adolescents having two parents, especially fathers. Current access to firearms at home significantly increased the odds of both violent offending and violent victimization, even after controlling for prior access, prior offending, and prior victimization. This relationship persisted into early adulthood; access to firearms still significantly increased the odds of violent offending and violent victimization.

Restorative Justice conferencing and the youth offender: exploring the role of oral language competence.

PubMed

Snow, Pamela C; Sanger, Dixie D

2011-01-01

Restorative Justice is an approach to responding to youth offending that aims to be collaborative and conciliatory rather than adversarial. In this respect, it is a welcome innovation in justice, welfare, and educational settings, and is gaining favour around the world. To date, however, the Restorative Justice literature has not considered the possible implications of unidentified language impairment in the young offenders who are asked to participate in face-to-face conferences with their victim(s). The aims of this paper are (1) to bring two paradigms together: Restorative Justice on the one hand, and the literature on language and social cognition impairments in vulnerable and socially marginalized young people on the other; (2) to stimulate awareness and interest in this aspect of public policy and practice by speech-language pathologists; and (3) to suggest some research questions that need to be tackled from an oral language competence perspective. A narrative review of the relevant literature pertaining to both Restorative Justice and oral language competence in vulnerable young people was conducted, with particular emphasis on the implications of the undetected language impairments as a source of possible unintended harm to both victims and offenders in Restorative Justice conferences. This is the first paper that specifically addresses the oral language skills of vulnerable and socially marginalized young people with respect to their capacity to participate in Restorative Justice conferences. It is important that speech-language pathologists contribute their specialized knowledge and clinical skills to public policy-making and debate, and practice that pertains to marginalized young people who may have undetected oral language impairments. Speech-language pathology as a profession is well positioned to plan and execute important programmes of research on this growing approach to dealing with youth offending and reducing recidivism. © 2010 Royal College

A comparison of incest offenders based on victim age.

PubMed

Firestone, Philip; Dixon, Kristopher L; Nunes, Kevin L; Bradford, John M

2005-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to compare incest offenders (IOs) whose victims include infants or toddlers to IOs with adolescent victims on several variables commonly examined in the sexual offender literature. Participants were 48 men whose youngest victim was less than 6 years of age (younger-victim incest offenders; YVs); and 71 men whose youngest victim was 12 to 16 years of age (older-victim incest offenders (OVs). In general, YVs showed more emotional disturbance and pathology than OVs. Compared with OVs, YVs had a greater history of substance abuse and more current problems with alcohol. In addition, YVs reported significantly poorer sexual functioning and were significantly more psychiatrically disturbed. YVs were also more likely to have a male victim, to have victimized a nephew/niece or grandson/granddaughter, and to have denied their offense(s). It was evident that both the YVs and OVs demonstrated clinically significant difficulty with normal sexual functioning and exhibited deviant sexual arousal.

Neuronal correlates of personal space intrusion in violent offenders.

PubMed

Schienle, Anne; Wabnegger, Albert; Leitner, Mario; Leutgeb, Verena

2017-04-01

Personal space (PS) is defined as the imagery region immediately surrounding our body, which acts as safety zone. It has been suggested that PS is enlarged in violent offenders and that this group shows an enhanced sensitivity to the reduction of interpersonal distance. In the present fMRI study high-risk violent offenders and noncriminal controls were presented with photos of neutral facial expressions by men and women. All images were shown twice, as static photos, and animated (i.e., appearing to approach the subject) in order to simulate PS intrusion. Approaching faces generally provoked activation of a fronto-parietal network and the insula. Offenders responded with greater insula activation to approaching faces, especially when the person was male. Insular activation has been recognized before as a neuronal correlate of potential threat and harm detection in PS. The increased reactivity of violent offenders is possibly a result of their hostile attribution bias.

Interpersonal Skills Training: Evaluation of a Program with Adult Male Offenders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bornstein, Philip H.; And Others

1979-01-01

To assess the efficacy of an interpersonal skill training program, adult offenders were randomly assigned to either interpersonal effectiveness training or waiting-list control. Results indicated interpersonal effectiveness training group superiority on Interpersonal Behavior Role-Play Test training and generalization assessment items. Findings…

Comparing Offenders against Women and Offenders against Children on Treatment Outcome in Offenders with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindsay, William R.; Michie, Amanda M.; Steptoe, Lesley; Moore, Fhionna; Haut, Fabian

2011-01-01

Background: Several studies have shown the positive effects of sex offender treatment for men with intellectual disabilities who have perpetrated sex offences or inappropriate sexual behaviour. The present study investigates the process of treatment change and compares two groups of offenders against adults and offenders against children. Method:…

National study of suicide method in violent criminal offenders.

PubMed

Webb, R T; Qin, P; Stevens, H; Shaw, J; Appleby, L; Mortensen, P B

2013-09-05

Gaining a greater knowledge of the mechanisms and means by which violent offenders die by suicide can inform tailored preventive strategies. Using interlinked national Danish registry data we constructed a nested case-control study dataset of all adult suicides during 1994-2006: N=9708 cases and N=188,134 age and gender matched living controls. Completely ascertained International Classification of Diseases 10th revision cause-specific mortality codes were examined, with all criminal charges since 1980, and covariate information on psychiatric treatment and socio-demographics. Self-poisonings were classified as 'nonviolent' suicide and all other methods as being 'violent' ones. Compared with the general population, risk among male and female violent offenders was strongly and significantly elevated for suicide by either a violent or a nonviolent method, although the relative risk was greater for nonviolent suicide. These patterns were also observed among nonviolent offenders, albeit with smaller effect sizes. Risk was especially raised for self-poisoning with narcotics & hallucinogens. We could only examine the full range of suicide methods in male violent offenders. In these men, hanging was the most frequently used method, although risk was markedly and significantly elevated virtually across the entire range of regularly used suicide methods. We lacked sufficient statistical power for undertaking a detailed profiling of specific suicide methods among female violent offenders. Our findings indicate that comprehensive and broadly-based preventive approaches are needed for tackling the markedly raised risk of suicide by both violent and nonviolent means in this population. Their high relative risk for self-poisoning by illicit or illegal drugs underlines the importance of access to means and of prevailing subculture. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Offenders With Antisocial Personality Disorder Display More Impairments in Mentalizing.

PubMed

Newbury-Helps, John; Feigenbaum, Janet; Fonagy, Peter

2017-04-01

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that individuals with antisocial, particularly violent, histories of offending behavior have specific problems in social cognition, notably in relation to accurately envisioning mental states. Eighty-three male offenders on community license, 65% of whom met the threshold for antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), completed a battery of computerized mentalizing tests requiring perspective taking (Perspectives Taking Test), mental state recognition from facial expression (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test), and identification of mental states in the context of social interaction (Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition). The results were compared with a partially matched sample of 42 nonoffending controls. The offender group showed impaired mentalizing on all of the tasks when compared with the control group for this study when controlling for demographic and clinical variables, and the offending group performed poorly in comparisons with participants in published studies, suggesting that limited capacity to mentalize may be part of the picture presented by individuals with histories of offending behavior. Offenders with ASPD demonstrated greater difficulty with mentalizing than non-ASPD offenders. Mentalization subscales were able to predict offender status and those with ASPD, indicating that specific impairments in perspective taking, social cognition, and social sensitivity, as well as tendencies toward hypomentalizing and nonmentalizing, are more marked in individuals who meet criteria for a diagnosis of ASPD. Awareness of these deficits may be helpful to professionals working with offenders, and specifically addressing these deficits may be a productive aspect of therapy for this "hard to reach" clinical group.

Child care providers who commit sexual offences: a description of offender, offence, and victim characteristics.

PubMed

Moulden, Heather M; Firestone, Philip; Wexler, Audrey F

2007-08-01

The aim of this investigation was to undertake an exploratory analysis of child care providers who sexually offend against children and adolescents and the circumstances related to these offences. Archival Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS) reports were obtained from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and demographic and criminal characteristics for the offender, as well as information about the victim and offence, were selected for analyses. A descriptive approach was used to analyze the qualitative reports for a group of 305 Canadian sexual offenders between 1995 and 2002. Adult male (N = 163) and female ( N = 14), along with juvenile male (N = 100) and female (N = 28) child care providers who were involved in a sexual offence against a child or adolescent are described. This article provides unique information about the crimes committed by child care providers in that it is focused on crime characteristics, rather than on personality or treatment variables. Furthermore, it represents a comprehensive examination of this type of offender by including understudied groups, namely juvenile and female offenders.

Recidivistic offending and mortality in alcoholic violent offenders: a prospective follow-up study.

PubMed

Tikkanen, Roope; Holi, Matti; Lindberg, Nina; Tiihonen, Jari; Virkkunen, Matti

2009-06-30

Predictive data supporting prevention of violent criminality are scarce. We examined risk factors for recidivism and mortality among non-psychotic alcoholic violent offenders, the majority having antisocial or borderline personality disorders, or both, which is a group that commits the majority of violent offences in Finland. Criminal records and mortality data on 242 male alcoholic violent offenders were analysed after a 7- to 15-year follow-up, and compared between themselves and with those of 1210 age-, sex- and municipality-matched controls. Recidivism and mortality rates were high. The risk of recidivistic violence was increased by antisocial or borderline personality disorder, or both, childhood maltreatment, and a combination of these. A combination of borderline personality disorder and childhood maltreatment was particularly noxious, suggesting an additive risk increase for a poor outcome. Accurate diagnosis and careful childhood interview may help to predict recidivism and premature death.

Psychosocial Correlates of Attitudes Toward Male Sexual Violence in a Sample of Financial Crime, Property Crime, General Violent, and Homicide Offenders.

PubMed

Debowska, Agata; Boduszek, Daniel; Willmott, Dominic

2017-02-01

Although those currently serving prison sentences for sexual violence can be identified and receive treatment, the number of prisoners with a history of sexual violence against female partners is unknown. Methods to identify prisoners with a proclivity for such violence and accurately assess the risk they pose before and after incarceration are therefore required. Here, we aimed to assess the level of sexually violent attitudes within dating relationships and to examine their associations with experiences of child abuse and neglect (CAN), psychopathic personality traits, prisonization, number of incarcerations, age, years of schooling, relationship status, and parenting among different types of offenders (financial crime, property crime, general violent, and homicide offenders). Data were collected among a large systematically selected sample of adult male inmates ( N = 1,123). We demonstrated that sexual violence-supportive attitudes appear to be a function of child sexual abuse and psychopathic personality traits, and may be developed through early socialization experiences as well as incarceration. Practical implications of current findings are discussed.

Traumatic brain injury in a prison population: prevalence and risk for re-offending.

PubMed

Williams, W Huw; Mewse, Avril J; Tonks, James; Mills, Sarah; Burgess, Crispin N W; Cordan, Giray

2010-01-01

TBI can lead to cognitive, behavioural and emotional difficulties. Previous studies suggest that TBI is relatively elevated in offender populations. In this study the aims were to establish the rate of TBI of various severities in a representative sample of adult offenders and patterns of custody associated with TBI. A self-report survey of adult, male offenders within a prison. Of 453 offenders, 196 (43%) responded. Over 60% reported 'Head Injuries'. Reports consistent with TBI of various severities were given by 65%. Of the overall sample, 16% had experienced moderate-to-severe TBI and 48% mild TBI. Adults with TBI were younger at entry into custodial systems and reported higher rates of repeat offending. They also reported greater time, in the past 5 years, spent in prison. These findings indicate that there is a need to account for TBI in the assessment and management of offenders.

Do pedophiles have a weaker identity structure compared with nonsexual offenders?

PubMed

Tardi, M; Van Gijseghem, H

2001-10-01

The aim of this study was to determine whether pedophiles have a weaker identity structure compared with nonsexual offenders. The recruitment process secured the participation of 87 male adult subjects, divided into three groups: 27 pedophiles who abused male victims (X = 38.6 years), 30 pedophiles who abused female victims (X = 35.5 years), 30 nonsexual offenders (X = 29.8 years). The concept of identity was examined on the basis of two factors: body image limits and ego identity. Two objective tests, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Ego Identity Scale, and one projective test, the Rorschach scored according to the Fisher and Cleveland method, were used. A multivariate analysis of covariance, at a significance threshold of p < .05, indicated that pedophiles who abused female victims and pedophiles who abused male victims have more fragile body image limits, as measured by the penetration score, and present a higher level of social introversion (Si scale) than do nonsexual offenders. Moreover, pedophiles who abused male victims have a weaker ego (Es scale) than do pedophiles who abused female victims and nonsexual offenders. In other respects, no significant intergroup difference emerged in terms of body image limits as measured by the barrier score and of strength of ego identity (Ego Identity Scale). Conceptual and empirical elements related to body image and ego identity are addressed to shed light on the potential disturbances in the identity of pedophile subjects. These results imply not only that certain impairments exist at the level of the basis structures of the personality, but also that these impairments should be taken into account in formulating a program and devising a therapeutic process for pedophiles.

Differences Between Black and White Military Offenders: A Study of Socioeconomic, Familial, Personality, and Military Characteristics of Inmates at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-09-01

rates between blacks and whites. The basic profile , if you will, of the black offender is a young single male from a disadvantaged socioeconomic...homes where a parent was missing, while in some white homes the missing biological parent had been replaced wit’ a stepparent. Moreover, several black...hand, having a stepparent was not necessarily always beneficial as several white intmatcs claimed that their stepparents had abused them as children

PREDICTING RECIDIVISM FOR RELEASED STATE PRISON OFFENDERS

PubMed Central

Stahler, Gerald J.; Mennis, Jeremy; Belenko, Steven; Welsh, Wayne N.; Hiller, Matthew L.; Zajac, Gary

2013-01-01

We examined the influence of individual and neighborhood characteristics and spatial contagion in predicting reincarceration on a sample of 5,354 released Pennsylvania state prisoners. Independent variables included demographic characteristics, offense type, drug involvement, various neighborhood variables (e.g., concentrated disadvantage, residential mobility), and spatial contagion (i.e., proximity to others who become reincarcerated). Using geographic information systems (GIS) and logistic regression modeling, our results showed that the likelihood of reincarceration was increased with male gender, drug involvement, offense type, and living in areas with high rates of recidivism. Older offenders and those convicted of violent or drug offenses were less likely to be reincarcerated. For violent offenders, drug involvement, age, and spatial contagion were particular risk factors for reincarceration. None of the neighborhood environment variables were associated with increased risk of reincarceration. Reentry programs need to particularly address substance abuse issues of ex-offenders as well as take into consideration their residential locations. PMID:24443612

Examining the Association between Language, Expository Discourse and Offending Behaviour: An Investigation of Direction, Strength and Independence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hopkins, Thomas; Clegg, Judy; Stackhouse, Joy

2018-01-01

Background: A high prevalence of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is reported in the population of Young Offenders (YO). However, little is known about the extent of the association between language and offending behaviour relative to social disadvantage, education attendance and non-verbal intelligence (IQ), and neither has this association…

Association of normative beliefs and anger with aggression and antisocial behavior in Russian male juvenile offenders and high school students.

PubMed

Sukhodolsky, Denis G; Ruchkin, Vladislav V

2004-04-01

Examined the association of anger experience and two types of normative beliefs with physical aggression and nonaggressive antisocial behavior in 361 juvenile offenders and 206 high school students in Russia. All participants were male and ranged in age from 14 to 18 years. Higher frequency of aggressive acts was significantly associated with higher levels of anger and stronger beliefs that physical aggression is an appropriate course of action in conflicts. After statistically controlling for nonaggressive antisocial behavior, the relationship between physical aggression and antisocial beliefs was not significant. Similarly, with physical aggression controlled, nonaggressive antisocial behavior was uniquely associated with approval of deviancy, but not with anger or beliefs legitimizing aggression. Juvenile offenders reported higher levels of anger experience and higher frequency of aggression and antisocial behavior compared to high school students. There were no differences in normative beliefs between these two groups. This specificity of association of social-cognitive and emotion-regulation processes to aggressive and nonaggressive forms of antisocial behavior may be relevant to understanding the mechanisms of cognitive-behavioral therapy for conduct disorder and antisocial behavior.

Troubled adolescents: substance abuse and mental disorder in young offenders.

PubMed

Ribas-Siñol, Maria; Del Prado-Sanchez, Noemi; Claramunt-Mendoza, Jaume; Civit-Ramirez, Monica; Canalias-Perez, Oriol; Ochoa, Susana

2015-01-01

Many studies indicate the high prevalence of juvenile substance abuse. There is increasingly more dual diagnosis and mental illnesses in adolescents and many juvenile offenses are related to drug abuse. This is a descriptive study about the relationship between drug abuse and clinical, demographic and criminal characteristics in a sample of 144 youths seen in the Therapeutic Juvenile Justice Unit (UTJJ) of the Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu. A total of 65.3% of the sample had a disorder on Axis I, 22.2% of which were related with the psychotic spectrum and 18.1% ADHD. Personality disorder occurred in 42.4%, the most frequent ones being antisocial disorder (16%), and borderline personality disorder (6.9%). Of the sample, 78.5% were drug consumers and 51.4% of the total only consumed 1 substance. There is a tendency among psychotic teenagers to consume cannabis and ADHD patients to consume cannabis and cocaine. A significant relationship is found between nationality and inhalants drugs, social and economic level and sedative drugs and alcohol, and parental death and alcohol (p<0.05-0.005). The level of drug use/abuse in juvenile justice is very high. Although there is no evidence about the relationship between the substance they consume and the profile of the young offender, some tendencies are observed.

Characteristics of females who sexually offend: a comparison of solo and co-offenders.

PubMed

Gillespie, Steven M; Williams, Rebecca; Elliott, Ian A; Eldridge, Hilary J; Ashfield, Sherry; Beech, Anthony R

2015-06-01

Although recent typologies of female sexual offenders have recognized the importance of having a co-offender, the clinical characteristics of solo and co-female sexual offenders remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to compare solo (n = 20) and co- (n = 20) female sexual offenders on a variety of clinical characteristics. It was found that although solo and co-offenders reported similar developmental experiences and psychological dispositions, differences were found in environmental niche, offense preceding, and positive factors. Specifically, solo offenders demonstrated a greater presence of personal vulnerabilities including mental health and substance abuse difficulties. Co-offenders reported a greater presence of environmentally based factors, including a current partner who was a known sex offender and involvement with antisocial peers. It is suggested that these results have implications for understanding assessment and intervention needs for these groups of sexual offenders. © The Author(s) 2014.

[Social perception of the Spanish law for young offenders].

PubMed

García, Ma Dolores; Martín, Eduardo; Torbay, Ángela; Rodríguez, Carmen

2010-11-01

The implementation of the law 5/2000 for the regulation of Criminal Responsibility for Minors has led to a change in interventions in cases of juvenile offenders. This law promotes the educational and rehabilitative aims of the measures imposed. However, the focus of the media on the most serious cases has generated considerable alarm in society in general. The aim of this study is to determine the social perception of Law 5/2000. For this purpose, a sample of 936 people from the Autonomous Region of the Canary Islands was surveyed. The main results indicate that there is a significant lack of knowledge about the law and that people tend to think that the measures taken are not as effective as studies carried out in connection with this subject have shown. Nevertheless, the people surveyed are more in favour of educational measures than of measures that penalize. These results are discussed in connection with the importance that community factors have in dealing with juvenile delinquency, and in particular, in the power of social pressure to modify legislation, and of the community to assume responsibility for the reinsertion of juvenile offenders.

Factors Related to Co-Offending and Coerced Offending Among Female Sex Offenders: The Role of Childhood and Adult Trauma Histories.

PubMed

Comartin, Erin B; Burgess-Proctor, Amanda; Kubiak, Sheryl; Kernsmith, Poco

2018-02-01

Research suggests two important domains of women's sexual offending: co-offending, in which additional perpetrators are present with the woman during the crime, and coerced offending, in which the woman feels pressured by someone else to commit the crime. This exploratory analysis examines these 2 domains using self-report data from 60 incarcerated female sex offenders (FSOs) in a Midwestern state. In addition to indicating whether a co-offender was present and whether they felt pressure to commit the sex offense for which they were incarcerated, participants provided demographic information about themselves, the victim, and the offense, as well as about their own trauma, substance abuse, and mental illness histories. Results indicate that childhood and adult trauma histories are related to both co-offending and coerced offending among FSOs. Implications for theory, policy and practice, and future research are discussed.

Comparison of arousal and preference assessment outcomes for sex offenders with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Reyes, Jorge R; Vollmer, Timothy R; Hall, Astrid

2017-01-01

We compared outcomes of arousal and preference assessments for five adult male alleged sexual offenders with intellectual disabilities. Arousal assessments involved the use of the penile plethysmograph to measure changes in penile circumference to both deviant (males and females under the age of 18) and nondeviant (males and females over the age of 18) video clips. Paired-stimulus preference assessments were arranged to present still images from the video clips used in the arousal assessments. Results showed correspondence between the assessments for four out of the five participants. Implications are discussed for the use of preference assessment methodology as a less intrusive assessment approach for sexual offender assessments. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Comparing patterns and predictors of immigrant offending among a sample of adjudicated youth.

PubMed

Bersani, Bianca E; Loughran, Thomas A; Piquero, Alex R

2014-11-01

Research on immigration and crime has only recently started to consider potential heterogeneity in longitudinal patterns of immigrant offending. Guided by segmented assimilation and life course criminology frameworks, this article advances prior research on the immigration-crime nexus in three ways: using a large sample of high-risk adjudicated youth containing first and second generation immigrants; examining longitudinal trajectories of official and self-reported offending; and merging segmented assimilation and life course theories to distinguish between offending patterns. Data come from the Pathways to Desistance study containing detailed offending and socio-demographic background information on 1,354 adolescents (13.6 % female; n = 1,061 native-born; n = 210 second generation immigrants; n = 83 first generation immigrants) as they transition to young adulthood (aged 14-17 at baseline). Over 84 months we observe whether patterns of offending, and the correlates that may distinguish them, operate differently across immigrant generations. Collectively, this study offers the first investigation of whether immigrants, conditioned on being adjudicated, are characterized by persistent offending. Results show that first generation immigrants are less likely to be involved in serious offending and to evidence persistence in offending, and appear to be on a path toward desistance much more quickly than their peers. Further, assimilation and neighborhood disadvantage operate in unique ways across generational status and relate to different offending styles. The findings show that the risk for persistent offending is greatest among those with high levels of assimilation who reside in disadvantaged contexts, particularly among the second generation youth in the sample.

Motives for offending among violent and psychotic men.

PubMed

Taylor, P J

1985-11-01

Two hundred and three male remanded prisoners were interviewed with respect to their current offence, mental state, and social and psychiatric histories. All but nine of the sub-group of 121 psychotic men showed active symptoms at the time of committing a criminal offence; 20% of the actively ill psychotics were directly driven to offend by their psychotic symptoms, and a further 26% probably so. If some of the indirect consequences of the psychosis were taken into account, 82% of their offences were probably attributable to the illness. Among the normal and neurotic men, none claimed psychotic motives for offending, but motives suggesting high emotional arousal such as panic or retaliation triggered the greatest violence. Within the psychotic group, those driven to offend by their delusions were most likely to have been seriously violent, and psychotic symptoms probably accounted directly for most of the very violent behaviour.

Modifying a Risk Assessment Instrument for Youthful Offenders.

PubMed

Shapiro, Cheri J; Malone, Patrick S; Gavazzi, Stephen M

2018-02-01

High rates of incarceration in the United States are compounded by high rates of recidivism and prison return. One solution is more accurate identification of individual prisoner risks and needs to promote offender rehabilitation and successful community re-entry; this is particularly important for youthful offenders who developmentally are in late adolescence or early adulthood, and who struggle to reengage in education and/or employment after release. Thus, this study examined the feasibility of administration and initial psychometric properties of a risk and needs assessment instrument originally created for a juvenile justice population (the Global Risk Assessment Device or GRAD) with 895 male youthful offenders in one adult correctional system. Initial feasibility of implementation within the correctional system was demonstrated; confirmatory factor analyses support the invariance of the modified GRAD factor structure across age and race. Future studies are needed to examine the predictive validity and the sensitivity of the instrument.

A Brief Screening Instrument for Emotionally Unstable and Dissocial Personality Disorder in Male Offenders with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, John L.; Novaco, Raymond W.

2013-01-01

Personality disorder is prevalent among offenders with intellectual disabilities (ID), and it is associated with their risk for violence and recurrent offending behaviour. A new staff-rated instrument, the Personality Disorder Characteristics Checklist (PDCC), designed to screen for ICD-10 dissocial and emotionally unstable personality…

Sex Offenders Seeking Treatment for Sexual Dysfunction--Ethics, Medicine, and the Law.

PubMed

Phillips, Elizabeth A; Rajender, Archana; Douglas, Thomas; Brandon, Ashley F; Munarriz, Ricardo

2015-07-01

The treatment of sexual dysfunction in patients with prior sexual offenses poses ethical and legal dilemmas. Sex offenders are not obligated by law to disclose this history to medical professionals. Over 20% of sex offenders experience sexual dysfunction; however, the number of sex offenders seeking evaluation for sexual dysfunction is unknown. The aims of this study were to determine the incidence and characteristics of sex offenders seeking treatment in our clinic; and to review data regarding sex offender recidivism and ethics pertaining to the issue as it relates to treating physicians. Sex offenders were identified via three methods: new patient screening in a dedicated sexual medicine clinic, chart review of those on intracavernosal injection (ICI) therapy for erectile dysfunction (ED), and review of patient's status-post placement of penile prosthesis. Charts were cross-referenced with the U.S. Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website. Patient characteristics and details of offenses were collected. The main outcome measures used were a self-reported sexual offense and national registry data. Eighteen male sex offenders were identified: 13 via new patient screening; 3 by review of ICI patients; 1 by review of penile prosthesis data; and 1 prior to penile prosthesis placement. All were primarily referred for ED. Of those with known offenses, 64% were level 3 offenders (most likely to re-offend). The same number had committed crimes against children. All those with complete data had multiple counts of misconduct (average 3.6). Ninety-four percent (17/18) had publicly funded health care. Twelve (67%) were previously treated for sexual dysfunction. Registered sex offenders are seeking and receiving treatment for sexual dysfunction. It is unknown whether treatment of sexual dysfunction increases the risk of recidivism of sexual offenses. Physicians currently face a difficult choice in deciding whether to treat sexual dysfunction in sex

Juvenile sex offenders compared to non-sex offenders: a review of the literature 1995-2005.

PubMed

van Wijk, Anton; Vermeiren, Robert; Loeber, Rolf; 't Hart-Kerkhoffs, Lisette; Doreleijers, Theo; Bullens, Ruud

2006-10-01

An unresolved but clinically important issue in the literature on juvenile delinquency is to what extent juvenile sex offenders resemble non-sex offenders with respect to individual, familial, and environmental characteristics. The current article reviewed published studies (1995-2005) comparing sex offenders with non-sex offenders. The 17 articles meeting the inclusion criteria suggest that differences exist between sex offenders and non-sex offenders on personality characteristics, behavioral problems, history of sexual abuse, nonsexual offending, and peer functioning. Inconsistent results were found for demographic factors, family functioning and background, antisocial attitudes, and intellectual and neurological functioning. Although it is likely that sex offenders can be differentiated from nonsex offenders on a number of characteristics, caution is warranted because of methodological differences between studies and small samples size. Also, studies show that sex offenders are a heterogeneous group. Further research should take into account this heterogeneity by including sex offenders from clearly circumscribed groups and investigating characteristics specifically related to sexual behavior.

Childhood attachment, childhood sexual abuse, and onset of masturbation among adult sexual offenders.

PubMed

Smallbone, Stephen W; McCabe, Billee-Anne

2003-01-01

Written autobiographies of 48 incarcerated adult male sexual offenders (22 rapists, 13 intrafamilial child molesters, and 13 extrafamilial child molesters) were used to generate retrospective self-report measures of their childhood maternal and paternal attachment, childhood sexual abuse experiences, and onset of masturbation. Contrary to expectation, the offenders as a combined group more often reported secure than they did insecure childhood maternal and paternal attachment. There were no differences between the three offender subgroups with respect to maternal attachment; however the rapists and the intrafamilial child molesters were more likely to report insecure paternal attachment than were the extrafamilial child molesters. There were no differences between these offender subgroups in the frequency with which childhood sexual abuse was reported. However, offenders with insecure paternal attachment were more likely to report having been sexually abused than were those with secure paternal attachment. Sexually abused offenders in turn reported earlier onset of masturbation than did those who were not sexually abused. These results are consistent with contemporary attachment models linking insecure childhood attachment to childhood sexual abuse, and with traditional conditioning models linking childhood sexual abuse, early masturbation, and sexual offending.

Driving under the influence as a turning point? A register-based study on financial and social consequences among first-time male offenders.

PubMed

Oksanen, Atte; Aaltonen, Mikko; Kivivuori, Janne

2015-03-01

To examine gradual change in debt problems, divorce and income among men in Finland before and after a first conviction for driving under the influence (DUI). A register-based longitudinal study conducted in Finland between 1999 and 2013. A nationally representative sample of 70,659 Finnish males born between 1918 and 1983, and a subsample of males (n = 1782) who had their first DUI conviction during 2005-2012. Descriptive statistics showing the socio-demographic and economic determinants of DUI. The main analysis was based on a longitudinal, within-individual setting. The impact of DUI on debt problems, divorce and income was analysed using random effects regression models. DUI offenders were more likely to be younger and to have lower education and income than the non-DUI group. Criminal convictions were also more common among DUI offenders. Debt problems, divorce and loss of income were more likely after the DUI incident than before. The already increasing level of debt problems accelerated after the incident and divorce rates increased after the DUI incident, whereas the decrease in income was gradual over the whole observation period. Among men in Finland, DUI offences are more common among vulnerable social groups. The first drunk-driving conviction among men in Finland constitutes a significant life event that appears to increase the likelihood of financial problems and divorce. © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Welfare Reform and Labor Force Exit by Young, Low-Skilled Single Males.

PubMed

Groves, Lincoln H

2016-04-01

While the labor market woes of low-skilled male workers in the United States over the past several decades have been well documented, the academic literature identifying causal factors leading to declines in labor force participation (LFP) by young, low-skilled males remains scant. To address this gap, I use the timing and characteristics of welfare-reform policies implemented during the 1990s and fixed-effects, instrumental variable regression modeling to show that policies seeking to increase LFP rates for low-skilled single mothers inadvertently led to labor force exit by young, low-skilled single males. Using data from the Current Population Survey and a bundle of work inducements enacted by states throughout the 1990s as exogenous variation in a quasi-experimental design, I find that the roughly 10 percentage point increase in LFP for low-skilled single mothers facilitated by welfare reform resulted in a statistically significant 2.8 percentage point decline in LFP for young, low-skilled single males. After conducting a series of robustness checks, I conclude that this result is driven entirely by white males, who responded to welfare-reform policies with a 3.7 percentage point decline in labor supply. Young black males, as well as other groups of potentially affected workers, appear to be uninfluenced by the labor supply response of less-educated single mothers to welfare reform. Impacts on young, single white males are large and economically significant, suggesting that nearly 150,000 males departed the formal labor market in response to directed welfare-reform policies.

The Self-Stigma Process in Criminal Offenders

PubMed Central

Moore, Kelly E.; Tangney, June P.; Stuewig, Jeffrey B.

2016-01-01

Upon conviction, individuals receive the stigmatizing label “criminal offender.” Existing stereotypes about criminal offenders may be integrated into the self-concept, a phenomenon known as self-stigma. In many stigmatized groups, self-stigma is a robust predictor of poor functioning (Livingston & Boyd, 2010; Schomerus et al., 2011). However, little is known about how self-stigma occurs (Corrigan et al., 2006), and there has been limited research with criminal offenders. This study examines a theoretical model of self-stigma in which perceived stigma leads to stereotype agreement, internalized stigma, and then to anticipated stigma. A sample of 203 male jail inmates completed assessments of these constructs just prior to release. Results show a significant indirect path from perceived stigma to stereotype agreement to internalized stigma, but not to anticipated stigma. However, perceived stigma was directly related to anticipated stigma. In conclusion, perceived stigma affects the self through two processes: it indirectly leads to internalized stigma through one avenue, and directly leads to anticipated stigma through a separate avenue. Race, criminal identity, and attitudes toward criminals were examined as moderators. PMID:27761521

Identifying and Preventing Health Problems among Young Drug-Misusing Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Trevor; Holloway, Katy

2008-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the health problems and treatment needs of drug-misusing offenders and to draw out the implications of the findings for health education and prevention. Design/methodology/approach: This analysis is based on data collected as part of the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring…

A Latent Class Analysis of Family Characteristics Linked to Youth Offending Outcomes.

PubMed

Chng, Grace S; Chu, Chi Meng; Zeng, Gerald; Li, Dongdong; Ting, Ming Hwa

2016-11-01

There were two aims to this study: firstly, to identify family subtypes of Singaporean youth offenders based on eight family variables. Secondly, the associations of these family subtypes with youth offending outcomes were tested. With a sample of 3,744 youth, a latent class analysis was first conducted based on eight family variables. Multivariate analyses and a Cox regression were subsequently performed to analyze the associations of the family classes with age at first arrest, age at first charge, and recidivism. A three-class solution was found to have the best fit to the data: (1) intact functioning families had little family risk; (2) families with criminality had higher probabilities of family criminality, of drug/alcohol abuse, and of being nonintact; and (3) poorly managed families received the poorest parenting and were more likely to be nonintact. Youth offenders from the latter two classes were arrested and charged at younger ages. Additionally, they reoffended at a quicker rate. Family backgrounds matter for youth offending outcomes. Interventions have to be multifaceted and targeted at the family in order to mitigate the risk of young offenders from developing into pathological adult criminals.

A Latent Class Analysis of Family Characteristics Linked to Youth Offending Outcomes

PubMed Central

Chu, Chi Meng; Zeng, Gerald; Li, Dongdong; Ting, Ming Hwa

2016-01-01

Objectives: There were two aims to this study: firstly, to identify family subtypes of Singaporean youth offenders based on eight family variables. Secondly, the associations of these family subtypes with youth offending outcomes were tested. Methods: With a sample of 3,744 youth, a latent class analysis was first conducted based on eight family variables. Multivariate analyses and a Cox regression were subsequently performed to analyze the associations of the family classes with age at first arrest, age at first charge, and recidivism. Results: A three-class solution was found to have the best fit to the data: (1) intact functioning families had little family risk; (2) families with criminality had higher probabilities of family criminality, of drug/alcohol abuse, and of being nonintact; and (3) poorly managed families received the poorest parenting and were more likely to be nonintact. Youth offenders from the latter two classes were arrested and charged at younger ages. Additionally, they reoffended at a quicker rate. Conclusions: Family backgrounds matter for youth offending outcomes. Interventions have to be multifaceted and targeted at the family in order to mitigate the risk of young offenders from developing into pathological adult criminals. PMID:28736458

Comparing attitudinal and situational measures of self-control among felony offenders.

PubMed

Bouffard, Jeff; Craig, Jessica M; Piquero, Alex R

2015-04-01

Hirschi recently revised the measurement of self-control to include the number and salience of costs an individual considers in an offending situation. Evidence is mixed on its predictive utility relative to other self-control measures but suffers from different studies operationalising the measure in different ways and mostly examining it with non-offenders. This study aimed to investigate Hirschi's reconceptualisation of self-control. Our research question was whether the number and salience of Hirschi's 'costs' are independently related to offending. Data on self-perceptions of likelihood of driving while drunk and various self-control and social control measures were collected by researchers during an orientation class for convicted offenders newly received into correctional facilities--one for men and one for women--during January to May 2011. Eight hundred and nineteen men and 194 women completed the ratings. Both attitudinal and situational self-control measures were independently associated with self-rated likelihood of driving while drunk. These findings were confined to the male offenders. Findings revealed mixed support for Hirschi's conceptualisation of self-control and its relevance. Situational and attitudinal measures of self-control share some common ground but relate differently to offending according to gender. Further research is needed to find out if these results are generalisable to other crime types and whether race/ethnicity could modify the findings. Even among convicted offenders whose crimes are serious and/or frequent enough to result in imprisonment, high self-control may inhibit offending. This has implications for intervention programmes. This is the first study to compare attitudinal and self-control measures in relation to offending among a sample of incarcerated offenders and across gender. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessment of Deviant Arousal in Adult Male Sex Offenders with Developmental Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reyes, Jorge R.; Vollmer, Timothy R.; Sloman, Kimberly N.; Hall, Astrid; Reed, Robert; Jansen, Greg; Carr, Sam; Jackson, Kevin; Stoutimore, Michael

2006-01-01

Ten individuals, residing in a treatment facility specializing in the rehabilitation of sex offenders with developmental disabilities, participated in an arousal assessment involving the use of the penile plethysmograph. The arousal assessments involved measuring change in penile circumference to various categories of stimuli both appropriate…

Juvenile Offender Recidivism: An Examination of Risk Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calley, Nancy G.

2012-01-01

One hundred and seventy three male juvenile offenders were followed two years postrelease from a residential treatment facility to assess recidivism and factors related to recidivism. The overall recidivism rate was 23.9%. Logistic regression with stepwise and backward variable selection methods was used to examine the relationship between…

Prolonged Exposure Treatment of Chronic PTSD in Juvenile Sex Offenders: Promising Results from Two Case Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, John A.

2010-01-01

Prolonged exposure (PE) was used to treat chronic PTSD secondary to severe developmental trauma in two adolescent male sex offenders referred for residential sex offender treatment. Both youth were treatment resistant prior to initiation of PE and showed evidence of long-standing irritability and depression/anxiety. Clinical observation and…

Social Factor and Victim-Offender Differences in Courtship Violence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Makepeace, James M.

1987-01-01

Explored social factor differences between respondents with and without courtship violence experience and between male offenders and female victims. Data from the Seven College Survey revealed that those with courtship violence experience exhibited relatively "problematic" social profiles. Especially significant were race; religion;…

Age-graded risks for commercial sexual exploitation of male and female youth.

PubMed

Reid, Joan A; Piquero, Alex R

2014-06-01

Emerging evidence indicates male youth are affected by commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). However, most studies investigating risk markers influencing age of onset of CSE have focused on vulnerabilities of girls and women. Using a sample of 1,354 serious youthful offenders (of whom approximately 8% of males and females reported being paid for sex), the current study assessed whether risks associated with age of onset of CSE for girls and young women operated similarly in boys and young men. Findings showed that African American male youth were at heightened risk for CSE, while female youth of all races/ethnicities were at similar risk. For all youth, maternal substance use and earlier age of first sex were associated with early age of onset of CSE. For male youth, experiencing rape and substance use dependency were associated with early age of onset. Psychotic symptoms, likely experienced as social alienation, were associated with both early and late age of onset. For all youth, lower educational attainment was associated with CSE beginning in later adolescence or young adulthood. In addition, substance use dependency was linked to late age of onset for female youth. Implications of the study findings for theory development and application to CSE are noted.

Youth Who Sexual Offended

PubMed Central

Koh, Li Lian; Zeng, Gerald; Teoh, Jennifer

2015-01-01

There has been an increased focus on understanding youth sexual offending in recent years, but there has been limited empirical research on the causes, pathways, and treatment of youth who have sexually offended—especially within a non-Western context. The Good Lives and Self-Regulation Models have often been used to understand and rehabilitate adult sexual offenders, but (unfortunately) there is scant research on youth who sexually offended using these models. The present study aims to describe the different primary goods that are associated with youth sexual offending behaviors in an Asian context. In addition, the study sought to explore whether the age of victim (child vs. nonchild) and nature of sexual offense (penetrative vs. nonpenetrative) influenced the youth’s engagement in offense pathways. The results suggest that pleasure, relatedness, and inner peace were the primary human goods that were most sought after by a sample of 168 youth who sexually offended in Singapore. In addition, offender classification (in relation to the age of victim and nature of sexual offense) influenced the pathways to sexual offending. Therefore, these findings have important clinical implications for assessment, management, and intervention planning for youth who sexually offended. PMID:24048701

Sexual Offending Theories and Offenders with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keeling, Jenny A.; Rose, John L.; Beech, Anthony R.

2009-01-01

Background: There have been limited theoretical developments with respect to sexual offending by people with intellectual disabilities [Lindsay (2005) Mental Retardation, Vol. 43, pp. 428-441], especially when compared with the development of theories for mainstream sexual offenders. This paper aims at examining a range of theories in their…

Pathways to suicide attempts among male offenders: the role of agency.

PubMed

Byng, Richard; Howerton, Amanda; Owens, Christabel V; Campbell, John

2015-07-01

Suicide is common among offenders, who are at increased risk of homelessness, unemployment and mental illness and are prone to impulsivity. Release from prison is a particularly vulnerable time. This qualitative study investigated the views of 35 offenders in South-West England prior to and after release from prison, enquiring into their previous suicide attempts and how they saw their future. Semi-structured interviews were analysed thematically, comparing individuals who had made one, more than one, and no suicide attempts. Multiple attempters were often in despair and enmeshed in substance misuse, with little control over their lives. Most of those with one-off or no previous attempts portrayed themselves as having more mastery. One-off attempters described using particularly violent means. The role of different types of agency in pathways to and from suicide is discussed. Iterational agency, the selective reactivation of past patterns of behaviour, appeared to dominate in individuals who were choosing between further suicide attempts and substance use. Projective agency, having a more future orientation, appeared more prominent in some single attempters and in those individuals with plans to escape crime and social exclusion. © 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

Second-to-fourth digit ratio and impulsivity: a comparison between offenders and nonoffenders.

PubMed

Hanoch, Yaniv; Gummerum, Michaela; Rolison, Jonathan

2012-01-01

Personality characteristics, particularly impulsive tendencies, have long been conceived as the primary culprit in delinquent behavior. One crucial question to emerge from this line of work is whether impulsivity has a biological basis. To test this possibility, 44 male offenders and 46 nonoffenders completed the Eysenck Impulsivity Questionnaire, and had their 2D∶4D ratio measured. Offenders exhibited smaller right hand digit ratio measurements compared to non-offenders, but higher impulsivity scores. Both impulsivity and 2D∶4D ratio measurements significantly predicted criminality (offenders vs. nonoffenders). Controlling for education level, the 2D∶4D ratio measurements had remained a significant predictor of criminality, while impulsivity scores no longer predicted criminality significantly. Our data, thus, indicates that impulsivity but not 2D∶4D ratio measurements relate to educational attainment. As offenders varied in their number of previous convictions and the nature of their individual crimes, we also tested for differences in 2D∶4D ratio and impulsivity among offenders. Number of previous convictions did not correlate significantly with the 2D∶4D ratio measurements or impulsivity scores. Our study established a link between a biological marker and impulsivity among offenders (and lack thereof among non-offenders), which emphasise the importance of studying the relationship between biological markers, impulsivity and criminal behavior.

Public perception of sex offender social policies and the impact on sex offenders.

PubMed

Schiavone, Stacey Katz; Jeglic, Elizabeth L

2009-12-01

This study examines the public perception of sex offender policies and the perceived impact of sex offender policies on the sex offenders themselves. Specifically, this study explores how the community feels about the effectiveness of policies such as registration and community notification (Megan's Law), and housing restrictions in reducing sexual recidivism. Data are collected from 115 participants from a nationwide online community message board. Results suggest that although most individuals support Megan's Law, they do not feel the policy reduces recidivism. Furthermore, the majority of the participants also do not believe that housing restriction statutes are effective in reducing sexual recidivism. When questioned about the policy impact on sex offenders, the majority of respondents agree that as a consequence of Megan's Law, sex offenders are afraid for their safety; however, they do not believe that residence restrictions hinder sex offenders' employment opportunities. Findings from this study are discussed as they pertain to public policy and sex offender reintegration.

Children with Disabilities in Poor Households: Association with Juvenile and Adult Offending.

PubMed

Oshima, Karen M Matta; Huang, Jin; Jonson-Reid, Melissa; Drake, Brett

2010-06-01

Disabled youths are arrested, adjudicated, and recidivate at higher rates than their nondisabled peers. Although multiple theories have been offered to explain the relationship between disability and delinquency, the empirical evidence is limited and contradictory. Little is known about how disability may be associated with offending once poverty and family risks like maltreatment are controlled for. Using administrative data from a Midwest state, this article discusses results from a Cox regression of juvenile and young adult offending outcomes for low income disabled compared with nondisabled youths (N = 1,568). Youths with disabilities had higher rates of juvenile court petitions than similarly low-income peers. In models of adult offending, there was no relationship between disability status and adult arrest, but youths who had received educational services for emotional disturbance or other categories of health impairment had higher risk of entering adult corrections.

Interrogations, confessions, and adolescent offenders' perceptions of the legal system.

PubMed

Arndorfer, Andrea; Malloy, Lindsay C; Cauffman, Elizabeth

2015-10-01

The potential consequences of interrogations and false confessions have been discussed primarily in terms of the risk for wrongful conviction, especially among adolescents and other vulnerable populations. However, it is possible that such experiences influence adolescents' perceptions of the legal system more generally. In the present study, we examined whether incarcerated male juvenile offenders' (n = 193) perceptions of police and the courts were related to their confession and interrogation experiences. High-pressure interrogation experiences and self-reported false confessions to police were associated with more negative perceptions of police. However, self-reported true confessions were not significantly associated with youths' perceptions of the police. Neither interrogation nor confession experiences (true or false) were related to youths' perceptions of the courts. Results provide additional support for policy reform of interrogation practices with young suspects. A more developmentally appropriate approach to criminal interrogations with youth may simultaneously improve police-youth relations and protect vulnerable suspects in the interrogation room. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

U.S. motor vehicle fatality trends in young Latino males.

PubMed

Vaca, Federico; Anderson, Craig L

2009-10-01

The Latino Epidemiologic Paradox describes favorable health profiles for Latinos compared to non-Latino Whites (NLW) despite poverty, low education, and low access to health care. An anomaly to this paradox is increased mortality of Latino adolescent and emerging adult males. Previous research shows motor vehicle crash fatalities bear a considerable proportion of the mortality burden attributed to this anomaly. Utilizing two U.S. data sources (CDC-WISQARS and NHTSA-FARS), graphical and linear regression methods were used to analyze crash fatality trends and changes in factors that influence crash injury fatality among young Latino males age 15-24. During 1999-2006, 59,719 motor vehicle fatalities occurred among Latino, NLW and Non-Latino Black (NLB) young males. Fatality rates were 37.7, 39.6, and 29.8 per 100,000 population/year for Latinos, NLW and NLB respectively. Over the study period, young Latino male mortality rates increased 27%. By 2006, fatality rates were 41.9, 38.3 and 27.8 per 100,000 population/year for Latinos, NLW and NLB respectively. Among driver fatalities, 43% Latino, 33% NLW and 27% NLB were restrained. Fifty-seven percent of Latino drivers had blood alcohol >or=0.01 g/dl (BAC+), as did 47% of NLW drivers and 42% of NLB drivers. Over the study period, BAC+ changed little among Latinos and NLW drivers but decreased among NLB drivers. Motor vehicle fatality rates for young Latino males are rising despite increasing restraint use and leveling driver BAC+. Without racial/ethnic specific exposure data, limitations exist in discerning the cause of diverging fatality trends and further understanding specific racial/ethnic group crash fatality disparities.

Toward a Clinically Meaningful Taxonomy of Violent Offenders: The Role of Anger and Thinking Styles.

PubMed

Low, Kyra; Day, Andrew

2015-05-22

Violent offender rehabilitation programs aim to reduce the risk of re-offending in known offenders by addressing a range of different treatments needs, often with core intervention targets of improving anger regulation and altering antisocial beliefs and thinking styles. Such programs have proven efficacy in reducing recidivism for some, but not all, violent offenders, and little is known about the effects of these programs on different offender types. This study investigates whether subtypes of violent offenders can be meaningfully identified and considers how this influences short-term treatment outcomes. Cluster analysis identified three distinctive violent offender groups within a sample of 305 male offenders who had been assessed for participation in a violent offender rehabilitation program. An "unregulated" group had high levels of anger experience and expression and low levels of anger control, and held beliefs that were strongly supportive of a criminal lifestyle. A "regulated" group demonstrated levels of anger and beliefs supporting criminal activity that were not in a range that warranted treatment. Finally, an "overregulated" group was assessed as the group at highest risk of violent re-offending and had low levels of anger experience and expression and an absence of beliefs supporting criminal activity. The unregulated group appeared to gain the most benefit from treatment, although it had the highest levels of criminal thinking and problematic anger. These findings nonetheless offer support for the hypothesis that violent offender treatment programs may be optimally effective when targeted at particular types of offenders. © The Author(s) 2015.

Adverse Childhood Experiences of Violent Female Offenders: A Comparison of Homicide and Sexual Perpetrators.

PubMed

Pflugradt, Dawn M; Allen, Bradley P; Zintsmaster, Amanda J

2018-06-01

Adverse childhood experiences are associated with a multitude of health and social problems. In addition to an increased risk of poor health, mental disorders, and substance abuse, childhood maltreatment is also significantly related to adult violent offending. Although gender-specific analyses suggest that early childhood maltreatment precedes later violence for males across offense categories, it is unknown whether this association also applies to different types of female offenders. This study explores the types and quantity of adverse childhood experiences for two groups of violent female offenders: perpetrators of intentional homicide ( N = 28) and perpetrators of sexual offenses ( N = 47). A nonparametric analysis using odds ratios (OR) indicated that female homicide perpetrators experienced significantly more adverse childhood experiences (as measured by the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire) than female sex offenders. Implications for future research are discussed.

A multidimensional intergenerational model of young males' driving styles.

PubMed

Gil, Shani; Taubman-Ben-Ari, Orit; Toledo, Tomer

2016-12-01

This study examines the associations between fathers' driving styles, the family's general and driving-related atmosphere, and the young drivers' motivations, on one hand, and young males' driving styles, on the other. The 242 father and son pairs that participated in the study independently completed several self-report questionnaires at different points in time within the first year after licensure of the young drivers. A structural equation model (SEM) was developed, in which the contribution of fathers' driving style and their sons' perceptions of the general family relations, the family climate for road safety (FCRS), and costs and benefits of driving, to the driving styles of the young male drivers was examined. The SEM estimation results show direct as well as indirect significant effects between the various dimensions. The FCRS factors of non-commitment and messages, and the cost of thrill, were found to be the strongest mediators between the fathers' driving style and the family cohesion, on one hand, and the driving style of the young driver, on the other. These results may be useful in pointing out directions for the development of interventions that could assist in reducing the involvement of youngsters in risky driving and car crashes, and encourage safe and considerate driving. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Psychiatric Diagnoses and Treatment in a Sample of Serious Juvenile Offenders.

PubMed

Baglivio, Michael T; Wolff, Kevin T; Piquero, Alex R; Greenwald, Mark A; Epps, Nathan

2017-07-01

Psychiatric disorder prevalence has been shown demonstrably higher among justice-involved adolescents than youth in the general population. Yet, among arrested juveniles, little is known regarding racial/ethnic differences in disorder prevalence, the role of trauma exposure in the diagnosis of behavioral disorders, or subsequent psychiatric treatment provided to adolescents with such diagnoses. The current study examines racial/ethnic disparity in psychiatric diagnoses and treatment of behavioral disorders associated with delinquency, controlling for traumatic experiences, behavioral indicators, and prior offending among serious juvenile offenders. Logistic regression is employed to explore the racial/ethnic disproportionality in behavioral disorder diagnoses and psychiatric treatment provision among 8763 males (57.7 % Black, 11.8 % Hispanic) and 1,347 females (53.7 % Black, 7.6 % Hispanic) admitted to long-term juvenile justice residential placements in Florida. The results indicate Black males are 40 % more likely, and Black females 54 % more likely to be diagnosed with conduct disorder than Whites, even upon considerations of trauma, behavioral indicators, and criminal offending. Black and Hispanic males are approximately 40 % less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than White males, with no racial/ethnic differences for females. Importantly, Black males are 32 % less likely to receive psychiatric treatment than White males, with no differences between White and Hispanic males, or any female subgroups. Traumatic exposures increased the odds of oppositional defiant disorder and ADHD, but not conduct disorder for males, though adverse childhood experiences were unrelated to behavioral disorder diagnoses among females.

Sex Offenders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayes, Susan

1991-01-01

This paper on the problem of sex offending among individuals with intellectual disabilities examines the incidence of this problem, characteristics of intellectually disabled sex offenders, determination of whether the behavior is a paraphilia or functional age-related behavior, and treatment options, with emphasis on the situation in New South…

Child pornography possessors: trends in offender and case characteristics.

PubMed

Wolak, Janis; Finkelhor, David; Mitchell, Kimberly

2011-03-01

This article describes trends in child pornography (CP) possession cases that ended in arrest in 2000 and in 2006, using data from the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study, a two-wave longitudinal survey of a national sample of more than 2,500 U.S. law enforcement agencies. In 2006, there were an estimated 3,672 arrests for CP possession, compared with 1,713 arrests in 2000. Many characteristics of the offenders and the offense remained stable. In both 2006 and 2000, most offenders were White, non-Hispanic males and socioeconomically diverse. Few were known to have committed previous sex crimes. Most had CP that depicted preteen children and serious sexual abuse. In 2006, however, a higher proportion of offenders were aged 18 to 25 years, used peer-to-peer (p2p) networks, had images of children younger than 3 years, and had CP videos. P2p users had more extreme images (e.g., younger victims, sexual violence) and larger numbers of images than those who did not use p2p networks. Findings reflect heightened efforts in the criminal justice system to combat CP crimes. More cases originated with investigations of CP possession and involved proactive investigations aimed at detecting CP. The great majority of cases were successfully prosecuted, with more offenders sentenced to incarceration and serving longer sentences than in 2000. As in 2000, one in six cases that began with investigations of CP possession detected offenders who had molested children.

Violent and Nonviolent Youth Offenders: Preliminary Evidence on Group Subtypes.

PubMed

Lai, Violet; Zeng, Gerald; Chu, Chi Meng

2016-07-01

Youth violence is a costly social problem. This study compared the risk and needs of nonviolent youth offenders, with those who had committed violent offenses only (violent only) and those who had committed violent and nonviolent offenses (violent plus) to determine whether violent youth were a different "type" from nonviolent youth. The case files of 3,744 youth offenders (3,327 males and 417 females, between 12 and 18 years old) were retrospectively coded, before official recidivism records were obtained. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), χ 2 , and Cox regressions were conducted. Violent-plus youth were younger; higher in their total risk and all criminogenic needs; more likely to have several noncriminogenic needs; and at higher risk of any reoffending, violent reoffending, and nonviolent reoffending than nonviolent youth. Violent-only youth had the same total risk and risk of general and violent recidivism as nonviolent offenders but presented different criminogenic and noncriminogenic needs and risk of nonviolent recidivism. Compared to violent-only youth, violent-plus youth were younger, had higher total risk and criminogenic needs on five domains, were more likely to have several noncriminogenic needs, and were at higher risk of all types of reoffending (except sexual reoffending), suggesting subtypes of violent youth offenders. The implication is that nonviolent and violent youth offenders require different dosage and types of intervention.

Contingent negative variation (CNV) and erotic preference in self-declared homosexuals and in child sex offenders.

PubMed

Howard, R C; Longmore, F J; Mason, P A; Martin, J L

1994-10-01

Contingent negative variation (CNV) was recorded bilaterally from central electrodes using a "match/mismatch" paradigm in (Study 1) samples of heterosexual men (N = 6), gay men (N = 10) and lesbian women (N = 14) and (Study 2) in samples of child sex offenders (N = 34) and heterosexual control men (N = 19). Sexual orientation was assessed using the Multidimensional Scale of Sexuality (MSS) and the Human Sexuality Questionnaire (HSQ). Separate CNV averages were formed for each condition of stimulation: for Study 1, slides of adult male and female nudes; for Study 2, slides of child, pubescent and adult male and female nudes. Penile plethysmographic (PPG) data were also obtained from 15 of the child sex offender sample while they viewed stimuli of the same categories as were used in the CNV recording. On the basis of their PPG responses to children, child sex offenders were classified as either "pedophiles" or "non-pedophiles". In Study 1 significant Group x Sex (of slide) and Group x Electrode interactions indicated that: (i) heterosexual men (but neither homosexual group) showed significantly larger CNVs to female than to male slides; (ii) both homosexual groups showed significantly asymmetrical (R > L) CNVs. In Study 2, controls showed significantly greater CNVs to adult females than to both adult males and female children. Child sex offenders showed no significant differences in CNV to male and female slides for any age. "Non-pedophiles" showed significantly larger CNVs to female adults than to female children, but "pedophiles" did not. It is concluded that CNV has promise as a measure of both deviant and non-deviant sexual preference.

Wide-area continuous offender monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoshen, Joseph; Drake, George; Spencer, Debra D.

1997-02-01

The corrections system in the U.S. is supervising over five million offenders. This number is rising fast and so are the direct and indirect costs to society. To improve supervision and reduce the cost of parole and probation, first generation home arrest systems were introduced in 1987. While these systems proved to be helpful to the corrections system, their scope is rather limited because they only cover an offender at a single location and provide only a partial time coverage. To correct the limitations of first- generation systems, second-generation wide area continuous electronic offender monitoring systems, designed to monitor the offender at all times and locations, are now on the drawing board. These systems use radio frequency location technology to track the position of offenders. The challenge for this technology is the development of reliable personal locator devices that are small, lightweight, with long operational battery life, and indoors/outdoors accuracy of 100 meters or less. At the center of a second-generation system is a database that specifies the offender's home, workplace, commute, and time the offender should be found in each. The database could also define areas from which the offender is excluded. To test compliance, the system would compare the observed coordinates of the offender with the stored location for a given time interval. Database logfiles will also enable law enforcement to determine if a monitored offender was present at a crime scene and thus include or exclude the offender as a potential suspect.

Wide area continuous offender monitoring

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoshen, J.; Drake, G.; Spencer, D.

The corrections system in the U.S. is supervising over five million offenders. This number is rising fast and so are the direct and indirect costs to society. To improve supervision and reduce the cost of parole and probation, first generation home arrest systems were introduced in 1987. While these systems proved to be helpful to the corrections system, their scope is rather limited because they only cover an offender at a single location and provide only a partial time coverage. To correct the limitations of first-generation systems, second-generation wide area continuous electronic offender monitoring systems, designed to monitor the offendermore » at all times and locations, are now on the drawing board. These systems use radio frequency location technology to track the position of offenders. The challenge for this technology is the development of reliable personal locator devices that are small, lightweight, with long operational battery life, and indoors/outdoors accuracy of 100 meters or less. At the center of a second-generation system is a database that specifies the offender`s home, workplace, commute, and time the offender should be found in each. The database could also define areas from which the offender is excluded. To test compliance, the system would compare the observed coordinates of the offender with the stored location for a given time interval. Database logfiles will also enable law enforcement to determine if a monitored offender was present at a crime scene and thus include or exclude the offender as a potential suspect.« less

Homicides by older offenders in New South Wales between 1993 and 2010.

PubMed

Reutens, Sharon; Nielssen, Olav; Large, Matthew

2015-10-01

Homicides by older people are rare and might differ from those committed by younger people. To investigate the characteristics of older homicide offenders in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. A systematic search of legal, criminological and media databases for cases of homicide committed by people in NSW aged 55 and over, during the 18 years from 1993 to 2010. Eighty-seven cases were identified through databases. Legal documents were obtained for 70 offenders, comprising about 5% of homicides committed in NSW in the period of the study. The proportions of male offenders and rates of firearm use were similar to other age groups. Twelve of the 14 homicides using guns occurred outside the metropolitan area. Older offenders were more likely to have cognitive impairment or psychotic illness. Victims were more likely to be female and in a domestic relationship with the offender. Homicide by an older person is rare, and more commonly involves a man killing a family member. Correctional facilities will increasingly have to consider the needs of older people serving long sentences. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Young Women in a Male Periphery: Experiences from the Scandinavian North.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahlstrom, Margareta

1996-01-01

Suggests that young women migrate from rural to urban areas in northern Scandinavia because the rural "periphery" is dominated by male economic and leisure activities. A study in northern Norway indicates that more young women than young men valued higher education and highly qualified careers, both of which were more attainable in urban…

Mental Health Professionals' Attitudes Toward Offenders With Mental Illness (Insanity Acquittees) in Ghana.

PubMed

Adjorlolo, Samuel; Abdul-Nasiru, Inusah; Chan, Heng Choon Oliver; Bambi, Laryea Efua

2018-02-01

Mental health professionals' attitudes toward offenders with mental illness have significant implications for the quality of care and treatment rendered, making it imperative for these professionals to be aware of their attitudes. Yet, this topical issue has received little research attention. Consequently, the present study investigates attitudes toward offenders with mental illness (insanity acquittees) in a sample of 113 registered mental health nurses in Ghana. Using a cross-sectional survey and self-report methodology, the participants respond to measures of attitudes toward offenders with mental illness, attitudes toward mental illness, conviction proneness, and criminal blameworthiness. The results show that mental health nurses who reportedly practiced for a longer duration (6 years and above) were more likely to be unsympathetic, while the male nurses who were aged 30 years and above were more likely to hold offenders with mental illness strictly liable for their offenses. Importantly, the nurses' scores in conviction proneness and criminal blameworthiness significantly predict negative attitudes toward the offenders even after controlling for their attitudes toward mental illness. Yet, when the nurses' conviction proneness and criminal blameworthiness were held constant, their attitudes toward mental illness failed to predict attitudes toward the offenders. This initial finding implies that the nurses' views regarding criminal blameworthiness and conviction may be more influential in understanding their attitudes toward offenders with mental illness relative to their attitudes toward mental illness.

Domestic Violence Courts: A Multisite Test of Whether and How They Change Offender Outcomes.

PubMed

Cissner, Amanda B; Labriola, Melissa; Rempel, Michael

2015-09-01

Findings are from an investigation of 24 criminal domestic violence courts (DVCs) across New York, testing their effect on recidivism, case processing, and case resolutions. Overall, we found a small positive impact on recidivism among convicted offenders. We further found that the sex of defendants moderated the court impact on case resolutions; that is, among male defendants only, DVCs increased conviction rates and sentences involving jail or prison. In addition, multi-level, multivariate analyses found that court policies specifically designed to increase victim safety, hold offenders accountable, and reduce offender recidivism (through deterrence or rehabilitation) were instrumental in reducing recidivism. © The Author(s) 2015.

Emotional Congruence With Children Is Associated With Sexual Deviancy in Sexual Offenders Against Children.

PubMed

Hermann, Chantal A; McPhail, Ian V; Helmus, L Maaike; Hanson, R Karl

2017-09-01

Emotional congruence with children is a psychologically meaningful risk factor for sexual offending against children. The present study examines the correlates of emotional congruence with children in a sample of 424 adult male sexual offenders who started a period of community supervision in Canada, Alaska, and Iowa between 2001 and 2005. Consistent with previous work, we found sexual offenders against children high in emotional congruence with children were more likely to be sexually deviant, have poor sexual self-regulation, experience social loneliness, and have more distorted cognitions about sex with children. Overall, our findings are most consistent with a sexual deviancy model, with some support for a blockage model.

Association Between Androgenetic Alopecia and Coronary Artery Disease in Young Male Patients

PubMed Central

Sharma, Kamal H; Jindal, Anchal

2014-01-01

Background: Several studies have demonstrated an association between androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and cardiovascular disease. Still controversies exist regarding the association. Are they truly associated? Objective: The purpose of the present study was to assess the prevalence of AGA and establish its association in young (<45 years) Asian Indian Gujarati male patients having coronary artery disease (CAD). Materials and Methods: Case-control prospective multicentric study was carried out on 424 men. Case group consisted of 212 male subjects having CAD (Group 1) and another 212, either sibling or first degree male relative of the case subjects (having no evidence of CAD) were considered as the control group (Group 2). Age, total cholesterol, incidence of diabetes mellitus, and hypertension were similar in both groups. The degree of alopecia was assessed using the Norwood-Hamilton scale for men. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square test. Results: AGA was found in 80 (37.73%) young CAD patients (Group 1), whereas 44 (20.7%) of patients had alopecia in the control group (Group 2). There was statistically significant association between male AGA and CAD (P = 0.001). Odds ratio was 2.70 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.72 ± 4.26). Statistically significant association was found between high grade baldness (Grades IV-VII) and CAD in young men (P < 0.05). Odds ratio = 2.36 (95% CI, 1.108 ± 5.033). There is statistically significant association of AGA in young Asian Gujarati male with CAD and the prevalence of AGA in young CAD patient is 37.73%. Conclusion: This study implies early onset AGA in male is independently associated with CAD, though mechanisms need to be investigated. PMID:25114445

Association between androgenetic alopecia and coronary artery disease in young male patients.

PubMed

Sharma, Kamal H; Jindal, Anchal

2014-01-01

Several studies have demonstrated an association between androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and cardiovascular disease. Still controversies exist regarding the association. Are they truly associated? The purpose of the present study was to assess the prevalence of AGA and establish its association in young (<45 years) Asian Indian Gujarati male patients having coronary artery disease (CAD). Case-control prospective multicentric study was carried out on 424 men. Case group consisted of 212 male subjects having CAD (Group 1) and another 212, either sibling or first degree male relative of the case subjects (having no evidence of CAD) were considered as the control group (Group 2). Age, total cholesterol, incidence of diabetes mellitus, and hypertension were similar in both groups. The degree of alopecia was assessed using the Norwood-Hamilton scale for men. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square test. AGA was found in 80 (37.73%) young CAD patients (Group 1), whereas 44 (20.7%) of patients had alopecia in the control group (Group 2). There was statistically significant association between male AGA and CAD (P = 0.001). Odds ratio was 2.70 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.72 ± 4.26). Statistically significant association was found between high grade baldness (Grades IV-VII) and CAD in young men (P < 0.05). Odds ratio = 2.36 (95% CI, 1.108 ± 5.033). There is statistically significant association of AGA in young Asian Gujarati male with CAD and the prevalence of AGA in young CAD patient is 37.73%. This study implies early onset AGA in male is independently associated with CAD, though mechanisms need to be investigated.

Social and Environmental Characteristics of Black Female Homicide Offenders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McClain, Paula D.

1981-01-01

Black female murderers generally are of low socioeconomic and educational status, and are unemployed. In addition, most were physically punished as children, had a history of involvement in fights, and had been drinking at the time of the homicide. Finally, most victims were the male mates of the offenders. (Author/GC)

Correlates of Heroin and Methamphetamine Use among Homeless Male Ex-Jail and Prison Offenders

PubMed Central

Nyamathi, Adeline; Salem, Benissa E.; Farabee, David; Hall, Elizabeth; Zhang, Sheldon; Marfisee, Mary; Khalilifard, Farinaz; Musto, Stefanie; Leake, Barbara

2014-01-01

Homeless men exiting California State jails and prisons are a heterogeneous community with varied childhood, incarceration and drug use histories. This cross-sectional study assessed whether homeless men who were discharged from either jail or prison into a residential substance abuse treatment program, differed in terms of methamphetamine and heroin use. This study utilized baseline data collected on 540 recently paroled men randomized to one of three programs that assessed the impact of a peer coaching intervention on subsequent drug use and re-incarceration. We found that younger ex-offenders exiting prisons and jails were more likely to have used methamphetamine alone, whereas African American ex-offenders were less likely to have used methamphetamine alone when compared to other ethnic groups. Further, ex-offenders exiting jails and self-reporting use of heroin only at baseline were significantly more likely than their counterparts to have been removed from home before age 18. For men exiting jails, there was an association between lower self-esteem and having used methamphetamine but not heroin. However, having used both heroin and methamphetamine was associated with both violent crime and cognitive problems in both jail and prison samples. Our findings showcase the need to understand unique correlates of both heroin and methamphetamine as they relate to jail and prison populations. PMID:25489295

Establishing a compulsory drug treatment prison: Therapeutic policy, principles, and practices in addressing offender rights and rehabilitation.

PubMed

Birgden, Astrid; Grant, Luke

2010-01-01

A Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional Center (CDTCC) was established in Australia in 2006 for repeat drug-related male offenders. Compulsory treatment law is inconsistent with a therapeutic jurisprudence approach. Despite the compulsory law, a normative offender rehabilitation framework has been established based on offender moral rights. Within moral rights, the offender rehabilitation framework addresses the core values of freedom (supporting autonomous decision-making) and well-being (supporting support physical, social, and psychological needs). Moral rights are underpinned by a theory or principle which, in this instance, is a humane approach to offender rehabilitation. While a law that permits offenders to choose drug treatment and rehabilitation is preferable, the article discusses the establishment of a prison based on therapeutic policy, principles, and practices that respond to participants as both rights-violators and rights-holders. The opportunity for accelerated community access and a therapeutic alliance with staff has resulted in offenders actively seeking to be ordered into compulsory drug treatment and rehabilitation. Crown Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Short-Term Stability of Psychopathic Traits in Adolescent Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Zina; Klaver, Jessica R.; Hart, Stephen D.; Moretti, Marlene M.; Douglas, Kevin S.

2009-01-01

There is considerable debate about the assessment of psychopathic traits in adolescence due in part to questions regarding the stability of traits. We investigated the 6-month stability of psychopathic traits in a sample of 83 male adolescent offenders using an augmented protocol for the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version and the self-report…

Sexual Behaviors and AIDS Concerns among Young Adult Heterosexual Males.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pomerantz, Sherry C.; Vergare, Michael J.

As the human immunodeficiency virus spreads beyond homosexuals and intravenous drug users into the heterosexual community, there is heightened interest in the sexual behavior of sexually active young adults. There is little information on young adult black males, who may be at increased risk, since blacks in this country are contracting Acquired…

Long-Term Group Treatment for Young Male 'Schizopaths.'

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ely, Audrey Rosen

1985-01-01

Describes a therapy group composed of young adult male schizopaths, or chronic schizophrenics, who often present as character-disordered or sociopathic. Describes formation, accomplishments, and limitations of the group; gives case histories of clients; discusses roles for leaders; and provides recommendations. (NRB)

Online child pornography offenders are different: a meta-analysis of the characteristics of online and offline sex offenders against children.

PubMed

Babchishin, Kelly M; Hanson, R Karl; VanZuylen, Heather

2015-01-01

The current meta-analysis compared the characteristics of online child pornography-only offenders, typical (offline) sex offenders against children, and offenders with both child pornography and contact sex offences against children (mixed). Based on 30 unique samples (comparison ns ranging from 98 to 2,702), the meta-analysis found key differences between groups. Offenders who committed contact sex offences were more likely to have access to children than those with only child pornography offences. In contrast, offenders who used the internet to commit sexual offences had greater access to the internet than those with contact sex offenders. Differences between the groups, however, were not limited to differential opportunities. Sex offenders against children and mixed offenders were found to score higher on indicators of antisociality than online child pornography offenders (CPOs). CPOs were also more likely to have psychological barriers to sexual offending than sex offenders against children and mixed offenders (e.g., greater victim empathy). Mixed offenders were found to be the most pedophilic, even more than CPOs. The findings suggest that offenders who restricted their offending behavior to online child pornography offences were different from mixed offenders and offline sex offenders against children, and that mixed offenders were a particularly high risk group.

Comparing Male and Female Juveniles Charged with Homicide: Child Maltreatment, Substance Abuse, and Crime Details

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique Eve

2009-01-01

This study examines a sample of 136 male and female juveniles charged with attempted homicide or homicide. The purpose of this study is to explore the differences between nondirect file male and female juvenile homicide offenders regarding individual, family, and crime circumstances. Findings suggest that compared to male juvenile offenders,…

Traumatic brain injury among female offenders in a prison population: results of the FleuryTBI study.

PubMed

Durand, Eric; Watier, Laurence; Lécu, Anne; Fix, Michel; Weiss, Jean-Jacques; Chevignard, Mathilde; Pradat-Diehl, Pascale

2017-01-01

The study was designed to estimate the prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a French prison population of female offenders, study the variables known to be associated with TBI, and compare our results with those obtained among male offenders as described in a previous paper. All female offenders (adults and juveniles) consecutively admitted to Fleury-Mérogis prison over a 3-month period were included in the study. During the admission procedure, female offenders were interviewed by healthcare staff using a self-reported questionnaire. In all, 100 female offenders were included. The rate of self-reported TBI was high, with a prevalence of 21%. The first cause of TBI was violence related (35%) and a majority of female offenders with a history of TBI reported having sustained more than one TBI. When compared with those who did not report a TBI, epilepsy and use of alcohol were higher among female offenders with a history of TBI. Perceived health was significantly worse for women who reported a TBI. This study findings provide additional evidence that TBI among offender populations is serious and that specific actions need to be developed and implemented in correctional settings such as screening for TBI upon arrival.

Accuracy of actuarial procedures for assessment of sexual offender recidivism risk may vary across ethnicity.

PubMed

Långström, Niklas

2004-04-01

Little is known about whether the accuracy of tools for assessment of sexual offender recidivism risk holds across ethnic minority offenders. I investigated the predictive validity across ethnicity for the RRASOR and the Static-99 actuarial risk assessment procedures in a national cohort of all adult male sex offenders released from prison in Sweden 1993-1997. Subjects ordered out of Sweden upon release from prison were excluded and remaining subjects (N = 1303) divided into three subgroups based on citizenship. Eighty-three percent of the subjects were of Nordic ethnicity, and non-Nordic citizens were either of non-Nordic European (n = 49, hereafter called European) or African Asian descent (n = 128). The two tools were equally accurate among Nordic and European sexual offenders for the prediction of any sexual and any violent nonsexual recidivism. In contrast, neither measure could differentiate African Asian sexual or violent recidivists from nonrecidivists. Compared to European offenders, AfricanAsian offenders had more often sexually victimized a nonrelative or stranger, had higher Static-99 scores, were younger, more often single, and more often homeless. The results require replication, but suggest that the promising predictive validity seen with some risk assessment tools may not generalize across offender ethnicity or migration status. More speculatively, different risk factors or causal chains might be involved in the development or persistence of offending among minority or immigrant sexual abusers.

Sociocultural Influences on Body Image Concerns of Young Chinese Males

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Todd; Chen, Hong

2008-01-01

This research assessed the extent to which sociocultural factors implicated in explanations of weight dissatisfaction among young Western females extend to sources of body image concern in emerging adult and adolescent males from the People's Republic of China. In Study 1, 219 Mainland Chinese male university students completed measures of stature…

An Internet study of men sexually attracted to children: Correlates of sexual offending against children.

PubMed

Bailey, J Michael; Bernhard, Paula A; Hsu, Kevin J

2016-10-01

We conducted an Internet survey of 1,102 men sexually attracted to children concerning their history of adjudicated offenses related to child pornography and sexual contact with children. Most of the men reported no offenses, but their rate of offenses was much higher than that expected for adult-attracted men. Correlates of offending are consistent with a strong role of the cumulative effects of temptation, especially age. Older men, men who had repeatedly worked in jobs with children, men who had repeatedly fallen in love with children, and men who had often struggled not to offend were especially likely to have offended. Attraction to male children, relative attraction to children versus adults, and childhood sexual abuse experiences were also strong predictors of offending. In contrast, permissive attitudes regarding child-adult sex and frequent indulgence in sexual fantasies about children were not significantly related to offending. Our findings represent the first large study of offending among men sexually attracted to children who were not recruited via contact with the legal system. Because of methodological limitations, our findings cannot be definitive. Reassuringly, however, results are generally consistent with those from the most pertinent existing studies, of recidivism among convicted sex offenders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

An Evaluation of Intimate Partner Violence Intervention with Incarcerated Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connors, Angela D.; Mills, Jeremy F.; Gray, Andrew L.

2012-01-01

The following study is an evaluation of the Moderate Intensity Family Violence Prevention Program (MIFVPP). The sample consisted of 298 male federal offenders who participated in the MIFVPP while incarcerated or on release within the community. Participants were assessed pre-, mid-, and postprogram using an assessment battery consisting of…

A Review of Treatments for Young Black Males Experiencing Depression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindsey, Michael A.; Banks, Andrae; Cota, Catherine F.; Lawrence Scott, Marquisha; Joe, Sean

2018-01-01

The objective was to qualitatively examine the treatment effects of depression interventions on young, Black males (YBM) across treatment providers and settings via a review. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) seeking to ameliorate depressive symptomology in Black males ages 12-29 were eligible for inclusion. After review of 627 abstracts and 212…

Alcohol abuse as the strongest risk factor for violent offending in patients with paranoid schizophrenia.

PubMed

Kudumija Slijepcevic, Marija; Jukic, Vlado; Novalic, Darko; Zarkovic-Palijan, Tija; Milosevic, Milan; Rosenzweig, Ivana

2014-04-01

To determine predictive risk factors for violent offending in patients with paranoid schizophrenia in Croatia. The cross-sectional study including male in-patients with paranoid schizophrenia with (N=104) and without (N=102) history of physical violence and violent offending was conducted simultaneously in several hospitals in Croatia during one-year period (2010-2011). Data on their sociodemographic characteristics, duration of untreated illness phase (DUP), alcohol abuse, suicidal behavior, personality features, and insight into illness were collected and compared between groups. Binary logistic regression model was used to determine the predictors of violent offending. Predictors of violent offending were older age, DUP before first contact with psychiatric services, and alcohol abuse. Regression model showed that the strongest positive predictive factor was harmful alcohol use, as determined by AUDIT test (odds ratio 37.01; 95% confidence interval 5.20-263.24). Psychopathy, emotional stability, and conscientiousness were significant positive predictive factors, while extroversion, pleasantness, and intellect were significant negative predictive factors for violent offending. This study found an association between alcohol abuse and the risk for violent offending in paranoid schizophrenia. We hope that this finding will help improve public and mental health prevention strategies in this vulnerable patient group.

Identifying Risk and Protective Factors in Recidivist Juvenile Offenders: A Decision Tree Approach

PubMed Central

Ortega-Campos, Elena; García-García, Juan; Gil-Fenoy, Maria José; Zaldívar-Basurto, Flor

2016-01-01

Research on juvenile justice aims to identify profiles of risk and protective factors in juvenile offenders. This paper presents a study of profiles of risk factors that influence young offenders toward committing sanctionable antisocial behavior (S-ASB). Decision tree analysis is used as a multivariate approach to the phenomenon of repeated sanctionable antisocial behavior in juvenile offenders in Spain. The study sample was made up of the set of juveniles who were charged in a court case in the Juvenile Court of Almeria (Spain). The period of study of recidivism was two years from the baseline. The object of study is presented, through the implementation of a decision tree. Two profiles of risk and protective factors are found. Risk factors associated with higher rates of recidivism are antisocial peers, age at baseline S-ASB, problems in school and criminality in family members. PMID:27611313

Knowledge of Juvenile Sex Offender Registration Laws Predicts Adolescent Sexual Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevenson, Margaret C.; Najdowski, Cynthia J.; Wiley, Tisha R. A.

2013-01-01

Because juveniles can now be registered as sex offenders, we conducted a pilot study to investigate awareness of these policies and sexual behavior histories in a convenience sample of 53 young adults (ages 18 to 23, 79% women). These preliminary data revealed that 42% percent of participants were unaware that youth under the age of 18 can be…

Negative Social Contextual Stressors and Somatic Symptoms Among Young Black Males: An Exploratory Study

PubMed Central

Scott, Lionel D.; McCoy, Henrika

2016-01-01

This study examines whether negative social contextual stressors were associated with somatic symptoms among young Black males (N = 74) after accounting for background and psychological characteristics. Using Cunningham and Spencer’s Black Male Experiences Measure, negative social contextual stressors connoted those experiences connected to the personal attributes, devaluation, and negative imagery of young Black males, such as being followed when entering a store or police or security guards asking them what they are doing when hanging out (e.g., in the park or playground or on the street corner). Results showed that such stressors made a unique and significant contribution to the experience of somatic symptoms. Future research directions and implications for addressing the larger societal perceptions of young Black males are discussed. PMID:27134517

Negative Social Contextual Stressors and Somatic Symptoms Among Young Black Males: An Exploratory Study.

PubMed

Scott, Lionel D; McCoy, Henrika

This study examines whether negative social contextual stressors were associated with somatic symptoms among young Black males ( N = 74) after accounting for background and psychological characteristics. Using Cunningham and Spencer's Black Male Experiences Measure, negative social contextual stressors connoted those experiences connected to the personal attributes, devaluation, and negative imagery of young Black males, such as being followed when entering a store or police or security guards asking them what they are doing when hanging out (e.g., in the park or playground or on the street corner). Results showed that such stressors made a unique and significant contribution to the experience of somatic symptoms. Future research directions and implications for addressing the larger societal perceptions of young Black males are discussed.

Community Maintenance Programs for Sexual Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Youssef, Carollyne

2013-01-01

While optimism regarding the treatment of sexual offenders has increased over the past couple of decades, research into the factors that assist offenders in maintaining therapeutic changes remains in the dark. Maintenance programs for offenders, while theoretically appearing to have a solid place in offender rehabilitation, surprisingly have not…

Auditory Brainstem Responses in Young Males with Fragile X Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Joanne; Hennon, Elizabeth A.; Anderson, Kathleen; Roush, Jackson; Gravel, Judith; Skinner, Martie; Misenheimer, Jan; Reitz, Patricia

2005-01-01

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited cause of mental retardation resulting in developmental delays in males. Atypical outer ear morphology is characteristic of FXS and may serve as a marker for abnormal auditory function. Despite this abnormality, studies of the hearing of young males with FXS are generally lacking. A few studies…

Personal aspirations and concerns inventory for offenders: developments in the measurement of offenders' motivation.

PubMed

Campbell, Jacqui; Sellen, Joselyn L; McMurran, Mary

2010-04-01

It is important to attend to offenders' motivation for treatment and behaviour change, either as a treatment selection criterion or a pre-treatment need. One measure of motivation that has been used with forensic populations is the Personal Concerns Inventory (PCI) and a PCI-Offender Adaptation (PCI-OA). As well as demonstrating promise in measuring offenders' motivation, the administration of the PCI and PCI-OA shows potential as a motivation enhancer. However, a number of potentially useful changes to the PCI-OA that may maximise its potential have been identified. These are described here. The rationale and process of abridgement and further development of the PCI-OA into the Personal Aspirations and Concerns Inventory for Offenders (PACI-O) are described. Results of a pilot study with 22 prisoners are reported. The pilot study aimed to assess the acceptability of the PACI-O with an offender population. Findings demonstrated that the interview took less time, although similar concerns were still identified, consistent with the previous PCI-OA. Consistency with previous evidence, together with positive feedback, suggests that the PACI-O was acceptable with an offender population. Future research is required to assess the psychometric properties of the PACI-O, and to evaluate its potential as an assessment of offender motivation.

Applying Positive Psychology to Illuminate the Needs of Adolescent Males Transitioning Out of Juvenile Detention.

PubMed

Tracey, Danielle; Hanham, José

2017-01-01

Reducing the recidivism of young offenders is a critical research issue, not only to enhance the future outcomes for the young person but also to reduce the future risk to the community. Navigating the immediate transition from detention back into the community is positioned as a critical milestone. This small qualitative study describes how young offenders participating in a formal mentoring program in Australia experienced the transition from detention to the community and the intrinsic drivers of their behaviour throughout this transition. Perspectives of their mentors and caseworker were also solicited. Importantly, their stories were interpreted through the lens of positive psychology and self-determination theory to discuss the relevance of one's pursuit of autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Increasing our understanding of these intrinsic motivators will assist young offenders to pursue a better life away from crime and benefit both themselves and the wider community. © The Author(s) 2015.

[Psycho-social factors of sexual failure among newly married Uyghur young males].

PubMed

Erkin, Ashim; Hamrajan, Memtili; Kadirjan, Mijit; Adil, Eli; Elijan, Abdureshit; Ibrahim, Ubul; Abdulla, Tursun; Hasanjan, Abdurehim; Turgun, Hekim; Eli, Ablet; Eset, Metmusa

2016-08-01

To study the psycho-social risk factors of sexual failure among newly married young males in the Uyghur population. We conducted a paired case control study of 186 newly married Uyghur young males (aged 17－30 ［23.4±2.9］ yr) with sexual failure and another 186 (aged 18－34 ［24.0±3.1］ yr) with no such problem as controls. We performed a logistic regression analysis on the possible psycho-social risk factors of this condition. Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk factors of sexual failure among the newly married men included personality (OR=0.271, 95% CI 0.176－0.420), income (OR=0.391, 95% CI 0.264－0.580), history of masturbation (OR=0.824, 95% CI 0.710－0.956), premarital sex (OR=0.757, 95% CI 0.677－0.847), sense of obligation (OR=1.756, 95% CI 1.157－2.693), equality of the social status (OR=0.574, 95% CI 0.435－0.756), degree of mutual care (OR=1.605, 95% CI 1.268－2.032), female's psychological obstacle (OR=2.832, 95% CI 1.221－6.569), and religion (OR=0.643, 95% CI 0.472－0.967). There was a statistical significance in the correlation between these factors and sexual failure in the newly married males (all P<0.05). Sexual failure of newly married Uyghur young males are associated with many psycho-social factors, which necessitates sexual education among young males and particularly pre-marriage sexual education and psychological guide among both males and females.

Perceived parental attachment, personality characteristics, and cognition in male incest.

PubMed

Lu, Yi-Ching; Lung, For-Wey

2012-06-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the multiple pathways of perceived child-rearing practices, cognitive-executive functions, and personality characteristics in incest and other sexual offenders. The participants consisted of 217 male sexual offenders who were in custody in southern Taiwan. Participants were divided into two groups of 25 incest and 192 nonincest sexual offenders. The incest offenders tended to be less extraverted and worse in abstract reasoning ability, and to have more perseverative thinking, and perceived less parental care than other sexual offenders. Moreover, the structural equation model showed that the effect of parental care on the type of sexual offense is mediated by cognitive-executive functions and personality traits. This finding suggests that the personality traits, cognitive function, and parental attachment of incest offenders differ from other sexual offenders. This result can be a helpful reference in sexual-offender intervention programs for relapse prevention.

Sadism and Violent Reoffending in Sexual Offenders.

PubMed

Eher, Reinhard; Schilling, Frank; Hansmann, Brigitte; Pumberger, Tanja; Nitschke, Joachim; Habermeyer, Elmar; Mokros, Andreas

2016-02-01

A diagnosis of sadism in sexual offenders is commonly regarded as indicative of high risk for violent reoffending. The purpose of the current two studies was to evaluate whether sadism is indeed associated with higher rates of violent (including sexual) reoffending. In Study 1 (meta-analysis), the rate of violent and sexual recidivism was assessed across seven samples of male sex offenders (total N = 2,169) as a function of diagnoses of sexual sadism. In Study 2 (N = 768) the outcome (violent recidivism yes/no) was regressed on sadism, along with behavioral indicators of sexually sadistic offending, and scores from violence risk assessment instruments. In Study 1 (meta-analysis), the overall risk of sadists compared with nonsadists with respect to violent (including sexual contact) reoffending was slightly elevated (by a factor of 1.18), yet not significantly increased. Similarly, the risk of sexual reoffending among sadists was slightly, but not significantly, higher than among nonsadists (factor 1.38). According to Study 2, only a measure of sadistic behavior, not the clinical diagnosis, was associated with violent reoffending. This association, however, was not present once age and customary risk assessment instruments for violence risk were included in the regression. A clinical diagnosis of sexual sadism and behavioral measures of sadism are related to the risk of violent reoffending in sexual offenders. These associations, however, are weak and do not hold once variables relevant for the prediction of violence are controlled for. At the individual level, the risk for future violence in sadists can therefore be adequately described by customary risk assessment instruments. © The Author(s) 2015.

Leisure Worlds: Situations, Motivations and Young People's Encounters with Offending and Victimization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanner, Julian; Asbridge, Mark; Wortley, Scot

2015-01-01

With information supplied by a large (n = 3393) sample of high school students from Toronto, this paper tests the assumption that three forms of leisure activity--peer, risky, and self-improving leisure--have a relatively independent impact upon patterns of offending and victimization. Although we find significant support for this proposition, we…

Comparing Women's and Men's Sexual Offending Using a Statewide Incarcerated Sample: A Two-Study Design.

PubMed

Comartin, Erin B; Burgess-Proctor, Amanda; Kubiak, Sheryl; Bender, Kimberly A; Kernsmith, Poco

2018-05-01

This study identifies the characteristics that distinguish between women's and men's sexual offending. We compare women and men currently incarcerated for a sex offense in one state using two data sources: administrative data on sex offenders in the state prison ( N = 9,235) and subsample surveys ( n = 129). Bivariate and logistic regressions were used in these analyses. Women account for a small proportion (1.1%, N = 98) of incarcerated sex offenders. In the population, women and men were convicted of similar types of sex offenses. The subsample was demographically similar to the population. In the subsample, women were more likely than men to have a child victim, be the parent/guardian of the victim, have a co-offender, and repeatedly perpetrate against the same victim. Findings suggest that women convicted and sentenced for a sex offense differ from their male counterparts, with predictive factors being dependent upon the age of their victim(s). Sex offender treatment interventions developed for men are poorly suited to and may have limited efficacy for women.

PIRATES: A Program for Offenders Transitioning into the World of Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Musgrove, Kate Racoff; Derzis, Nicholas C.; Shippen, Margaret E.; Brigman, Holly E.

2012-01-01

The study assessed the effectiveness of the Preparing Inmates for Re-Entry through Assistance, Training, and Employment Skills (PIRATES) group, which focused on improving dysfunctional career thoughts. Participants were male offenders (n = 14) enrolled in a re-entry training class. Results showed a statistically significant decrease in…

An Evaluation of the Psychache Scale on an Offender Population

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Jeremy F.; Green, Kate; Reddon, John R.

2005-01-01

This study examined the generalizability of a self-report measure of psychache to an offender population. The factor structure, construct validity, and criterion validity of the Psychache Scale was assessed on 136 male prison inmates. The results showed the Psychache Scale has a single underlying factor structure and to be strongly associated with…

Modified TC for MICA offenders: crime outcomes.

PubMed

Sacks, Stanley; Sacks, JoAnn Y; McKendrick, Karen; Banks, Steven; Stommel, Joe

2004-01-01

The study randomly assigned male inmates with co-occurring serious mental illness and chemical abuse (MICA) disorders to either modified therapeutic community (MTC) or mental health (MH) treatment programs. On their release from prison, MICA inmates who completed the prison MTC program could enter the MTC aftercare program. The results, obtained from an intent-to-treat analysis of all study entries, showed that inmates randomized into the MTC group had significantly lower rates of reincarceration compared with those in the MH group. The results also show that differences between the MTC + aftercare and comparison group across a variety of crime outcomes (i.e. any criminal activity, and alcohol or drug related criminal activity) are consistent and significant, and persist after an examination of various threats to validity (e.g. initial motivation, duration of treatment, exposure to risk). This study provides some support for the effectiveness of the prison TC only condition. The findings are encouraging and consonant with other studies of integrated prison and aftercare TC programs for substance abusing non-MICA offenders, although qualified by the possibility that selection bias (i.e. differences in motivation on entry into aftercare) may be operating. Nevertheless, given the available evidence and the need for effective programming for MICA offenders, program and policy makers should strongly consider developing integrated prison and aftercare modified TC programs for MICA offenders. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Police attitudes toward domestic violence offenders.

PubMed

Logan, T K; Shannon, Lisa; Walker, Robert

2006-10-01

Police attitudes are important in facilitating a sense of safety and comfort in women seeking justice-system support for protection from partner violence. This study examined police attitudes toward sanctions and treatment for domestic violence offenders compared with other violent and nonviolent offenders. In addition, police attitudes toward domestic violence offenders who do and do not use substances were examined. Officers from one city police department (n = 315) participated in a survey. Results indicate there is a trend toward attitudes that treatment, rather than sanctions, was more appropriate for domestic violence offenders. In addition, officers rated the use of sanctions higher for domestic violence offenders who abuse alcohol or drugs compared with domestic violence offenders who did not abuse alcohol or drugs. Understanding police attitudes toward domestic violence offenders may have implications for police training and victim services in facilitating the use of the justice system in protecting women from partner violence.

Self-Esteem and Institutionalized Delinquent Offenders: The Role of Background Characteristics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischer, B. Jerome; Bersani, Carl A.

1979-01-01

The hypothesis studied was derived from the work of control theorists: that self-esteem would be higher for offenders "removed" from conventional ties, lower for those maintaining conventional attachments. Family background and self-esteem scores of 75 male delinquents strongly supported this hypothesis. Implications for incarceration are drawn.…

Articulation Rate and Vowel Space Characteristics of Young Males with Fragile X Syndrome: Preliminary Acoustic Findings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zajac, David J.; Roberts, Joanne E.; Hennon, Elizabeth A.; Harris, Adrianne A.; Barnes, Elizabeth F.; Misenheimer, Jan

2006-01-01

Purpose: Increased speaking rate is a commonly reported perceptual characteristic among males with fragile X syndrome (FXS). The objective of this preliminary study was to determine articulation rate--one component of perceived speaking rate--and vowel space characteristics of young males with FXS. Method: Young males with FXS (n = 38), …

Psychosocial Needs of Boys in Secure Care for Serious or Persistent Offending

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrington, R. C.; Kroll, L.; Rothwell, J.; McCarthy, K.; Bradley, D.; Bailey, S.

2005-01-01

Background: The mental health of child offenders who are detained in secure settings is a matter of great public and professional concern but there has been little systematic longitudinal research on the outcomes of these problems once the young person has returned to the community. The aims of the present study were to describe the psychosocial…

Sex Offending and Situational Motivation: Findings From a Qualitative Analysis of Desistance From Sexual Offending.

PubMed

Farmer, Mark; McAlinden, Anne-Marie; Maruna, Shadd

2016-09-25

Sex offending is typically understood from a pathology perspective with the origin of the behavior thought to be within the offending individual. Such a perspective may not be beneficial for those seeking to desist from sexual offending and reintegrate into mainstream society. A thematic analysis of 32 self-narratives of men convicted of sexual offences against children suggests that such individuals typically explain their pasts utilizing a script consistent with routine activity theory, emphasizing the role of circumstantial changes in both the onset of and desistance from sexual offending. It is argued that the self-framing of serious offending in this way might be understood as a form of "shame management," a protective cognition that enables desistance by shielding individuals from internalizing stigma for past violence. © The Author(s) 2016.

Reporting Crimes to the Police Depends on Relationship Networks: Effects of Ties Among Victims, Advisors, and Offenders.

PubMed

Knoth, Lauren K; Ruback, R Barry

2016-08-01

A victim's decision to report a crime to the police is typically made after talking with someone else, usually a friend or relative, but sometimes a stranger. The advice this person gives depends primarily on the seriousness of the crime, and to some extent on the gender and age of the victim. The present research, which used experimental vignettes, examined the role of social networks in reporting: How do the relationships among a victim, the advisor, and the offender affect the advice to report or not to report a violent or nonviolent crime? Results from Study 1 indicated that relationships matter: Crimes are least likely to be reported if the offender is part of the same triad as the victim and the advisor, and crimes are most likely to be reported if the victim, the advisor, and the offender are all strangers. Study 1 also found that males are more likely to protect friends who are offenders (by advising against reporting), while females are more likely to protect friends who are victims (by advising them to report). Study 2 found that the effect of these relationships on reporting is conditioned by the nature of the organization to which the offender belongs, such that males are particularly likely to protect their friends in athletic organizations and fraternities when accused of minor property crimes. Both studies found that gender differences in the advice to report are moderated by characteristics of the crime and triad structure.

Examining Specialization Among Sex Offenders Released From Prison.

PubMed

Lin, Jeffrey; Simon, Walter

2016-04-01

A prevailing cultural stereotype about sex offenders is that they tend to specialize in sexual offending. Many recent policy developments-mainly aimed to restrict the liberties of sex offenders-are rooted in this idea. We examined the correctional and arrest records of a sample of 312 sex offenders released on parole in Colorado to determine the prevalence of sexual specialization among these offenders, and to compare the legal and social characteristics of specialists and versatile sex offenders. Overall we found that very few participants officially classified as sex offenders fit the specialist stereotype. Study participants generally displayed versatile histories of criminal offending. We also found that specialists were distinguishable from versatile offenders on certain indices of social integration and mental health, and they were more likely to have had a history of offending against children. © The Author(s) 2014.

Replications and Extensions in Arousal Assessment for Sex Offenders with Developmental Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reyes, Jorge R.; Vollmer, Timothy R.; Hall, Astrid

2011-01-01

Three adult male sex offenders with developmental disabilities participated in phallometric assessments that involved repeated measures of arousal when exposed to various stimuli. Arousal assessment outcomes were similar to those obtained by Reyes et al. (2006). Additional data-analysis methods provided further information about sexual…

Deindustrialization, Disadvantage and Suicide among Young Black Males

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kubrin, Charis Elizabeth; Wadsworth, Thomas P.; DiPietro, Stephanie

2006-01-01

Wilson's deindustrialization thesis has been the focus of much recent research. This study is the first to empirically test his thesis as it relates to suicide among young black males, which has increased dramatically over the past two decades. Using 1998-2001 Mortality Multiple Cause-of-Death Records and 2000 census data, we examine the influence…

The frequency of XYY and XXY men among criminal offenders.

PubMed

Schröder, J; de la Chapelle, A; Hakola, P; Virkkunen, M

1981-03-01

Among 1,040 consecutive male criminals remitted for mental examination nine had the karyotype 47,XYY, one 48,XXYY and eleven 47,XXY. The types of crime in the XYY men were much like those in the XXY men, the proportion of sexual crimes possibly being greater than among other criminal offenders. The reasons for these findings are discussed.

The Prevalence of Middle Eastern Extremist Ideologies among Some Canadian Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loza, Wagdy

2010-01-01

The Belief Diversity Scale (BDS) was administered to 89 male Canadian offenders of different religious backgrounds. The BDS is a 33-item, six-subscale instrument designed to quantitatively measure the religious attitudes, beliefs, and ideologies of Middle Eastern extremists on risk areas described in the literature. Results indicated that the…

Re-education of young driving offenders: effects on self-reports of driver behavior.

PubMed

af Wåhlberg, A E

2010-08-01

Offending drivers are often re-educated, but these courses have seldom been shown to have any safety effects. An on-line improvement course for offending drivers below the age of 25 was evaluated with several driver inventories. The drivers reported higher levels of aggression, stress, sensation seeking, drunk driving, and driving violations, six months after the course than before. However, these levels were lower than those of controls, indicating that the initially low levels for the education group were due to socially desirable responding, as measured by a lie scale, an effect that waned after the course. The results can be interpreted as a positive effect of the education, although this conclusion is tentative and not in agreement with all effects in the data. The results are in disagreement with previous evaluation studies using the same or similar instruments, and show the need to include controls for social desirability in self-report studies. 2010 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Psychological interventions for adults who have sexually offended or are at risk of offending.

PubMed

Dennis, Jane A; Khan, Omer; Ferriter, Michael; Huband, Nick; Powney, Melanie J; Duggan, Conor

2012-12-12

powerful id (increased sexual impulses and libido) and a weak superego (a low level of moral probation), which are also impacted by early environment.This updates a previous Cochrane review but is based on a new protocol. To assess the effects of psychological interventions on those who have sexually offended or are at risk of offending. In September 2010 we searched: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Allied and Complementary Medicine (AMED), Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), Biosis Previews, CINAHL, COPAC, Dissertation Abstracts, EMBASE, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), ISI Proceedings, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts Database, PsycINFO, OpenSIGLE, Social Care Online, Sociological Abstracts, UK Clinical Research Network Portfolio Database and ZETOC. We contacted numerous experts in the field. Randomised trials comparing psychological intervention with standard care or another psychological therapy given to adults treated in institutional or community settings for sexual behaviours that have resulted in conviction or caution for sexual offences, or who are seeking treatment voluntarily for behaviours classified as illegal. At least two authors, working independently, selected studies, extracted data and assessed the studies' risk of bias. We contacted study authors for additional information including details of methods and outcome data. We included ten studies involving data from 944 adults, all male.Five trials involved primarily cognitive behavioural interventions (CBT) (n = 664). Of these, four compared CBT with no treatment or wait list control, and one compared CBT with standard care. Only one study collected data on the primary outcome. The largest study (n = 484) involved the most complex intervention versus no treatment. Long-term outcome data are reported for groups in which the mean years 'at risk' in the community are similar (8

78 FR 23835 - Sex Offender Registration Amendments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-23

... 3225-AA10 Sex Offender Registration Amendments AGENCY: Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency... and requirements relating to periodic verification of registration information for sex offenders. Furthermore, the rule permits CSOSA to verify addresses of sex offenders by conducting home visits on its own...

77 FR 73558 - Sex Offender Registration Amendments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-11

... 3225-AA10 Sex Offender Registration Amendments AGENCY: Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency... information for sex offenders. The proposed rule, if finalized, would permit CSOSA to verify addresses of sex... those sex offenders who are required to register but are not under CSOSA's supervision. DATES: Submit...

Adult-onset offenders: Is a tailored theory warranted?

PubMed Central

Beckley, Amber L.; Caspi, Avshalom; Harrington, Honalee; Houts, Renate M.; Mcgee, Tara Renae; Morgan, Nick; Schroeder, Felix; Ramrakha, Sandhya; Poulton, Richie; Moffitt, Terrie E.

2016-01-01

Purpose To describe official adult-onset offenders, investigate their antisocial histories and test hypotheses about their origins. Methods We defined adult-onset offenders among 931 Dunedin Study members followed to age 38, using criminal-court conviction records. Results Official adult-onset offenders were 14% of men, and 32% of convicted men, but accounted for only 15% of convictions. As anticipated by developmental theories emphasizing early-life influences on crime, adult-onset offenders’ histories of antisocial behavior spanned back to childhood. Relative to juvenile-offenders, during adolescence they had fewer delinquent peers and were more socially inhibited, which may have protected them from conviction. As anticipated by theories emphasizing the importance of situational influences on offending, adult-onset offenders, relative to non-offenders, during adulthood more often had schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and alcohol-dependence, had weaker social bonds, anticipated fewer informal sanctions, and self-reported more offenses. Contrary to some expectations, adult-onset offenders did not have high IQ or high socioeconomic-status families protecting them from juvenile conviction. Conclusions A tailored theory for adult-onset offenders is unwarranted because few people begin crime de novo as adults. Official adult-onset offenders fall on a continuum of crime and its correlates, between official non-offenders and official juvenile-onset offenders. Existing theories can accommodate adult-onset offenders. PMID:27134318

Psychosocial health among young victims and offenders of direct and indirect bullying.

PubMed

van der Wal, Marcel F; de Wit, Cees A M; Hirasing, Remy A

2003-06-01

To assess the association between bullying (both directly and indirectly) and indicators of psychosocial health for boys and girls separately. A school-based questionnaire survey of bullying, depression, suicidal ideation, and delinquent behavior. Primary schools in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. A total of 4811 children aged 9 to 13. Depression and suicidal ideation are common outcomes of being bullied in both boys and girls. These associations are stronger for indirect than direct bullying. After correction, direct bullying had a significant effect on depression and suicidal ideation in girls, but not in boys. Boy and girl offenders of bullying far more often reported delinquent behavior. Bullying others directly is a much greater risk factor for delinquent behavior than bullying others indirectly. This was true for both boys and girls. Boy and girl offenders of bullying also more often reported depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. However, after correction for both sexes only a significant association still existed between bullying others directly and suicidal ideation. The association between bullying and psychosocial health differs notably between girls and boys as well as between direct and indirect forms of bullying. Interventions to stop bullying must pay attention to these differences to enhance effectiveness.

Oral Language Competence, Young Speakers, and the Law

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snow, Pamela C.; Powell, Martine B.; Sanger, Dixie D.

2012-01-01

Purpose: This paper highlights the forensic implications of language impairment in 2 key (and overlapping) groups of young people: identified victims of maltreatment (abuse and/or neglect) and young offenders. Method: Two lines of research pertaining to oral language competence and young people's interface with the law are considered: 1 regarding…

Reevaluating Interrater Reliability in Offender Risk Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Knaap, Leontien M.; Leenarts, Laura E. W.; Born, Marise Ph.; Oosterveld, Paul

2012-01-01

Offender risk and needs assessment, one of the pillars of the risk-need-responsivity model of offender rehabilitation, usually depends on raters assessing offender risk and needs. The few available studies of interrater reliability in offender risk assessment are, however, limited in the generalizability of their results. The present study…

Addressing Social Anxiety Concurrently With Prison-Based Sex Offender Treatment: A Case of Individual Needs in an Era of Manualized Treatment.

PubMed

Lasher, Michael P; Webb, Jon R; Stinson, Jill D; Cantrell, Peggy J

2017-07-01

Emotional regulation may be an underaddressed therapeutic target in sex offender treatment. This article presents a case report of "Adam," a Caucasian male referred to a prison-based sex offender treatment program. Adam's social anxiety was recognized as an antecendent to his sexual offending, and treatment of such, as a critical adjunct to sex offender treatment, is discussed herein. Adam's individualized treatment included aspects of rational emotive behavior therapy and time-limited dynamic psychotherapy. Adam showed an increased understanding of his anxiety and improvement in his social interactions, both in the context of treatment groups and with female staff, and was willing to continue follow-up care in the community. This case provides support for the individualized treatment of incarcerated offenders as opposed to exclusively utilizing manualized psychoeducational interventions.

What Provokes Young People to Get into Trouble: Singapore Stories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tam, Kai Yung; Heng, Mary Anne; Bullock, Lyndal M.

2007-01-01

In this article, the authors address correctional education and juvenile delinquency. The authors examined the case files of 54 juvenile offenders incarcerated in the Kaki Bukit Center Prison School in Singapore to analyze the antecedents that provoked these young offenders to commit the offenses. The juveniles reported that peer influence and…

Preliminary Findings on Men's Sexual Self-Schema and Sexual Offending: Differences Between Subtypes of Offenders.

PubMed

Sigre-Leirós, Vera; Carvalho, Joana; Nobre, Pedro

2016-01-01

Available literature suggests that sexual self-schemas (i.e., cognitive generalizations about sexual aspects of oneself) influence sexual behavior. Nonetheless, there is a lack of research regarding their role in sexual offending. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the men's sexual self-schema dimensions (passionate-loving, powerful-aggressive, and open-minded-liberal) and different types of sexual-offending behavior. A total of 50 rapists, 65 child molesters (21 pedophilic, 44 nonpedophilic), and 51 nonsexual offenders answered the Men's Sexual Self-Schema Scale, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Socially Desirable Response Set Measure (SDRS-5). Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression, controlling for age, school education, psychological distress, and social desirability. Results showed that rapists as well as nonsexual offenders were more likely to hold the powerful-aggressive sexual self-view compared to pedophilic and nonpedophilic child molesters. Overall, findings seem to be consistent with both a sociocultural component of aggression and the general cognitive profile of offenders. If further research corroborates these preliminary findings, sexual self-concept may be integrated into a comprehensive multifactorial approach of offending behavior.

Violent and Non-Violent Criminal Behavior among Young Chinese Drug Users: A Mixed Methods Study.

PubMed

Liu, Liu; Chui, Wing Hong; Chen, Ye

2018-03-02

Young drug users are found to be increasingly involved in criminal justice issues. This exploratory and descriptive study aims to analyze the criminal behaviors among young Chinese drug users through a mixed methods research design. Quantitative analysis indicates that young drug users with and without a history of criminality show significant differences in terms of several features. Male drug users, particularly, those who are older, with religious beliefs, and initiated into drug use at younger age were most likely to commit crimes. Among drug users with criminal experiences, those who committed crimes prior to drug initiation have a greater likelihood of committing violent crimes. Furthermore, young drug users with severe depression are more likely to commit crimes, especially violent ones. Qualitative analysis further illustrates that young male drug users often get involved in criminal conduct of the youth gang nature with propensity for engaging in violent crimes as compared to their female counterparts who are more likely to turn into drug dealers and traffickers, in addition to engaging in larceny. The research findings are consistent with developmental theories and "victim to offender cycle". Integrated mental health and substance use services are suggested for crime prevention among young Chinese drug users.

Violent and Non-Violent Criminal Behavior among Young Chinese Drug Users: A Mixed Methods Study

PubMed Central

Liu, Liu; Chen, Ye

2018-01-01

Young drug users are found to be increasingly involved in criminal justice issues. This exploratory and descriptive study aims to analyze the criminal behaviors among young Chinese drug users through a mixed methods research design. Quantitative analysis indicates that young drug users with and without a history of criminality show significant differences in terms of several features. Male drug users, particularly, those who are older, with religious beliefs, and initiated into drug use at younger age were most likely to commit crimes. Among drug users with criminal experiences, those who committed crimes prior to drug initiation have a greater likelihood of committing violent crimes. Furthermore, young drug users with severe depression are more likely to commit crimes, especially violent ones. Qualitative analysis further illustrates that young male drug users often get involved in criminal conduct of the youth gang nature with propensity for engaging in violent crimes as compared to their female counterparts who are more likely to turn into drug dealers and traffickers, in addition to engaging in larceny. The research findings are consistent with developmental theories and “victim to offender cycle”. Integrated mental health and substance use services are suggested for crime prevention among young Chinese drug users. PMID:29498649

Brief Trauma and Mental Health Assessments for Female Offenders in Addiction Treatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowan-Szal, Grace A.; Joe, George W.; Bartholomew, Norma G.; Pankow, Jennifer; Simpson, D. Dwayne

2012-01-01

Increasing numbers of women in prison raise concerns about gender-specific problems and needs severity. Female offenders report higher trauma as well as mental and medical health complications than males, but large inmate populations and limited resources create challenges in administering proper diagnostic screening and assessments. This study…

Altruism, Empathy, and Sex Offender Treatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Tony; Durrant, Russil

2013-01-01

Treatment programs for serious offenders such as sex offenders typically include an empathy training component as part of a comprehensive intervention package. The reasons for doing so are partly based on research evidence indicating that social disconnection and relationship ruptures related to empathy failures often trigger offending, and also…

Predictors of Sex Offender Treatment Completion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Donna L.; Bergman, Barbara A.; Knox, Pamela L.

1999-01-01

Reviews records of 126 incarcerated offenders who participated in a prison-based sex offender treatment program. Discriminate function analysis reveals that offenders who completed treatment were more often diagnosed with a substance disorder, had a history of nonviolence offenses, and were less often diagnosed as having an antisocial personality…

Institutional Misconduct, Delinquent Background, and Rearrest Frequency among Serious and Violent Delinquent Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trulson, Chad R.; DeLisi, Matt; Marquart, James W.

2011-01-01

This study examines the relationship of institutional misconduct to postrelease rearrest, controlling for a battery of preincarceration variables typically found to influence recidivism among institutionalized delinquent offenders. Based on data from 1,804 serious and violent male delinquents released from a large southern juvenile correctional…

Risk and protective factors for recidivism among juveniles who have offended sexually.

PubMed

Spice, Andrew; Viljoen, Jodi L; Latzman, Natasha E; Scalora, Mario J; Ullman, Daniel

2013-08-01

Literature on risk factors for recidivism among juveniles who have sexually offended (JSOs) is limited. In addition, there have been no studies published concerning protective factors among this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of risk and protective factors to sexual and nonsexual recidivism among a sample of 193 male JSOs (mean age = 15.26). Youths were followed for an average of 7.24 years following discharge from a residential sex offender treatment program. The risk factor opportunities to reoffend, as coded based on the Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism, was associated with sexual recidivism. Several risk factors (e.g., prior offending; peer delinquency) were associated with nonsexual recidivism. No protective factors examined were associated with sexual recidivism, although strong attachments and bonds as measured by the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth was negatively related to nonsexual recidivism. These findings indicate that risk factors for nonsexual recidivism may be consistent across both general adolescent offender populations and JSOs, but that there may be distinct protective factors that apply to sexual recidivism among JSOs. Results also indicate important needs for further research on risk factors, protective factors, and risk management strategies for JSOs.

Acute effects of alcohol on inhibitory control and simulated driving in DUI offenders.

PubMed

Van Dyke, Nicholas; Fillmore, Mark T

2014-06-01

The public health costs associated with alcohol-related traffic accidents have prompted considerable research aimed at identifying characteristics of individuals who drive under the influence (DUI) in order to improve treatment and prevention strategies. Survey studies consistently show that DUI offenders self-report higher levels of impulsivity compared to their nonoffending counterparts. However, little is known about how individuals with a DUI history respond under alcohol. Inhibitory control is a behavioral component of impulsivity thought to underlie risky drinking and driving behaviors. The present study examined the degree to which DUI drivers display deficits of inhibitory control in response to alcohol and the degree to which alcohol impaired their simulated driving performance. It was hypothesized that DUI offenders would display an increased sensitivity to the acute impairing effects of alcohol on simulated driving performance. Young adult drivers with a history of DUI and a demographically-comparable group of drivers with no history of DUI (controls) were tested following a 0.65 g/kg dose of alcohol and a placebo. Inhibitory control was measured by using a cued go/no-go task. Drivers then completed a driving simulation task that yielded multiple indicators of driving performance, such as within-lane deviation, steering rate, centerline crossings and road edge excursions, and drive speed. Results showed that although DUI offenders self-reported greater levels of impulsivity than did controls, no group differences were observed in the degree to which alcohol impaired inhibitory control and driving performance. The findings point to the need to identify other aspects of behavioral dysfunction underlying the self-reported impulsivity among DUI offenders, and to better understand the specific driving situations that might pose greater risk to DUI offenders. The systematic study of candidate cognitive deficits in DUI offenders will provide important

Energy drink consumption is associated with anxiety in Australian young adult males.

PubMed

Trapp, Georgina S A; Allen, Karina; O'Sullivan, Therese A; Robinson, Monique; Jacoby, Peter; Oddy, Wendy H

2014-05-01

Energy drinks are predominantly targeted to young adult consumers; however, there has been limited research into their effects on psychological functioning in this demographic group. This study examined cross-sectional associations between energy drink consumption and mental health in a population-based sample of young adults participating in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. We used self-report questionnaires to assess energy drink consumption and mental health (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21; DASS-21) at the 20-year cohort follow-up. In the regression analyses, we considered associations between energy drink consumption (mL/day) and continuous DASS-21 scores, adjusting for sociodemographic variables, alcohol and drug use, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), and dietary intake. Our sample included 502 males and 567 females (mean age 20 ± 3 years). After adjusting for potential confounding factors and controlling for coexisting mental health problems, energy drink consumption (per 100 mL/day) was significantly associated with anxiety (but not depression or stress), and this relationship was found only in males (β = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.05, 0.58). Our study found that energy drink consumption was associated with increased anxiety in young adult males. Further research into the possible contribution of energy drink use to the development of mental health problems in young adults is needed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Disparities in the moral intuitions of criminal offenders: The role of psychopathy

PubMed Central

Antonenko, Olga; Kiehl, Kent A.

2011-01-01

The present study examined whether and in what ways psychopathy is associated with abnormal moral intuitions among criminal offenders. Using Haidt et al.’s Moral Foundations Questionnaire, 222 adult male offenders assessed for clinical psychopathy reported their degree of support for five moral domains: Harm Prevention, Fairness, Respect for Authority, Ingroup Loyalty, and Purity/Sanctity. As predicted, psychopathy total score explained a substantial proportion of the variance in reduced support for Harm Prevention and Fairness, but not the other domains. These results confirm that psychopathy entails a discrete set of moral abnormalities and suggest that these abnormalities could potentially help to explain the characteristic antisocial behavior of individuals with psychopathy. PMID:21647247

An Examination of the Relationship between Child Sexual Offending and Psychopathy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenberg, Arthur David; Abell, Steven C.; Mackie, Jean Kanitz

2005-01-01

The participants in this study were adult males (N = 111) who were accused of various sexual crimes against children 16 years of age or younger, and who were evaluated at a state forensic facility in a large Midwestern state. This study examined the relationship of Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) scores to type of child sexual offender (same…

Mindfulness and Rehabilitation: Teaching Yoga and Meditation to Young Men in an Alternative to Incarceration Program.

PubMed

Barrett, Carla J

2017-11-01

This study used participant/observation and open-ended interviews to understand how male participants (age 18-24 years) benefited from yoga and mindfulness training within an Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) program. Findings suggest that the male participants (age 18-24 years) benefited from the intervention through reductions in stress and improvements in emotion regulation. Several participants noted the importance of the development of an embodied practice for assisting them in managing anger and impulse control. The young men's narratives suggest that mindfulness-based interventions can contribute positively to rehabilitative outcomes within alternative to incarcerations settings, providing complementary benefit to existing ATI programs, especially for clients amenable to mindfulness training. With many jurisdictions expanding rehabilitation-focused interventions for young offenders, service providers should consider the potential positive contributions that mindfulness-based interventions can have for fostering desistance and reducing recidivism among justice system-involved populations.

Exploring sex disparity in sentencing outcomes: a focus on narcotics offenders in South Korea.

PubMed

Hartley, Richard D; Kwak, Dae-Hoon; Park, Mirang; Lee, Min-Sik

2011-04-01

Most research on sentencing outcomes reveals that legally relevant factors such as the seriousness of the offense and prior criminal record are primary determinants. There is, however, a substantial body of research that finds that extralegal factors such as a defendant's sex also influence these outcomes. Most of these latter studies conclude that female defendants receive less severe outcomes compared to their male counterparts. Most of this research, however, is limited to Western societies. To extend this body of research, the current study examines sex differences in sentencing practices for a sample of narcotics offenders in South Korea. Results support previous research; female drug offenders in South Korea are generally treated more leniently than their male counterparts. Tests for interaction effects reveal that the defendant's sex also interacts with other constellations of factors to produce lenient treatment for certain female defendants. These tests, however, also reveal that lenient sentence outcomes are not extended to all female defendants; those with prior drug convictions do not fare better than their male counterparts at the incarceration decision.

Comprehensive Assessment of Health Needs of Young Minority Males Attending a Family Planning Clinic.

PubMed

Pastuszak, Alexander W; Wenker, Evan P; Smith, Peggy B; Abacan, Allyssa; Lamb, Dolores J; Lipshultz, Larry I; Buzi, Ruth

2017-05-01

The objective of this study was to assess the overall health, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge and needs, sexual behaviors, and testicular health practices among young minority males. Anonymous questionnaires were administered to 18- to 25-year-old males receiving services at health clinics in a large southwestern U.S. city. The survey was completed by 258 males with a mean age of 20.8 years. Most young males (67.1%) identified as African American, and 32.9% as Hispanic. Results suggest study participants lack SRH knowledge related to pregnancy and condom effectiveness, and engage in risky sexual behavior including not using birth control at their last sexual encounter. Although 21.6% of participants had a sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the past year, approximately 80% perceived their STI/HIV risk as very low or low. Respondents had low engagement and lack of knowledge of testicular health practices. The majority of respondents (71.1%) reported having been in a physical fight one or more times and 18.1% reported being victims of intimate partner violence. These data support a need for comprehensive health services for minority young males.

A typology of drug selling among young adults in the United States.

PubMed

Vaughn, Michael G; Salas-Wright, Christopher P; DeLisi, Matt; Shook, Jeffrey J; Terzis, Lauren

2015-02-01

Although studies have found that young adults who sell drugs are more likely to be involved in risky behaviors than those who do not sell drugs, there has been relatively little research that has explored heterogeneity among young adults who sell drugs. Using a pooled sample of 18 to 25 year olds from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2006-2010) who report past-year drug selling (N = 5,373), this study employs latent profile analysis to specify latent groups and assess the correlates of group membership. Findings indicate substantial differences among young adults who sell drugs. In particular, the analysis found four groups of drug sellers: normative (49.6%), club drug users (23.6%), polysubstance users (16.0%), and criminal offenders (10.8%). Club drug users were characterized by high levels of ecstasy and hallucinogen use, polysubstance users were more likely to be depressed and anxious, White and female than the other groups. Criminal offenders were overwhelmingly male and more likely to be comprised of African-Americans and Hispanics. RESULTS indicate that drug selling in early adulthood varies substantially. Contrary to media and popular notions most drug sellers are not involved in crime and polysubstance using drug sellers are in clear need of mental health services. Further, most drug sellers in this age range are White. Findings suggest that policy efforts that operate under the assumption of homogeneity of drug selling may be misguided.

Sexual offending runs in families: A 37-year nationwide study

PubMed Central

Långström, Niklas; Babchishin, Kelly M; Fazel, Seena; Lichtenstein, Paul; Frisell, Thomas

2015-01-01

Background: Sexual crime is an important public health concern. The possible causes of sexual aggression, however, remain uncertain. Methods: We examined familial aggregation and the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to sexual crime by linking longitudinal, nationwide Swedish crime and multigenerational family registers. We included all men convicted of any sexual offence (N = 21 566), specifically rape of an adult (N = 6131) and child molestation (N = 4465), from 1973 to 2009. Sexual crime rates among fathers and brothers of sexual offenders were compared with corresponding rates in fathers and brothers of age-matched population control men without sexual crime convictions. We also modelled the relative influence of genetic and environmental factors to the liability of sexual offending. Results: We found strong familial aggregation of sexual crime [odds ratio (OR) = 5.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.5–5.9] among full brothers of convicted sexual offenders. Familial aggregation was lower in father-son dyads (OR = 3.7, 95% CI = 3.2–4.4) among paternal half-brothers (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.5–2.9) and maternal half-brothers (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.2–2.4). Statistical modelling of the strength and patterns of familial aggregation suggested that genetic factors (40%) and non-shared environmental factors (58%) explained the liability to offend sexually more than shared environmental influences (2%). Further, genetic effects tended to be weaker for rape of an adult (19%) than for child molestation (46%). Conclusions: We report strong evidence of familial clustering of sexual offending, primarily accounted for by genes rather than shared environmental influences. Future research should possibly test the effectiveness of selective prevention efforts for male first-degree relatives of sexually aggressive individuals, and consider familial risk in sexual violence risk assessment. PMID:25855722

Sexual offending runs in families: A 37-year nationwide study.

PubMed

Långström, Niklas; Babchishin, Kelly M; Fazel, Seena; Lichtenstein, Paul; Frisell, Thomas

2015-04-01

Sexual crime is an important public health concern. The possible causes of sexual aggression, however, remain uncertain. We examined familial aggregation and the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to sexual crime by linking longitudinal, nationwide Swedish crime and multigenerational family registers. We included all men convicted of any sexual offence (N = 21,566), specifically rape of an adult (N = 6131) and child molestation (N = 4465), from 1973 to 2009. Sexual crime rates among fathers and brothers of sexual offenders were compared with corresponding rates in fathers and brothers of age-matched population control men without sexual crime convictions. We also modelled the relative influence of genetic and environmental factors to the liability of sexual offending. We found strong familial aggregation of sexual crime [odds ratio (OR) = 5.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.5-5.9] among full brothers of convicted sexual offenders. Familial aggregation was lower in father-son dyads (OR = 3.7, 95% CI = 3.2-4.4) among paternal half-brothers (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.5-2.9) and maternal half-brothers (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.2-2.4). Statistical modelling of the strength and patterns of familial aggregation suggested that genetic factors (40%) and non-shared environmental factors (58%) explained the liability to offend sexually more than shared environmental influences (2%). Further, genetic effects tended to be weaker for rape of an adult (19%) than for child molestation (46%). We report strong evidence of familial clustering of sexual offending, primarily accounted for by genes rather than shared environmental influences. Future research should possibly test the effectiveness of selective prevention efforts for male first-degree relatives of sexually aggressive individuals, and consider familial risk in sexual violence risk assessment.

Juvenile Offenders and Independent Living: An Irish Perspective on Program Development with St. Xavier's

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McElwee, Niall; O'Connor, Michael; McKenna, Susan

2007-01-01

This article discusses the authors' experience in working with young offenders who are leaving care in Ireland. It first presents a brief discussion around one agency called St. Xavier's which the authors have had connections with over the past decade. The main aim of St. Xavier's is to deliver individualized programs of care, education, and…

PTSD and re-offending risk: the mediating role of worry and a negative perception of other people's support

PubMed Central

Ardino, Vittoria; Milani, Luca; Di Blasio, Paola

2013-01-01

Background Studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are mainly focused on victims of trauma. Very few studies explored the links between PTSD symptoms and re-offending risk in perpetrators of violence. Objective The aim of the study was to assess the effect of PTSD symptoms on re-offending risk in prisoner populations with a focus on indirect effects of worry and a negative perception of other people’s support on the relationship between PTSD and re-offending risk. Methods 75 prisoners (25 females, mean age: 44.36 years; 50 males, mean age: 34.7 years) were assessed for exposure to child abuse and neglect, PTSD symptoms, worry, a negative perception of other people’s support and re-offending risk. Mediation analyses tested the indirect effects of worry and a negative perception of other people’s support on the relationship between PTSD and re-offending risk. Results 72% participants presented PTSD symptoms and 30.7% were at risk of re-offending. Mediation analyses supported the hypothesis of a mediation pathway from PTSD to worry and a negative perception of other people’s support to an increased risk of re-offending. Conclusions The results indicate that prisoners report high rates of PTSD symptoms; furthermore, they highlight an important relationship between PTSD and re-offending risk. Findings suggest that future research should test further the indirect effects of negative cognitive and emotional states on the relationship of PTSD and re-offending risk and explore more in depth the role of PTSD to assess and treat prisoners. PMID:24371516

The relationship between cavum septum pellucidum and psychopathic traits in female offenders.

PubMed

Crooks, Dana; Anderson, Nathaniel E; Widdows, Matthew; Petseva, Nia; Decety, Jean; Pluto, Charles; Kiehl, Kent A

2018-06-22

Cavum Septum Pellucidum (CSP) is a common anatomical variant of the septum pellucidum. CSP is considered a marker for abnormal limbic brain development, but its functional consequences are non-specific. In a recent report [1], CSP size was significantly positively correlated with the affective/interpersonal traits of psychopathy in male offenders (N = 1742). Here we test the hypothesis that CSP is related to psychopathic traits in incarcerated females (N = 355). We examine continuous relationships as well as categorical assignments for CSP size corresponding to a number of prior reports. We also compare female offenders to healthy female controls (N = 385). Consistent with our reported findings in males, a positive association was observed between the interpersonal psychopathic traits and CSP size. In contrast to findings among males, an association between CSP and antisocial psychopathic traits was apparent in females. There was no significant difference in CSP size (in mm) or CSP presence/absence between incarcerated and non-incarcarated groups. However, categorical rates of medium and large CSP were more common in female inmates than in controls. This is the first systematic investigation of these variables in a female inmate sample. In combination with our prior study, these findings demonstrate that limbic abnormalities, as indexed by CSP, are related to psychopathic traits in both female and male inmates. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Elder-Abuse Offenders: A Typology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramsey-Klawsnik, Holly

2000-01-01

Addresses some of the perplexing issues involved in understanding and responding to elder-abuse offenders. Offers a typology of offenders to elucidate the dynamics when people mistreat the elderly. (Contains 13 references.) (Author)

The Experiences of Registered Sex Offenders with Internet Offender Registries in Three States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ackerman, Alissa R.; Sacks, Meghan; Osier, Lindsay N.

2013-01-01

For over two decades, U.S. state and federal governments have enacted broad legislation in an effort to keep communities aware about and safe from sex offenders living nearby. The current study qualitatively analyzes unsolicited responses from sex offenders regarding their feelings, attitudes, and experiences living under the auspices of such…

Criminal social identity and suicide ideation among Pakistani young prisoners.

PubMed

Shagufta, Sonia; Boduszek, Daniel; Dhingra, Katie; Kola-Palmer, Derrol

2015-01-01

Suicidal behaviour is a common in prisoners, yet little is known about the factors that may protect against thoughts of ending one's life. The purpose of this paper is to specify and test a structural model to examine the relationship between three criminal social identity (CSI) dimensions (in-group affect, in-group ties, and cognitive centrality) and suicide ideation while controlling for period of confinement, age, criminal friends, and offense type (violent vs non-violent). Participants were 415 male juvenile offenders incarcerated in prisons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. A structural model was specified and tested using Mplus to examine the relationships between the three factors of CSI and suicidal thoughts, while controlling for age, offender type, period of confinement, and substance dependence. The model provided an adequate fit for the data, explaining 22 per cent of variance in suicidal thoughts. In-group affect (the level of personal bonding with other criminals) was found to exert a strong protective effect against suicide ideation. The research contributes important information on suicide ideation in Pakistan, an Islamic country in which suicide is considered a sin and subsequently a criminal offence. Results indicate that Juvenile offenders' sense of shared identity may help to prevent the development of thoughts of death by suicide. Consequently, separating and isolating young prisoners may be ill advised.

A Longitudinal Assessment of the Victim-Offender Overlap

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jennings, Wesley G.; Higgins, George E.; Tewksbury, Richard; Gover, Angela R.; Piquero, Alex R.

2010-01-01

Although research has established an offending/victimization overlap and that offenders and victims share similar characteristics, much less work has examined the longitudinal sequencing of victimization and offending in the same developmental period and whether key risk/protective factors significantly distinguish both offenders and victims. This…

The habitual female offender inside: How psychopathic traits predict chronic prison violence.

PubMed

Thomson, Nicholas D; Towl, Graham J; Centifanti, Luna C M

2016-06-01

Psychopathy is considered one of the best predictors of violence and prison misconducts and is arguably an important clinical construct in the correctional setting. However, we tested whether psychopathy can be used to predict misconducts in prison environments for women as has been done for men. To date, few studies exist that examine and validate this association in female offender samples. The present study included 182 ethnically diverse female offenders. The aim was to prospectively predict violent and nonviolent misconducts over a 9-month period using official records of prior violent criminal history (e.g., homicide, manslaughter, assault), and self-report measures of psychopathy, impulsivity, and empathy. Using negative binomial regression, we found that past violent criminal history, and callous and antisocial psychopathic traits were predictors of violent misconducts, whereas antisocial psychopathic traits and impulsivity best predicted nonviolent misconducts. Although empathy was negatively associated with psychopathy it was not a significant predictor of violent or nonviolent misconducts. Statistical models, which included impulsivity, were considered the most parsimonious at predicting misconducts. Our findings demonstrate how risk-factors found to be reliable in male offender samples, such as psychopathic traits, impulsivity, and past violent criminal history, generalize to female offenders for predicting nonviolent and violent misconducts. One notable difference is the importance of callous psychopathic traits when predicting chronic violent misconducts by female offenders. In sum, there are more similarities in psychopathy and impulsivity than differences in the prediction of misconducts among men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

A prospective examination of whether childhood sexual abuse predicts subsequent sexual offending.

PubMed

Widom, Cathy Spatz; Massey, Christina

2015-01-01

Childhood sexual abuse has been assumed to increase the risk for sexual offending. However, despite methodological limitations of prior research, public policies and clinical practice have been based on this assumption. To empirically examine the commonly held belief that sexually abused children grow up to become sexual offenders and specialize in sex crimes. This prospective cohort study and archival records check included cases and control individuals originally from a metropolitan county in the Midwest. Children with substantiated cases of physical and sexual abuse and neglect (aged 0-11 years) were matched with children without such histories on the basis of age, sex, race/ethnicity, and approximate family social class (908 cases and 667 control individuals). Both groups were followed up into adulthood (mean age, 51 years). The court cases were from 1967 to 1971; the follow-up extended to 2013. Criminal history information was collected from federal and state law enforcement agency records at 3 points in time and from state sex offender registries. Overall, individuals with histories of childhood abuse and neglect were at increased risk for being arrested for a sex crime compared with control individuals (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.17; 95% CI, 1.38-3.40), controlling for age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Specifically, individuals with histories of physical abuse (AOR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.02-4.16) and neglect (AOR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.39-3.51) were at significantly increased risk for arrest for sex offenses, whereas for sexual abuse, the AOR (2.13; 95% CI, 0.83-5.47) did not reach significance. Physically abused and neglected males (not females) were at increased risk and physically abused males also had a higher mean number of sex crime arrests compared with control individuals. The results did not provide support for sex crime specialization. The widespread belief that sexually abused children are uniquely at risk to become sex offenders was not supported by

Language Impairment and Comorbid Vulnerabilities among Young People in Custody

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Nathan; Chitsabesan, Prathiba; Bryan, Karen; Borschmann, Rohan; Swain, Nathaniel; Lennox, Charlotte; Shaw, Jennifer

2017-01-01

Background: While the prevalence of language and communication difficulties among young people in custody is well established, holistic understanding of the complexity and co-occurrence of additional vulnerabilities among this population are rare. Methods: Ninety-three young people in a young offenders institution in England were assessed using…

Sociodemographic Predictors of Sex Offender Stigma: How Politics Impact Attitudes, Social Distance, and Perceptions of Sex Offender Recidivism.

PubMed

DeLuca, Joseph S; Vaccaro, John; Rudnik, Amalia; Graham, Nicole; Giannicchi, Anna; Yanos, Philip T

2017-08-01

Stigma toward general criminal offenders has been found to be particularly salient among community members who identify as politically conservative; however, less is known about how political identification relates to stigma toward sex offenders. This is a particularly important area of inquiry, given that criminal jurisprudence and politics legitimatize stigmatizing labels attributed to sex offenders through laws and policies that apply specifically to this group. A nonrandom sample ( N = 518) of participants living in the United States was recruited for this survey study. Findings indicated that a specific aspect of conservative political ideology-right-wing authoritarianism (RWA)-significantly predicts negative attitudes and intended social distancing behavior toward sex offenders, even when controlling for other important predictors, such as education and prior contact. RWA was found to be the strongest predictor of negative attitudes and estimations of sex offender recidivism, and also significantly predicted intended social distancing behavior. Implications for addressing stigma toward sex offenders are discussed.

Evaluating Awareness of Registered Sex Offenders in the Neighborhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craun, Sarah W.

2010-01-01

The goal of sex offender registration is to protect residents from recidivistic sexual offenders by providing public information about local offenders. This study determines what percentage of residents living near registered sex offenders are aware of the offenders and the predictors of awareness. The investigational group includes randomly…

Predicting recidivism in sex offenders with the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS).

PubMed

Walters, Glenn D; Deming, Adam; Casbon, Todd

2015-04-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) was capable of predicting recidivism in 322 male sex offenders released from prison-based sex offender programs in a Midwestern state. The Static-99R and PICTS General Criminal Thinking (GCT), Reactive (R), and Entitlement (En) scores all correlated significantly with general recidivism, the Static-99R correlated significantly with violent recidivism, and the Static-99R score and PICTS GCT, Proactive (P), and En scores correlated significantly with failure to register as a sex offender (FTR) recidivism. Area under the curve effect size estimates varied from small to large, and Cox regression analyses revealed that the PICTS En score achieved incremental validity relative to the Static-99R in predicting general recidivism and the PICTS GCT, P, and En scores achieved incremental validity relative to the Static-99R in predicting FTR recidivism. It is speculated that the PICTS in general and the En scale in particular may have utility in risk management and treatment planning for sex offenders by virtue of their focus on antisocial thinking. © The Author(s) 2014.

Young Black Males: Resilience and the Use of Capital to Transform School "Failure"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Cecile; Maylor, Uvanney; Becker, Sophie

2016-01-01

This article addresses the idea of "failure" of young black males with respect to schooling. Perceptions of black masculinity are often linked to "underperformance" in the context of school academic achievement. This article addresses how young black men, by great personal effort, recover from school "failure". It…

A comparison of modified versions of the Static-99 and the Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide.

PubMed

Nunes, Kevin L; Firestone, Philip; Bradford, John M; Greenberg, David M; Broom, Ian

2002-07-01

The predictive validity of 2 risk assessment instruments for sex offenders, modified versions of the Static-99 and the Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide, was examined and compared in a sample of 258 adult male sex offenders. In addition, the independent contributions to the prediction of recidivism made by each instrument and by various phallometric indices were explored. Both instruments demonstrated moderate levels of predictive accuracy for sexual and violent (including sexual) recidivism. They were not significantly different in terms of their predictive accuracy for sexual or violent recidivism, nor did they contribute independently to the prediction of sexual or violent recidivism. Of the phallometric indices examined, only the pedophile index added significantly to the prediction of sexual recidivism, but not violent recidivism, above the Static-99 alone.

Reduced cortical inhibition in violent offenders: a study with transcranial magnetic stimulation.

PubMed

Philipp-Wiegmann, Florence; Rösler, Michael; Römer, Konstanze D; Schneider, Marc; Baumgart, Sibylle; Retz, Wolfgang

2011-01-01

Aggression and violent behaviour are often regarded as a threat to society. Therefore, understanding violent behaviour has high social relevance. We performed a study with transcranial magnetic stimulation on a sample of violent offenders in order to measure cortical inhibition in the motor neuron system that is part of the frontal cortex. To investigate intracortical inhibition and intracortical facilitation, we conducted paired-pulse stimulation according to the technique of Kujirai and his group (see Method). The investigation sample comprised 62 right-handers: 32 prisoners who had committed severe violent crimes and 30 controls with no history of violence. All subjects were male and matched for age. Using the paired-pulse paradigm with interstimulus intervals (ISI) of 1-15 ms, a reduced cortical inhibition (ISI: 3 ms) was found in the left cortex of violent offenders compared with control subjects. These findings corroborate the hypothesis of inhibition deficits and frontal cortex dysfunction in violent offenders when compared with non-violent control subjects. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Delinquency in Male Adolescents: The Role of Alexithymia and Family Structure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmermann, Gregoire

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the linkages between alexithymia and delinquency in male adolescents (age ranging from 14 to 18 years), and to investigate whether alexithymia was a good discriminatory factor for juvenile delinquency. Thirty-six offender adolescents and 46 non-offender control adolescents participated in the study and…

Predictors of Offense Severity, Prosecution, Incarceration and Repeat Violations for Adolescent Male and Female Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrett, David E.; Katsiyannis, Antonis; Zhang, Dalun

2006-01-01

We examined factors predicting severity of first offense, adjudication, incarceration, and repeat offenses for first time juvenile offenders. The sample consisted of 12,468 juveniles, all born in 1985. Each of the juveniles had been assigned to the South Carolina Juvenile Justice System (SCDJJ) on at least one occasion ("referral"). Analysis on…

Sex Offenders in the Digital Age.

PubMed

Chan, Eric J; McNiel, Dale E; Binder, Renee L

2016-09-01

With most youths now using the Internet and social networking sites (SNSs), the public has become increasingly concerned about risks posed by online predators. In response, lawmakers have begun to pass laws that ban or limit sex offenders' use of the Internet and SNSs. At the time of this article, 12 states and the federal government have passed legislation attempting to restrict or ban the use of SNSs by registered sex offenders. These laws have been successfully challenged in 4 states. In this article, we discuss examples of case law that illustrate evolving trends regarding Internet and social networking site restrictions on sex offenders on supervised release, as well as those who have already completed their sentences. We also review constitutional questions and empirical evidence concerning Internet and social networking use by sex offenders. To our knowledge, this is the first paper in the psychiatric literature that addresses the evolving legal landscape in reference to sex offenders and their use of the Internet and SNSs. This article is intended to help inform forensic mental health professionals who work with sex offenders on current concerns in this rapidly evolving legal landscape. © 2016 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Female Sex Offenders' Relationship Experiences

PubMed Central

Lawson, Louanne

2010-01-01

Interventions for child sexual abusers should take into account their perspectives on the context of their offenses, but no descriptions of everyday life from the offender's point of view have been published. This study therefore explored female offenders' views of their strengths and challenges. Documented risk assessments of 20 female offenders were analyzed using inductive content analysis (Cavanagh, 1997; Priest, Roberts & Woods, 2002; Woods, Priest & Roberts, 2002). The Good Lives Model provided the initial coding framework and Atlas/ti software (Muhr, 1997) was used for simultaneous data collection and analysis. The content analysis yielded 999 coding decisions organized in three themes. The global theme was relationship experiences. Offenders described the quality of their relationship experiences, including their personal perspectives, intimate relationships and social lives. These descriptions have implications for treatment planning and future research with women who have molested children. PMID:18624098

Validation of social skills of adolescent males in an interview conversation with a previously unknown adult.

PubMed

Spence, S H

1981-01-01

Seventy convicted young male offenders were videotaped during a 5-min standardized interview with a previously unknown adult. In order to determine the social validity of the behavioral components of social interaction for this population, measures of 13 behaviors were obtained from the tapes. These measures were then correlated with ratings of friendliness, social anxiety, social skills performance, and employability made by four independent adult judges from the same tapes. It was found that measures of eye contact and verbal initiations were correlated significantly with all four criterion rating scales. The frequencies of smiling and speech dysfluencies were both significantly correlated with ratings of friendliness and employability. The amount spoken was found to be a significant predictor of social skills performance whereas the frequency of head movements influenced judgments of social anxiety. The latency of response was negatively correlated with social skills and employability ratings and the frequency of question-asking and interruptions correlated significantly with friendliness, social skills, and employability ratings. Finally, the levels of gestures, gross body movements, and attention feedback responses were not found to influence judgments on any of the criterion scales. The implications of the study for selection of targets for social skills training for adolescent male offenders are discussed.

Validation of social skills of adolescent males in an interview conversation with a previously unknown adult.

PubMed Central

Spence, S H

1981-01-01

Seventy convicted young male offenders were videotaped during a 5-min standardized interview with a previously unknown adult. In order to determine the social validity of the behavioral components of social interaction for this population, measures of 13 behaviors were obtained from the tapes. These measures were then correlated with ratings of friendliness, social anxiety, social skills performance, and employability made by four independent adult judges from the same tapes. It was found that measures of eye contact and verbal initiations were correlated significantly with all four criterion rating scales. The frequencies of smiling and speech dysfluencies were both significantly correlated with ratings of friendliness and employability. The amount spoken was found to be a significant predictor of social skills performance whereas the frequency of head movements influenced judgments of social anxiety. The latency of response was negatively correlated with social skills and employability ratings and the frequency of question-asking and interruptions correlated significantly with friendliness, social skills, and employability ratings. Finally, the levels of gestures, gross body movements, and attention feedback responses were not found to influence judgments on any of the criterion scales. The implications of the study for selection of targets for social skills training for adolescent male offenders are discussed. PMID:7287599

Association of Cumulative Childhood Adversity and Adolescent Violent Offending With Suicide in Early Adulthood.

PubMed

Björkenstam, Emma; Hjern, Anders; Björkenstam, Charlotte; Kosidou, Kyriaki

2018-02-01

Childhood adversity (CA) is associated with an increased risk of suicide in young adulthood that might be explained by maladaptive trajectories during adolescence. Although adolescent violent offending is linked with suicide, little is known about its role in the association between CA and suicide. To examine whether adolescent violent offending mediates the association between CA and suicide in early adulthood. This population-based, longitudinal cohort study with a follow-up time spanning 5 to 9 years included 476 103 individuals born in Sweden between 1984 and 1988. The study population was prospectively followed up from 20 years of age until December 31, 2013, with respect to suicide. Data analysis was performed from January 1, 1984, to December 31, 2013. Register-based CAs included parental death, parental substance abuse and psychiatric disorder, parental criminal offending, parental separation, public assistance recipiency, child welfare intervention, and residential instability. Adolescent violent offending was defined as being convicted of a violent crime between the ages of 15 and 19 years. Estimates of risk of suicide after 20 years of age (from 2004 if born in 1984 and from 2008 if born in 1988) until the end of 2013 were calculated as incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% CIs using Poisson regression analysis. Adjustments were made for demographics and psychiatric disorder. In addition, binary mediation analysis with logistic regression was used. A total of 476 103 individuals (231 699 [48.7%] female) were included in the study. Those with a conviction for violent offending had been exposed to all CAs to a greater extent than those with no violent offending. Cumulative CA was associated with risk of suicide in nonconvicted (adjusted IRR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.5-3.9) and convicted youths, who had a higher risk of suicide (adjusted IRR, 8.5; 95% CI, 4.6-15.7). Adolescent violent offending partly mediated the association between CA and suicide. Individuals

Personality and trait aggression profiles of male and female prison inmates.

PubMed

Falk, Örjan; Sfendla, Anis; Brändström, Sven; Anckarsäter, Henrik; Nilsson, Thomas; Kerekes, Nóra

2017-04-01

Gender specific personality profiles in association with the level of aggressive antisocial behavior in offenders have not been previously investigated. In the present study we analyzed data collected from 65 male and 50 female offenders using structured protocols regarding criminal history (by criminal register data), trait aggression (by the Life History of Aggression (LHA) questionnaire), and personality profiles (by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI)). Prison inmates differed significantly on several personality dimensions, most pronouncedly were they characterized with low character maturity (low scores in the Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness dimensions of TCI) when compared to gender and age matched controls of the general population. The majority of offenders scored distinctively high on trait aggression. There were moderate to strong associations between the personality dimensions and each of the subscales of LHA (Aggression, Self-directed Aggression and Antisocial behavior). These associations were stronger in the female offender sample. Trait aggression could be best explained by a model, which included male gender, younger age, high novelty seeking temperament and low character maturity. Our results suggest that therapies aiming at strengthening self-governance and increasing cooperativeness (focusing on character maturity) may alleviate aggressive antisocial behavior in offenders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Increased Air Velocity Reduces Thermal and Cardiovascular Strain in Young and Older Males during Humid Exertional Heat Stress.

PubMed

Wright Beatty, Heather E; Hardcastle, Stephen G; Boulay, Pierre; Flouris, Andreas D; Kenny, Glen P

2015-01-01

Older adults have been reported to have a lower evaporative heat loss capacity than younger adults during exercise when full sweat evaporation is permitted. However, it is unclear how conditions of restricted evaporative and convective heat loss (i.e., high humidity, clothing insulation) alter heat stress. to the purpose of this study was to examine the heat stress responses of young and older males during and following exercise in a warm/humid environment under two different levels of air velocity. Ten young (YOUNG: 24±2 yr) and 10 older (OLDER: 59±3 yr) males, matched for body surface area performed 4×15-min cycling bouts (15-min rest) at a fixed rate of heat production (400 W) in warm/humid conditions (35°C, 60% relative humidity) under 0.5 (Low) and 3.0 (High) m·s(-1) air velocity while wearing work coveralls. Rectal (Tre) and mean skin (MTsk) temperatures, heart rate (HR), local sweat rate, % max skin blood flow (SkBF) (recovery only), and blood pressure (recovery only) were measured. High air velocity reduced core and skin temperatures (p < 0.05) equally in YOUNG and OLDER males (p > 0.05) but was more effective in reducing cardiovascular strain (absolute and % max HR; p < 0.05) in YOUNG males (p < 0.05). Greater increases in local dry heat loss responses (% max SkBF and cutaneous vascular conductance) were detected across time in OLDER than YOUNG males in both conditions (p < 0.05). Local dry heat loss responses and cardiovascular strain were attenuated during the High condition in YOUNG compared to OLDER (p < 0.05). High air velocity reduced the number of males surpassing the 38.0°C Tre threshold from 90% (Low) to 50% (High). Despite age-related local heat loss differences, YOUNG and OLDER males had similar levels of heat stress during intermittent exercise in warm and humid conditions while wearing work coveralls. Increased air velocity was effective in reducing heat stress equally, and cardiovascular strain to a greater extent, in YOUNG and OLDER

Sexual Abuse History among Adult Sex Offenders and Non-Sex Offenders: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jespersen, Ashley F.; Lalumiere, Martin L.; Seto, Michael C.

2009-01-01

Objective: The sexually abused-sexual abuser hypothesis states there is a specific relationship between sexual abuse history and sexual offending, such that individuals who experience sexual abuse are significantly more likely to later engage in sexual offenses. Therefore, samples of adult sex offenders should contain a disproportionate number of…

Male Reproductive Health After Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group

PubMed Central

Kenney, Lisa B.; Cohen, Laurie E.; Shnorhavorian, Margarett; Metzger, Monika L.; Lockart, Barbara; Hijiya, Nobuko; Duffey-Lind, Eileen; Constine, Louis; Green, Daniel; Meacham, Lillian

2012-01-01

The majority of children, adolescents, and young adults diagnosed with cancer will become long-term survivors. Although cancer therapy is associated with many adverse effects, one of the primary concerns of young male cancer survivors is reproductive health. Future fertility is often the focus of concern; however, it must be recognized that all aspects of male health, including pubertal development, testosterone production, and sexual function, can be impaired by cancer therapy. Although pretreatment strategies to preserve reproductive health have been beneficial to some male patients, many survivors remain at risk for long-term reproductive complications. Understanding risk factors and monitoring the reproductive health of young male survivors are important aspects of follow-up care. The Children's Oncology Group Long-Term Follow-Up Guidelines for Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer (COG-LTFU Guidelines) were created by the COG to provide recommendations for follow-up care of survivors at risk for long-term complications. The male health task force of the COG-LTFU Guidelines, composed of pediatric oncologists, endocrinologists, nurse practitioners, a urologist, and a radiation oncologist, is responsible for updating the COG-LTFU Guidelines every 2 years based on literature review and expert consensus. This review summarizes current task force recommendations for the assessment and management of male reproductive complications after treatment for childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancers. Issues related to male health that are being investigated, but currently not included in the COG-LTFU Guidelines, are also discussed. Ongoing investigation will inform future COG-LTFU Guideline recommendations for follow-up care to improve health and quality of life for male survivors. PMID:22649147

Evidence for superior neurobiological and behavioral inhibitory control abilities in non-offending as compared to offending pedophiles.

PubMed

Kärgel, Christian; Massau, Claudia; Weiß, Simone; Walter, Martin; Borchardt, Viola; Krueger, Tillmann H C; Tenbergen, Gilian; Kneer, Jonas; Wittfoth, Matthias; Pohl, Alexander; Gerwinn, Hannah; Ponseti, Jorge; Amelung, Till; Beier, Klaus M; Mohnke, Sebastian; Walter, Henrik; Schiffer, Boris

2017-02-01

Neurobehavioral models of pedophilia and child sexual offending suggest a pattern of temporal and in particular prefrontal disturbances leading to inappropriate behavioral control and subsequently an increased propensity to sexually offend against children. However, clear empirical evidence for such mechanisms is still missing. Using a go/nogo paradigm in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we compared behavioral performance and neural response patterns among three groups of men matched for age and IQ: pedophiles with (N = 40) and without (N = 37) a history of hands-on sexual offences against children as well as healthy non-offending controls (N = 40). As compared to offending pedophiles, non-offending pedophiles exhibited superior inhibitory control as reflected by significantly lower rate of commission errors. Group-by-condition interaction analysis also revealed inhibition-related activation in the left posterior cingulate and the left superior frontal cortex that distinguished between offending and non-offending pedophiles, while no significant differences were found between pedophiles and healthy controls. Both areas showing distinct activation pattern among pedophiles play a critical role in linking neural networks that relate to effective cognitive functioning. Data therefore suggest that heightened inhibition-related recruitment of these areas as well as decreased amount of commission errors is related to better inhibitory control in pedophiles who successfully avoid committing hands-on sexual offences against children. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1092-1104, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Violent offending among juveniles: A 7-year longitudinal study of recidivism, desistance, and associations with mental health.

PubMed

Hein, Sascha; Barbot, Baptiste; Square, Amanda; Chapman, John; Geib, Catherine Foley; Grigorenko, Elena L

2017-06-01

Serious and violent offending among juveniles is a consistent concern of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, yet the development of violent offending remains poorly understood because of limited availability of relevant data, small sample sizes, and shortage of longitudinal data sets. This study analyzed developmental patterns of violent offending over 7 years in the complete population of court-referred youth in Connecticut between 2006 and 2012 (N = 58,678; mean age at first offense = 14.7 years). This unique dataset provided several key findings: First, results from a latent class growth analysis showed that violent crimes peaked at age 14-15, with high-rate adolescent offenders (3.7% of the sample) accounting for 31.9% of all violent offenses. Further, 74.2% of this group desisted from violent crimes in adulthood. Higher levels of self-reported anger/irritability slightly increased the odds of violent recidivism (odds ratio, OR = 1.09), where higher levels of depression/anxiety depressed the odds (OR = 0.89). The overrepresentation of males, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic youth among high-rate adolescence offenders were traceable through adolescence but not beyond the age of 18. Together, these finding may help to inform new delinquency interventions that target the needs of this proportionally small group of violent adolescent offenders accounting for a large amount of violent crimes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Specialization in and within sexual offending in England and Wales.

PubMed

Howard, Philip D; Barnett, Georgia D; Mann, Ruth E

2014-06-01

Existing evidence suggests that offenders tend not to specialize in sexual offending in general but that there is some specialization in particular types of sexual offending. This study examined the sexual histories and reoffending of a large, national data set of offenders convicted of a sexual offense and managed in England and Wales by the National Offender Management Service (N = 14,804). The study found that specialization in sexual offending compared to nonsexual offending was most evident for offenders with convictions for accessing indecent images. We also found considerable evidence of specialization within sexual offending, most notably for noncontact offenders, especially again indecent images offenders. Crossover between sexual offense types was very rare for those with contact adult offenses and for noncontact offenders although those with child contact offenses sometimes crossed over to indecent images reoffending. If specialization within sexual offending exists, the use of single risk assessment instruments to predict all types of sexual recidivism may be less effective than previously assumed. A comparison of different prediction models indicated that some items presently used in one-size-fits-all risk tools to predict any sexual reoffending only effectively predict certain subtypes of sexual offending. Statistically there appear to be some potential benefits to creating specialist risk predictors for different subtypes of offending, but further work is needed to justify the implementation demands that would be caused by abandoning one-size-fits-all tools.

Victims' Voices in the Correctional Setting: Cognitive Gains in an Offender Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monahan, Lynn Hunt; Monahan, James J.; Gaboury, Mario T.; Niesyn, Patricia A.

2004-01-01

A 40-hour education program covering the impact of crime on victims and their families was offered to sentenced offenders in a statewide prison system. Questionnaire responses from 339 males, ranging in age from 21-45 years, were examined. Results indicated that the program increased knowledge of victim rights, facts of victimization, and…

Employment of Ex-Offenders during the Recession

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nally, John M.; Lockwood, Susan R.; Ho, Taiping

2011-01-01

Researchers have rarely examined post-release employment among offenders during a period of economic recession. However, studies on employment issues among post-release offenders have showed that released offenders would likely have a higher unemployment rate due to their inadequate education and job skills (Batiuk, 1997; Harlow, 2003; Vacca,…

Assessment of multiple DWI offender restrictions

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1989-12-01

This report discusses nine new approaches for reducing recidivism among multiple DWI offenders: dedicated detention facilities, diversion programs, electronic monitoring, ignition interlock systems, intensive probation supervision, publishing offende...

Saving the Native Son: Empowerment Strategies for Young Black Males.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Courtland C.

Achieving manhood has historically been a complex and challenging task for the Black male in America. Therefore Black manhood must be carefully fostered from an early age by major socializing agents and institutions. This book provides school counselors and related professionals with important information about the development of young Black…

Offender Perceptions on the Value of Employment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Terri-Lynne

2010-01-01

Given the histories of employment instability of the offenders entering correctional systems, enhancing an offender's vocational skills is an important need to address prior to their reintegration into the community. The purpose of the current research was to examine offender perceptions of the value of employment and crime, obtained as part of a…

Offender Characteristics in Lethal Violence with Special Reference to Antisocial and Autistic Personality Traits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wahlund, Katarina; Kristiansson, Marianne

2006-01-01

The objective of the study is to assess the relationships between personality traits, lifetime psychosocial functioning, and crime scene behavior. Thirty-five male offenders referred for forensic psychiatric assessment in Sweden (1996-2001) and assigned a main diagnosis of either antisocial personality disorder (APD) or autism spectrum disorder…

Young Sexual Minority Males in the United States: Sociodemographic Characteristics And Sexual Attraction, Identity and Behavior.

PubMed

Fasula, Amy M; Oraka, Emeka; Jeffries, William L; Carry, Monique; Bañez Ocfemia, M Cheryl; Balaji, Alexandra B; Rose, Charles E; Jayne, Paula E

2016-03-01

HIV incidence is increasing among 13-24-year-old U.S. men who have sex with men, yet limited research is available to guide HIV prevention efforts for this population. National Survey of Family Growth data collected in 2002, in 2006-2010 and in 2011-2013 from 8,068 males aged 15-24 were analyzed to describe the population of U.S. young sexual minority males (i.e., males reporting same-sex attraction, identity or behavior). Correlates of sexual minority classification were assessed in logistic regression models. An estimated 10% of young males, representing a population of 2.1 million, were sexual minorities. Males had an elevated likelihood of being sexual minorities if they were aged 18-19 or 20-24, rather than 15-17 (prevalence ratio, 1.7 for each); belonged to nonblack, non-Hispanic racial or ethnic minority groups (1.6); had no religious affiliation, rather than considering religion very important (1.9); or lived below the federal poverty level (1.3). They had a reduced likelihood of being sexual minorities if they lived in metropolitan areas outside of central cities (0.7). Among young sexual minority males, 44% were 15-19 years old, 29% were poor and 59% resided outside central cities. Forty-seven percent had engaged in same-sex behavior. Of those with data on all measured dimensions of sexuality, 24% reported same-sex attraction, identity and behavior; 22% considered themselves heterosexual, yet had had a male sex partner. Future investigations can further explore subpopulations of young sexual minority males and assess sexual trajectories, resilience and HIV risk. Copyright © 2016 by the Guttmacher Institute.

The Impact of Interpersonal Style on Ruptures and Repairs in the Therapeutic Alliance Between Offenders and Therapists in Sex Offender Treatment.

PubMed

Watson, Rachael; Thomas, Stuart; Daffern, Michael

2017-10-01

The therapeutic relationship is a critical component of psychological treatment. Strain can occur in the relationship, particularly when working with offenders, and more specifically, those offenders with interpersonal difficulties; strain can lead to a rupture, which may affect treatment participation and performance. This study examined ruptures in the therapeutic relationship in sexual offenders participating in offense-focused group treatment. Fifty-four sex offenders rated the therapeutic alliance at the commencement and completion of treatment; at the completion of treatment, they also reported on the occurrence of ruptures and whether they believed these ruptures were repaired. Ruptures were separated by type, according to severity-Each relationship was therefore characterized as experiencing no rupture, a minor rupture, or a major rupture. Offender characteristics including interpersonal style (IPS) and psychopathy were assessed at the commencement of treatment; their relationship with ruptures was examined. Results revealed that more than half of the offenders (approximately 55%) experienced a rupture in the therapeutic alliance, with one in four of these ruptures remaining unresolved. Offenders who did not report a rupture rated the therapeutic alliance significantly higher at the end of treatment compared with those offenders who reported a rupture that was not repaired. Offenders who reported a major rupture in the therapeutic relationship were higher in interpersonal hostility and hostile-dominance. No interpersonal or offense-specific factors affected the likelihood of a rupture repair.

Implicit Threat Vigilance among Violent Offenders Diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder: The Impact of Ostracism and Control Threat

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Çelik, Pinar; van Beest, Ilja; Lammers, Joris; Bekker, Marrie

2013-01-01

The present study investigated the role of control as a moderator in reaction to ostracism among male violent offenders diagnosed with ASPD (N = 33) compared to a control sample consisting of males from the normal population without a known history of violence, or diagnosis of ASPD, matched for age and educational level (N = 35). Participants…

An application of the rational choice approach to the offending process of sex offenders: a closer look at the decision-making.

PubMed

Beauregard, Eric; Leclerc, Benoît

2007-06-01

Although the study of both offense processes and implicit theories provides in-depth knowledge about the decision-making of sex offenders, these studies focus solely on the internal psychological processes of the offender leading to the commission of a sexual assault. These studies neglect to look specifically at the offender's decision-making during the offense in interaction with the immediate situations encountered at the offense scene, such as the choices of behavior while interacting with the victim in a specific context. Based on a rational choice approach, this study investigates the decision-making involved in the offending process of 69 serial sexual offenders who have committed their crimes against stranger victims. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with offenders in order to identify the rationale behind their actions during the pre-crime phase (premeditation of the crime, estimation of risk of apprehension by the offender, and forensic awareness of the offender), crime phase (use of a weapon, use of restraints, use of a vehicle, and level of force used), and the post-crime phase (event leading to the end of crime and victim release site location choice). Results show that sex offenders, even if traditionally described as "irrational" and impulsive individuals, are capable, up to a certain point, of an analysis of the costs/benefits related to their actions. Moreover, results emphasize the important role of situational factors, such as victim resistance, on the decision-making process of sex offenders. Implications of the results are briefly discussed in regard of clinical practice and crime prevention.

Adolescent African American Male Self Esteem: Suggestions for Mentoring Program Content. Mentoring Program Structures for Young Minority Males, Conference Paper Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spencer, Margaret Beale

The processes by which mentors might improve the self-esteem of economically vulnerable African American male youth are explored, drawing on previous research. The combination of biological, behavioral, and societal factors faced by young black males is complex, and has implications for identity processes. The initial longitudinal study of urban…

Offenders become the victim in virtual reality: impact of changing perspective in domestic violence.

PubMed

Seinfeld, S; Arroyo-Palacios, J; Iruretagoyena, G; Hortensius, R; Zapata, L E; Borland, D; de Gelder, B; Slater, M; Sanchez-Vives, M V

2018-02-09

The role of empathy and perspective-taking in preventing aggressive behaviors has been highlighted in several theoretical models. In this study, we used immersive virtual reality to induce a full body ownership illusion that allows offenders to be in the body of a victim of domestic abuse. A group of male domestic violence offenders and a control group without a history of violence experienced a virtual scene of abuse in first-person perspective. During the virtual encounter, the participants' real bodies were replaced with a life-sized virtual female body that moved synchronously with their own real movements. Participants' emotion recognition skills were assessed before and after the virtual experience. Our results revealed that offenders have a significantly lower ability to recognize fear in female faces compared to controls, with a bias towards classifying fearful faces as happy. After being embodied in a female victim, offenders improved their ability to recognize fearful female faces and reduced their bias towards recognizing fearful faces as happy. For the first time, we demonstrate that changing the perspective of an aggressive population through immersive virtual reality can modify socio-perceptual processes such as emotion recognition, thought to underlie this specific form of aggressive behaviors.

The neuropsychology of sex offenders: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Joyal, Christian C; Beaulieu-Plante, Jolyane; de Chantérac, Antoine

2014-04-01

Typically, neuropsychological studies of sex offenders have grouped together different types of individuals and different types of measures. This is why results have tended to be nonspecific and divergent across studies. Against this background, the authors undertook a review of the literature regarding the neuropsychology of sex offenders, taking into account subgroups based on criminological theories. They also conducted a meta-analysis of the data to demonstrate the cognitive heterogeneity of sex offenders statistically. Their main objective was to test the hypothesis to the effect that the neuropsychological deficits of sex offenders are not broad and generalized compared with specific subgroups of participants based on specific measures. In all, 23 neuropsychological studies reporting data on 1,756 participants were taken into consideration. As expected, a highly significant, broad, and heterogeneous overall effect size was found. Taking subgroups of participants and specific cognitive measures into account significantly improved homogeneity. Sex offenders against children tended to obtain lower scores than did sex offenders against adults on higher order executive functions, whereas sex offenders against adults tended to obtain results similar to those of non-sex offenders, with lower scores in verbal fluency and inhibition. However, it is concluded that neuropsychological data on sex offenders are still too scarce to confirm these trends or to test more precise hypotheses. For greater clinical relevance, future neuropsychological studies should consider specific subgroups of participants and measures to verify the presence of different cognitive profiles.

Juvenile and adult offenders arrested for sexual homicide: an analysis of victim-offender relationship and weapon used by race.

PubMed

Chan, Heng Choon Oliver; Heide, Kathleen M; Myers, Wade C

2013-01-01

Limited information is available on racial offending patterns of sexual homicide offenders (SHOs). This study used a 30-year U.S. Supplementary Homicide Reports sample of SHOs arrested in single-victim situations (N = 3745). The analysis strength was used to determine whether the findings yielded meaningful patterns for offender profiling. Several important findings emerged for the juvenile offenders. Juvenile White SHOs were likely to target victims with whom they shared a mutual relationship. In contrast, Black juveniles were equally likely to murder strangers and those with whom they had prior and familial relationships. Notably, no juvenile Black SHOs were arrested for murdering intimate partners. Juvenile White SHOs were twice as likely to use edged weapons as their Black counterparts. Black juveniles, conversely, were more likely than White juveniles to use personal weapons. Beyond these findings, known victim-offender relationships and weapon used may not have significant utility for investigators in identifying the SHO race, even after controlling for offender age. Limitations and future directions are discussed. © 2012 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Effect of footwear on standing balance in healthy young adult males.

PubMed

Alghadir, Ahmad H; Zafar, Hamayun; Anwer, Shahnawaz

2018-03-01

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of footwear on standing balance in healthy young adult males. Thirty healthy male participants aged 20-30 years were tested for standing balance on the Balance Master on three occasions, including wearing a sandal, standard shoe, or no footwear (barefoot). The tests of postural stability include; "Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance" (mCTSIB), "Unilateral Stance" (US), and the "Limits of Stability" (LOS). The balance scores (mCTSIB, US, and LOS) was analyzed. There was a significant effect between footwear conditions for mCTIB with eye closed on a firm surface (p=0.002). There was a significant effect between footwear conditions for the US with eye open and closed (p⟨0.05). There was a significant effect between footwear conditions for LOS reaction time during forward movement (p=0.02). Similarly, there was a significant effect between footwear conditions for LOS reaction time during left side movement (p=0.01). Wearing sandals compared to bare feet significantly increased postural sway and reduced stability in healthy young adult males. However, wearing a standard shoe compared to bare feet did not significantly affect balance scores in standing.

Risk and Criminogenic Needs of Youth Who Sexually Offended in Singapore

PubMed Central

Zeng, Gerald; Chu, Chi Meng; Koh, Li Lian; Teoh, Jennifer

2015-01-01

An increasing amount of research has been carried out to understand the characteristics of subgroups of adult sex offenders, but there is limited research into the risk factors and criminogenic needs of subgroups of youth who sexually offended. The current study investigated if there were differences in the risk and criminogenic needs of 167 Singaporean youth who sexually offended based on two typologies - youth who offended both sexually and nonsexually versus youth who offended only sexually, and youth who offended against child victims versus youth who offended against nonchild victims. Results show that youth who offended both sexually and nonsexually were found to have higher risk and criminogenic needs as compared to youth who only sexually offended. In addition, youth who offended against child victims were found to have higher numbers of previous sexual assaults as compared to youth who offended against nonchild victims. These differences have implications for the management and intervention of youth who sexually offended. PMID:24503949

Psychopathology in Female Juvenile Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dixon, Angela; Howie, Pauline; Starling, Jean

2004-01-01

Background: The aim was to document the spectrum of present and lifetime psychological disorders in female juvenile offenders, and to examine the relations between mental health status and socio-demographic, family and trauma variables. Method: One hundred juvenile offenders were matched with a comparison group of 100 females on age and…

Testing the direct, indirect, and moderated effects of childhood animal cruelty on future aggressive and non-aggressive offending.

PubMed

Walters, Glenn D

2014-01-01

The relationship between childhood cruelty toward animals and subsequent aggressive offending was explored in 1,336 (1,154 male, 182 female) participants from the 11-wave Pathways to Desistance study (Mulvey, 2013). Aggressive and income offending at Waves 1 through 10 were regressed onto a dichotomous measure of prior involvement in animal cruelty and four control variables (age, race, sex, early onset behavior problems) assessed at Wave 0 (baseline). Results indicated that childhood animal cruelty was equally predictive of aggressive and non-aggressive (income) offending, a finding inconsistent with the hypothesis that cruelty toward animals desensitizes a person to future interpersonal aggression or in some way prepares the individual for interpersonal violence toward humans. Whereas a significant sex by animal cruelty interaction was predicted, there was no evidence that sex or any of the other demographic variables included in this study (age, race) consistently moderated the animal cruelty-subsequent offending relationship. On the other hand, two cognitive-personality measures (interpersonal hostility, callousness/unemotionality) were found to successfully mediate the animal cruelty-subsequent offending relationship. Outcomes from this study imply that a causal nexus-partially or fully mediated by hostility, callousness/unemotionality, and other cognitive-personality variables-may exist between childhood animal cruelty and subsequent offending, although the effect is not specific to violence. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Development of Criminal Style in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: Separating the Lemmings from the Loners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldweber, Asha; Dmitrieva, Julia; Cauffman, Elizabeth; Piquero, Alex R.; Steinberg, Laurence

2011-01-01

Despite broad consensus that most juvenile crimes are committed with peers, many questions regarding developmental and individual differences in criminal style (i.e., co-offending vs. solo offending) remain unanswered. Using prospective 3-year longitudinal data from 937 14- to 17-year-old serious male offenders, the present study investigates…

Suicide mortality of young, middle-aged and elderly males and females in Japan for the years 1953-96: time series analysis for the effects of unemployment, female labour force, young and aged population, primary industry and population density.

PubMed

Yamasaki, Akiko; Araki, Shunichi; Sakai, Ryoji; Yokoyama, Kazuhito; Voorhees, A Scott

2008-12-01

Effects of nine social life indicators on age-adjusted and age-specific annual suicide mortality of male and female Japanese population in the years 1953-96 were investigated by multiple regression analysis on time series data. Unemployment rate was significantly related to the age-adjusted mortality in both males and females. Also, female labour force participation was positively related to the male mortality; persons and 65 and above was inversely related to the male mortality. Results on the age-specific mortality indicated that: during the 44 yr, (1) unemployment significantly related with the mortality of young, middle-aged and elderly males and young females; (2) female labour force participation significantly related with the mortality of young and elderly males and young females; aged population significantly related with the mortality of middle-aged and elderly males; (4) young population significantly related with the mortality of young and middle-aged males and females; (5) divorce significantly related with the mortality of middle-aged and elderly males and young males and females; (6) persons employed in primary industries significantly related with the mortality in middle-aged males and young males and females; and (7) population density significantly related with the mortality of middle-aged males and young females.

Case study: a young male with auditory hallucinations in paranoid schizophrenia.

PubMed

Kotowski, Abigail

2012-02-01

The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate use of the nursing process and the standardized nursing languages of NANDA International (NANDA-I), the Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC), and the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) to assist a young male with paranoid schizophrenia to deal with auditory hallucinations. Data were obtained from the experience and expertise of the author and published literature. This case study demonstrates nurses' clinical decision making in providing care for an adolescent with mental illness. This case study provides the pertinent nursing diagnosis, patient outcomes, and nursing interventions for a young male with auditory hallucinations in paranoid schizophrenia. The use of NANDA-I, NOC, and NIC can provide the necessary framework for enhancing and improving the management of care with patients who experience auditory hallucinations in paranoid schizophrenia. © 2011, The Authors. International Journal of Nursing Terminologies and Classifications © 2011, NANDA International.

Program of Vocational Rehabilitation for Young Adult Offenders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pennsylvania State Correctional Inst., Camp Hill.

Full development of the educational, occupational, and attitudinal abilities of young delinquents admitted to the Camp Hill State Correctional Institute was the object of this Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I Program. Young adults 15-21 years committed to Camp Hill average 6.1 on the standard educational battery test and their…

A neuropsychological study of older adult first-time sex offenders.

PubMed

Rodriguez, Marcelo; Boyce, Philip; Hodges, John

2017-04-01

The issue of whether sex offenders have cognitive deficits remains controversial. The objective of this study was to compare the neuropsychological function of older adult first time sex-offenders (FTSO), who had not previously been charged with a sexual offence prior to the age of 50, to historical long-term sex offenders (HSO) and non-sex offenders (NSO). The hypotheses were (a) that FTSO would demonstrate greater deficits in executive function, decision-making, and memory compared to non-sex offenders; and (b) the HSOs would present similar neuropsychological deficits to non-sex offenders. A battery of neuropsychological measures was administered to 100 participants comprising 32 FTSOs, 36 HSOs, and 32 NSOs. Both FTSOs and HSOs showed significant impairment on tests of executive function (including verbal fluency, trail-making, and the Hayling test of response inhibition) as well as on tests of verbal and verbal memory compared to NSOs; however, there was no difference between the two sex offender groups. Older adult sex offenders, overall, demonstrated poorer neuropsychological performance than older adult non-sex offenders did, although there was no difference between older first-time and historical offenders. Cognitive deficits may increase the risk of sexual offending due to impaired capacity in self-regulation, planning, judgment, and inhibition. A proportion of older adult sex offenders may be harboring acquired frontal lobe pathology.

A multivariate analysis of sex offender recidivism.

PubMed

Scalora, Mario J; Garbin, Calvin

2003-06-01

Sex offender recidivism risk is a multifaceted phenomenon requiring consideration across multiple risk factor domains. The impact of treatment involvement and subsequent recidivism is given limited attention in comparison to other forensic mental health issues. The present analysis is a retrospective study of sex offenders treated at a secure facility utilizing a cognitive-behavioral program matched with an untreated correctional sample. Variables studied included demographic, criminal history, offense related, and treatment progress. Recidivism was assessed through arrest data. Multivariate analysis suggests that recidivism is significantly related to quality of treatment involvement, offender demographics, offense characteristics, and criminal history. Successfully treated offenders were significantly less likely to subsequently reoffend. Recidivists were also significantly younger, less likely married, had engaged in more victim grooming or less violent offending behavior, and had significantly more prior property charges. The authors discuss the clinical and policy implications of the interrelationship between treatment involvement and recidivism.

Serum Testosterone Levels in Sex Offenders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gurnani, Prem D.; Dwyer, Margretta

1986-01-01

Reports that with the increase in diagnosis of offenders across the nation, physicians and psychiatric personnel need to be aware of low testosterone as a possible indicator of hypo-sexuality and possible concurrent offending behavior. (Author/ABB)

Childhood Sexual Abuse in Adolescents Adjudicated for Sexual Offenses: Mental Health Consequences and Sexual Offending Behaviors.