Citation

Williams DJ. Sex. Addict. Compuls. 2005; 12(4): 295-309.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10720160500362553

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Little is known regarding how what normally might be considered positive leisure and recreation activities, may actually contribute to criminal behavior, and specifically to repeated sexual offending. Leisure and recreation are often thought to bring various physical, psychosocial, and cultural benefits to those who participate. Nevertheless, leisure as it relates to crime, in general, is often conceptualized as deviant leisure, and tends to emphasize sensation-seeking aspects of criminal behavior. However, in this article it is demonstrated via an instrumental case study that normal leisure experiences in the form of recreation potentially may, in some instances, serve to reinforce sexual assault, due to its various potential functions within a criminal behavior process. This realization is important to both practitioners and researchers who deal with treating sexual addiction and assault, and a careful consideration of leisure in specific cases warrants further attention.