Citation

Finlay AK, McGuire J, Bronson J, Sreenivasan S. Sex. Abuse 2019; 31(5): 560-579.

Affiliation

5 Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1079063218793633

PMID

30095042

Abstract

Among prison-incarcerated men in the United States, more veterans (35%) have a sexual offense conviction than nonveterans (23%). Limited research has investigated factors explaining the link between military service and sexual offending. Nationally representative data from prison-incarcerated men ( n = 14,080) were used to examine the association between veteran status and sexual offenses, adjusting for demographic, childhood, and clinical characteristics. Veterans had 1.35 higher odds (95% confidence interval = [1.12, 1.62], p <.01) of a sexual offense than nonveterans. Among veterans, those who were homeless or taking mental health medications at arrest had lower odds and veterans with a sexual trauma history had higher odds of a sexual offense compared with other offense types. Offering mental health services in correctional and health care settings to address trauma experiences and providing long-term housing options can help veterans with sexual offenses as they transition from prison to their communities.

Language: en

Keywords

criminal behavior; prison; reentry; sex offenses