Citation

Lawing K, Frick PJ, Cruise KR. Psychol. Assess. 2010; 22(2): 298-305.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of New Orleans.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/a0018707

PMID

20528057

Abstract

In the present study, the authors investigated whether callous and unemotional (CU) traits designated a distinct and important group of adolescent sex offender. A sample of 150 detained adolescents (mean age = 15.89, SD = 1.53) with a current sexual offense disposition was assessed with a self-report measure of CU traits and through extensive assessments of the characteristics of their sexual offending behaviors using self-report interviews and file review. Results indicated that after controlling for the severity of their history of impulsive/antisocial behaviors, offenders high on CU traits had a greater number of sexual offense victims, used more violence with their victims, and engaged in more sexual offense planning than those low on these traits. The 2 groups did not differ greatly on the age of, gender of, or relationship with their victims.

Language: en