Similarities and Differences Between Youth Who Engaged in Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexually Abusive Behavior: An Exploratory Study

This study examined differences between youth who engaged in intrafamilial (ISAB) and extrafamilial sexually abusive behavior (ESAB) on various characteristics covering the sociodemographic, offense-related, psychological, and environmental domains. A total of 85 Dutch male youth participated in this study. Information was obtained through self-report questionnaires and systematic screening of the case files. Youth who engaged in ISAB, compared with ESAB, came from larger families, were enrolled in higher levels of secondary education and started sexual offending at a younger age. Youth who engaged in ESAB were more frequently diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and intellectual disabilities (ID) and primarily received longer treatment in the context of residential care. The findings are discussed in connection to the literature on (adult) sexual offending. The risk factors and criminogenic needs that distinguish youth who engaged in ISAB and ESAB appear different from those found in adult populations.

A developmental life-course perspective of juvenile and adult sexual offending

This essay examines theoretical, methodological, and empirical knowledge about the activation, course, and desistance from sex offending. The authors discuss theoretical issues and controversies regarding the origins and development and sex offending. Methodological issues in the measurement of sex offending and sex offending careers are reviewed, and an organizing conceptual criminal career framework is proposed to study sex offending. The current state of knowledge is presented regarding the criminal careers of juvenile sex offenders and associated developmental correlates, as well as the criminal careers of adult sex offenders and associated developmental correlates. A comparative analysis is provided of juvenile and adult sex offending careers and the respective correlates, noting developmental similarities and differences. Finally, a developmentally informed integrated model of sex offending is presented to stimulate research and policy discussion regarding the prevention of sexual violence and abuse.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in the Treatment and Management of Sex Offenders

In this article, current methods of conceptualizing and treating adult sexual offending are reviewed. First, the Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) approach to sex offender management is presented and critiqued. Then, the newer Good Lives Model is discussed and contrasted with the aforementioned RNR approach. The discussion of these approaches to sex offender management and rehabilitation is followed by a review of those cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques used to treat risk factors associated with sex offending, as such techniques are employed in both paradigms. Finally, research regarding the efficacy of using CBT techniques to treat sex offending behavior is presented, and future directions for sex offender treatment and management are discussed.