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Abstract
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Adolescent male sex offenders who assaulted younger siblings (n = 32) were compared to those who offended against nonsibling children (n = 28). Data were based on responses to the Assessing Environments (III) Scale, Family-of-Origin Scale, Youth Self-Report, Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Unlike many earlier studies of adolescent sex offenders, sexual offending/victimization histories were based on information collected from regular meetings rather than intake files or initial interviews; offenders' age, socioeconomic status (SES), and social desirability were examined to avoid potential confounds of these variables; victim age and gender were analyzed to ensure that comparisons between sibling and nonsibling offenders were not confounded by victim age or gender; and internal consistencies of the variables were verified with a larger clinical sample (n = 209). Adolescent sibling-incest offenders reported significantly more marital discord, parental rejection, physical discipline, negative family atmosphere, and general dissatisfaction with family relationships. Offenders against siblings were also more often victims of childhood sexual abuse and were more likely to have a younger child in their families. Results are discussed with respect to the etiology and treatment of adolescent sibling-incest offenders.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
This article by Worling compared two types of adolescent male sex offenders: those who assaulted younger siblings and those who assaulted non-sibling children.
METHODOLOGY:
The sample was comprised of 90 adolescent male offenders who had been admitted, "for assessment and/or treatment to the Sexual Abuse: Family Education and Treatment (SAFE-T) Program" (p. 634). All subjects had admitted to directly participating in sexual assaults. Prior to dividing this sample into a nonsibling versus sibling offenders, the age and gender of the victim were examined to make sure that comparisons between nonsibling and sibling offenders were not confounded by these characteristics of the victims. Sibling offenders were defined as having assaulted a sibling at least once. The author defined an offense against a child as when the victim was less than 13 years-old, and the offender was at least 4 years older than the victim. For this study, all adolescents who assaulted children were classified as child molesters, and male adolescents who assaulted males were classified as same-sex offenders.
The author obtained data on the offenders from their responses to the following measuring tools: Assessing Environments (III) Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Family-of-Origin Scale, Buss-Durke Hostility Inventory, Youth Self-Report, and Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Each offender's social desirability, age and socioeconomic status were measured; thus, allowing the author to distinguish the effects of these variables. The procedure for completing these measures was individual self-reports. The author verified the accuracy of each measure by performing an internal consistency analysis on a clinical sample of 209 offenders and non-offending adolescents and adults.
The author set out to test the following hypotheses. When compared to nonsibling offenders, adolescent sibling-incest offenders would have significantly greater numbers of punishment experiences as a child, greater unhappiness with familial relationships, and more often have been victims of childhood sexual abuse. The author also hypothesized that sibling-incest offenders would have significantly more problems with their personal levels of "hostility, depression, and popularity with peers" (p. 634). The final hypothesis was that the presence of younger siblings would distinguish nonsibling from sibling offenders.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
First, all variables were found to satisfy the internal consistency analyses. The author found that the age of the victim was significantly (p<.01) related to victim relationship: over 84% of the sibling offenders victimized children. In contrast, the gender of the victim was not found to be a significantly confounding variable (p>.05). Nonsibling offenders were significantly older than sibling offenders. The author found that reports of sibling-incest offenders included significantly higher frequencies of the following variables: overall unhappiness with familial relationships, negative family environment, negative marriages, rejection by parents, and physical discipline. These sibling-incest offenders also reported higher frequencies of themselves having been abused as children.
The author interpreted the findings and discussed several causal pathways to adolescent males sexually assaulting younger siblings. One, negative parental influences made children seek out affection and support from their siblings, including inappropriate types of support like sexual contact. Second, offenders who have been molested themselves acted out in violence, as a way of avenging their own abuse. Finally, sexually abused offenders exhibited more sexual behaviors, and their younger siblings may have been the most accessible targets.
AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS:
The author recommended that families with sibling-incest offenders should have treatment for all members. Treatment should address general family problems, in addition to therapy specific to the sexual offense(s).
EVALUATION:
In general, this study differed from similar studies in that the author used information collected at regular clinical meetings with the adolescent offenders, rather than initial interviews or intake files. It should be noted that most studies on incest focus on fathers and stepfathers as the offenders. In conclusion, this study offered a unique analysis of the predictors of an adolescent sibling-incest offender: a violent family environment, a personal history of sexual abuse and the accessibility of younger siblings.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Domestic Violence Offender
KW - Incest Offender
KW - Sexual Assault Offender
KW - Sibling Violence Offender
KW - Child Sexual Abuse Offender
KW - Child Molester
KW - Male Offender
KW - Male Violence
KW - Juvenile Male
KW - Brother Offender
KW - Early Adolescence
KW - Late Adolescence
KW - Child Abuse Offender
KW - Incest Causes
KW - Domestic Violence Causes
KW - Sexual Assault Causes
KW - Child Sexual Abuse Causes
KW - Domestic Violence Causes
KW - Sibling Violence Causes
KW - Offender Characteristics
KW - Offender Personality
Language: en |