VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The intent of this article by Seghorn et al. was to identify the incidence of childhood physical and sexual abuse among incarcerated rapists and child molesters. METHODOLOGY: The author employed a quasi-experimental design with purposive sampling and diagnostic testing. The sample included the entire population (97 rapists, 54 child molesters) residing at the Massachusetts Treatment Center for Sexually Dangerous Persons as of November 1982. Rapists were identified as having victims aged 16 and older and child molesters were identified as having victims younger than 16. Residents were placed in the Center after diagnosed as lacking the power to control their sexual impulses with the potential to attack or injure their victims. Data from the clinical files provided information from a 60-day observation period which included demographic information, alcohol history, family and developmental history, criminal record, clinical symptoms, and major life events. The average number of sexual offenses prior to incarceration was 2.98 for rapists and 3.65 for child molesters the average age of the offenders was 35; the average number of years in the facility was 6; the average educational level obtained was 10th grade; and the racial population broke down into white (87%) and black (13%). DSM-III diagnoses were made by two senior clinicians who then reached a consensus with two raters who had diagnosed each case independently. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: The incidence of childhood sexual assault among molesters was more than double the rate of rapists (p<.0001). Rapists were more likely to be victimized by a family member than molesters (who were more likely to be victimized by a stranger or acquaintance) (p<.2). Rapists were also more likely to have suffered childhood neglect (p<.04) and physical abuse (p<.085). Among the sexually abused child molesters: more than half had fathers with a drug/alcohol abuse history, compared with one third of the nonsexually abused molesters (p<.001); more than one third had mothers and fathers with a psychiatric history compared with none of the nonsexually abused molesters (p<.05). The incidence of child neglect was more than 2.5 times greater in families of abused child molesters than non abused child molesters (p<.006), and the incidence of nonsexual physical abuse between sexually assaulted and nonsexually assaulted child molesters did not seem to differ (p<.11). The home environments of sexually-motivated and non-sexually-assaulted rapists revealed few significant differences, and the authors concluded that the early sexual victimization of a child contributed less to the development of the tendency to rape than it did to the tendency to molest. The findings indicated that the closer the relationship of the assaulter to the child, the greater the subsequent psychological damage. They also suggested that children raised in an environment of chronic neglect were perhaps more accepting of the advances of a child molester (who offered acceptance) than children raised in an environment of physical abuse. AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS: The effects of childhood sexual abuse on rapists and child molesters, argued the authors, should be understood in the larger context of emotional deprivation, physical abuse, neglect, and general family disintegration. (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 - Massachusetts KW - Child Abuse-Violence Link KW - Child Abuse Effects KW - Child Abuse Victim KW - Child Physical Abuse Effects KW - Child Physical Abuse Victim KW - Child Male KW - Child Victim KW - Child Sexual Abuse Effects KW - Child Sexual Abuse Victim KW - Childhood Victimization KW - Childhood Experience KW - Long-Term Effects KW - Psychological Victimization Effects KW - Rape Offender KW - Rape Causes KW - Sexual Assault Causes KW - Sexual Assault Effects KW - Sexual Assault Offender KW - Sexual Assault Victim KW - Child Sexual Abuse Offender KW - Child Sexual Abuse Causes KW - Child Abuse Causes KW - Child Abuse Offender KW - Child Molester KW - Adult Inmate KW - Adult Male KW - Adult Offender KW - Adult Violence KW - Male Offender KW - Male Inmate KW - Male Victim KW - Male Violence KW - Victim Turned Offender KW - Inmate Studies KW - Incarcerated KW - Violence Against Women
Language: en
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